Ford to invest additional $450M at Michigan plant for EV production
Detroit, Mich. — Ford Motor Company will invest an additional $450 million in its Michigan assembly plant, as it gets ready to build its next-generation hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle at the plant in 2012. The company is also moving the production of its advanced lithium-ion battery systems for the next-generation hybrid from Mexico to Michigan. These moves are expected to create 1,000 new jobs.
The Wayne, Mich. assembly plant will be the production site of Ford’s hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full battery electric vehicles, all of which will be built off the company’s new global C-car platform.
Ford already announced plans to invest $550 million to transform the Michigan Assembly Plant from a large SUV factory to build the all-new Focus starting in 2010 and Focus Electric all battery electric vehicles in 2011.
In addition to moving the production of its battery packs from Mexico, Ford said it is bringing battery system design and development in-house. The production site will be announced at a later date.
Ford also has announced it will produce hybrid transaxles at its Van Dyke Transmission facility in Sterling Heights, Mich., beginning in 2012.
Partnering with the state of Michigan has been critical to the acceleration of the electric vehicle plan, Ford said. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved a package of incentives and tax credits totaling $188 million.
Ford Motor Company also captured both the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year awards for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Ford Transit Connect, respectively, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIS) in Detroit.
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