Bill Ford: Federal EV policy changes ‘imperil’ $2B Michigan EV factory

• Ford Chair Bill Ford says the House budget bill imperils the planned $2 billion EV battery factory under construction in Marshall 
• The changes come as the automaker also faces drastic changes from tariffs
• House Republicans say eliminating tax credits for EVs will save taxpayers billions of dollars

One of Michigan’s largest manufacturing construction projects is at risk because federal officials want to eliminate the tax credits that make it viable, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chair Bill Ford Jr. said Thursday. 

The Dearborn-based automaker is “all in” on the $2 billion Ford BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, which is expected to open in 2026 in Marshall and employ 1,700, Ford said at the Mackinac Policy Conference. 

But Ford Motor Co. is banking on a Biden-era tax EV battery production tax credit, which effectively lowers the cost of battery manufacturing by one-third. 

The credit — along with several other clean energy credits, including the $7,500 credit for buyers of many EVs — was eliminated in the House version of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Without the credit, “it will imperil what we do in Marshall,” Ford said.

Republicans hold majorities in the House and Senate, with many joining Trump in vowing to roll back energy laws and incentives, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that prompted wide investment in EV-related manufacturing. 

The budget moves to the Senate next week.

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• As Ford downsizes battery plant, Michigan slashes over $600M in incentives 
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• Top 10 subsidies under Whitmer: Michigan spends $900M; firms create 4,200 jobs

Trump and several Republicans are critical of clean-energy tax credits passed during the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden. The bill will save taxpayers $6.2 billion by reversing “the most reckless parts of the engorged climate spending in the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, chair of a House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Ford’s statement sent shock waves through Marshall, where a group of dozens of community leaders on Thursday drafted a letter to Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, who voted for the bill.

The letter urged him to persuade Congress to preserve the production tax credit.

“The economic impact of this investment on this region cannot be overstated,” the group said.

Speaking on Mackinac Island, Ford contended that sudden policy shifts are untenable for manufacturers.

“Whether you believe in things like production tax credits or you don't, we made a certain investment based upon a policy that was in place,” Ford said. 

“It's not fair to change policies after all the expenditure has been made."

Ford Motor Co.’s Marshall project, announced in February 2023, is the fourth-largest job growth initiative announced during Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration. 

Originally valued at $3.5 billion and promising 2,500 jobs in the community east of Battle Creek, Ford later hit pause on the project after the state committed over $1.3 billion in public funding, including tax breaks and land development. 

The automaker [NYSE:F] later reinstated its plans to build EV batteries with less-expensive LFP technology, using technology from Chinese partner CATL. That company is facing scrutiny by lawmakers due to strained US-Chinese relations. 

The newer plans in Marshall call for an investment cut by about $1 billion, along with the trimmed job count. State incentives also were cut. 

The downsizing came amid revised expectations about the growth of  EV sales. For Ford Motor Co., that’s meant production shifts to stem ongoing losses at its EV division that totaled $5 billion in 2024. 

The automaker also is shifting gears at other EV-related facilities, stepping back from its second giant factory in Kentucky, instead leasing it to Nissan, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Worries over the production tax credit loss are magnified by federal tariff policy, which also leaves the auto industry repositioning operations and trying to be profitable. 

The automaker estimates $1.5 billion in costs due to tariffs this year. 

Ford on Thursday said he “speaks to the White House almost on a daily basis.”

“I completely agree with what the president wants to do,” Ford added, “which is to have a strong American industrial base.”

The $40 billion Ford Motor Co.  is “the most American (auto) company. We make 80% of our vehicles here, most of our competitors make 50% or less, and it's cost us over the years,” Ford said, saying that many products are priced at $2,000 more per vehicle because of the U.S. production costs.

Whipsawing regulations between Democratic and Republican administrations leaves automakers constantly shifting directions. 

That, Ford said, is “enormously disruptive, and financially it's really tough.”

“Our lead times as an industrial manufacturer are longer than political lead times, and we can adapt to almost anything except uncertainty,” Ford said. And unfortunately, where we are right now there's nothing but uncertainty."

Ford is not the only Michigan automotive company facing the concerns, according to MichAuto, the state’s automotive advocacy group.

Michigan’s automotive industry has a lot of investment supercharged by the Inflation Reduction Act, including big batteries and EV manufacturing plants, according to the group’s website. 

However, due to the EV tax cuts and tariffs, “Michigan’s signature industry is now questioning what will happen and how Americans will continue to be competitive.”