Ford didn’t give Michigan a ‘real opportunity’ to win EV, battery plants, governor says; Bill Ford says that wasn’t the case
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her state wasn’t given a “real opportunity” to pitch Ford Motor Co. on land, labor and tax incentives for the multibillion-dollar electric vehicle and battery assembly plants the automaker intends to build in Tennessee and Kentucky.
The Democratic governor on Wednesday pushed back on suggestions that Michigan couldn’t compete for the $11.4 billion Ford and battery maker SK Innovation plan to invest in the massive projects.
“Being the primary domicile, Michigan is always going to be able to put a competitive alternative on the table when we are given an opportunity to,” Whitmer said. “And we look forward to future investments and (Ford) looking to Michigan first and giving us the opportunity to really put a robust package on the table.”
Whitmer said there were “probably a lot of factors” that went into Ford’s decision to locate the new battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky.
She downplayed Michigan’s average electricity rates for industrial customers, which are about 2 cents per kilowatt hour higher than Tennessee and Kentucky.
“It wasn’t a state selection, it looked more like a site selection,” Whitmer said. “But in terms us having tools that we need to be competitive, I’m always looking to make Michigan more competitive and always eager to put solutions on the table.
“But we need a real opportunity to do that — and that really wasn’t the case here,” the governor added.
Whitmer’s remarks gave greater clarity to comments a day earlier by Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO Quentin Messer Jr., who said the state “was not actively involved” in trying to lure Ford’s investment in the Great Lakes State.
“We are always in conversations with Ford, but we were not actively involved,” Messer told reporters.
Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford told The Detroit News on Tuesday that Michigan “of course” was seriously considered for the projects.
“But we’ve made over a $7 billion commitment to Michigan, and we’ve always spread our footprint,” he said. “Will we do future things in Michigan? Of course. Michigan is our home. The magnitude of our investment in our home state is enormous and will continue to be.”
Ford announced Monday it will build two lithium-ion battery plants on a 1,500-acre parcel of land south of Louisville, Ky., under its BlueOvalSK joint venture with battery supplier SK Innovation.
In western Tennessee, Ford plans to build out a 3,600-acre “mega campus” for assembly of a next-generation electric F-Series pickup, battery cell production and supplier plants.
The sprawling facility northeast of Memphis will be called Blue Oval City and employ 6,000 people when it’s expected to open in 2025, Automotive News reported.
