(The Center Square) – Ford Motor Co. continues to push forward with electric vehicle production despite President Donald Trump removing most of the incentives for buying the products.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Ford CEO Jim Farley announced Monday morning a nearly $2 billion commitment to the manufacturing process at the Louisville Assembly Plant for a new electric mid-size pickup truck.
It’s the third-largest economic development project in Kentucky history. It adds no new jobs, but officials say it secures the 2,200 current jobs at the plant.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority on Monday also approved an additional project to the current Kentucky Jobs Retention Act that could give Ford up to $550 million in tax incentives that span the company’s overall $5.55 billion investments in Kentucky. The incentives come with a job target requirement of 12,000 over the terms of the agreement.
“This announcement not only represents one of the largest investments on record in our state, it also boosts Kentucky’s position at the center of EV-related innovation and solidifies Louisville Assembly Plant as an important part of Ford’s future,” Beshear said in a statement. “Ford and Kentucky have been a tremendous team for more than 100 years, and that partnership has never been stronger than it is today.”
The announcement comes after the Trump administration recently pushed or signed into law federal legislation that ends tax credits of up to $7,500 on Sept. 30 for buying electric vehicles. Trump also froze funding for building high-speed electric vehicle chargers across the country and ended a credit to businesses and individuals for installing chargers.
In Louisville, Ford plans to spend $1.9 billion on new equipment and technology to modernize the plant, which includes a new production platform the company says is a major manufacturing breakthrough.
The new, low-cost, scalable electric vehicle platform should be ready by the second quarter of 2027, officials said.
“We are grateful to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority for its support as we build upon Ford’s proud legacy of investment in Kentucky,” said Tony Reinhart, Ford director of state and local government affairs. “We look forward to assembling another signature Ford vehicle in Kentucky to serve customers across the U.S. and beyond.”
According to an independent analysis by the Boston Consulting Group, Ford supports about 120,000 direct and indirect jobs across Kentucky and contributes more than $11.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product, including more than 48,000 jobs in the Louisville region.
