Ford announces $2 billion Louisville EV assembly plant investment

Ford on Monday announced it would invest $2 billion in a Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plant aimed at rolling out more affordable electric vehicles.

The investment comes on top of $3 billion already planned for a battery park in Michigan. Together the facilities will create or secure nearly 4,000 new jobs, Ford said in a news release.

“We took a radical approach to a very hard challenge: Create affordable vehicles that delight customers in every way that matters – design, innovation, flexibility, space, driving pleasure, and cost of ownership – and do it with American workers,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in the release.

The Detroit automaker’s new “Universal EV Program” centered around low-cost EVs will start with a midsize, four-door electric pickup, produced at the Louisville Assembly Plant. That vehicle launch is slated for 2027.

Executives had teased the announcement on the company’s latest earnings call as its next “Model T moment.” Ford said the starting price of the new EV truck, $30,000, will be roughly the same as the famed Model T, when adjusted for inflation.

Ford noted that lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for the new family of EVs will be assembled in the U.S. and not imported from China.

Farley said during an event in Louisville on Monday that the announcement comes as the automotive industry is at a crossroads because of new technology and competition.

“We knew that the Chinese would be the major player for us globally, companies like BYD, new startups from around the world, big technology has their ambition in the auto space. They’re all coming for us, legacy automotive companies,” Farley said. “We needed a radical approach and a really tough challenge to create an affordable vehicle.”

The changes also come as Ford and other U.S. manufacturers are navigating shifting EV policies under President Donald Trump, including an end to EV tax credits that will take effect after Sept. 30.

Ford said Monday that the Louisville plant will “secure” about 2,200 jobs, but noted that once it’s retooled for EV production, it will employ about 600 fewer workers than in its current configuration.

According to the Ford website, the plant employed more than 3,000 employees as of April 2024.

Farley told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau during an interview with “Squawk on the Street” on Monday that the automaker continues to add new jobs elsewhere.

“Ford’s the only car company in America that’s added 13,000 jobs since the recession. We’re not going to stop,” Farley said.

— CNBC’s Phil LeBeau contributed to this report.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct that the Louisville Assembly Plant will secure about 2,200 jobs. A previous version misstated the job impact.