Ford to Build Battery Electric Vehicles at Flat Rock Assembly
Ford Motor Company has announced that it will expand its production of battery electric vehicles to Flat Rock Assembly Plant as part of a $900 million investment expected to create 900 incremental direct new jobs by 2023.
Ford will build vehicles on its next-gen battery electric flexible architecture at Flat Rock Assembly beginning after production launches on its Mustang-inspired electric performance SUV at its Cuautitlan, Mexico, manufacturing plant. Flat Rock Assembly will benefit from more than $850 million in investments through 2023, resulting in the addition of a second shift that will add new jobs.
“We’ve taken a fresh look at the growth rates of electrified vehicles and know we need to protect additional production capacity given our accelerated plans for fully electric vehicles,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president, Global Operations. “This is good news for the future of southeast Michigan, delivering more good-paying manufacturing jobs.”
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Ford will also build a new autonomous vehicle manufacturing facility in southeast Michigan, where it will upfit hybrid vehicles with self-driving technology and unique interiors beginning in 2021. Ford plans to launch its AVs for commercial purposes by 2021 and, over the following five years, introduce fully self-driving passenger vehicles to the market.
“As we ramp up AV production, this plan allows us to adjust our investment spending to accommodate the pace of growth of this exciting new technology,” Hinrichs added. “This new plan combines our core strength in mass manufacturing with the agility and leanness we’ve shown with our modification centers for specialty manufacturing.”
The investment in southeast Michigan is tied into the previously announced $11.1 billion investment in the production of electrified vehicles. This is expected to result in 16 battery electric vehicles hitting the market by 2022, including the 300-mile-range performance SUV.
It was also announced that the next-generation Transit Connect will be produced in Mexico beginning in 2021 at the Hermosillo assembly plant.
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