Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is investing nearly $2 billion in its Kentucky plant to produce electric vehicles that are more affordable, more profitable and beating rival models.
The top executive of the automaker has announced a new EV strategy at Ford’s Louisville assembly plant. This is converted to electric vehicle production after 70 years of gas-powered vehicles.
“In our careers, as automotive people, we are lucky to be able to work on one, perhaps two projects that really change the face of our industry,” CEO Jim Farley told the Kentucky Plant Worker on Monday. “And I think today we’ll be revealing the match as one of our projects.”
Detroit automakers continue their transition from internal combustion engines to EV technology, despite President Donald Trump’s administration rewinding the incentives for automakers to power. Trump’s massive tax and spending laws cover EV incentives, including the imminent removal of credits that save up to $7,500 on new electric vehicles.
But Farley and other top executives in the automotive industry say electric cars are the future and will never return.
The first EV to refine the Louisville assembly line will become a medium-sized, four-door electric pickup truck in 2027 in domestic and international markets, the company said.
The new electric truck will feature low-cost batteries made at the Ford plant in Michigan. The Detroit automaker has previously announced a $3 billion investment to build a battery factory.
Automakers see this as the “Model T moment” of the EV business. This is a reference to the innovative changes in production lines led by the company’s founder Henry Ford, when it began stirring vehicles from the factory over a century ago. Farley said the changes would support how electric cars are made in the US
“This represents the most fundamental change in how Ford has designed and built its vehicles since the Model-T,” Farley said.
The company said it will use a universal platform and production system for its EVs. Essentially it was the foundation for a vehicle that could be applied to a wide range of models.
One of two Ford Assembly factories in Kentucky’s largest city, Louisville Factory is being refined to reduce production costs and speed up assembly times as it is ready to fire electric vehicles.
As a result, “we expect affordable electric vehicles to be profitable,” Farley said in an interview with the Associated Press before the announcement. “This is an example of the US rejuvenating American plants with its most modern manufacturing technology.”
The new platform will allow for large-scale production of affordable vehicles, Ford said. Ford says it has 20% reduced parts, 25% less fasteners, 40% less dock-to-dock on plant workstations, and 15% faster assembly times. The traditional assembly line is said to be converted to the “assembly tree” of the Louisville factory. Instead of one long conveyor, it states that three subassembly lines operate simultaneously and join together.
Other specifications for the medium-sized electric truck, including release date, starting price, EPA estimated battery range, battery size and charging time, will be announced later, the company said. In a release, Ford revealed that the starting price for the truck was around $30,000.
Ford said the investment in the Louisville plant would secure 2,200 hourly jobs.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Besher said Monday that the automaker’s plans for the Louisville plant will strengthen a century-old partnership between Ford and Bluegrass state.
“This announcement is not only one of our biggest investments in our state’s records, but it also raises Kentucky’s position at the heart of EV-related innovation and solidifies the Louisville Assembly Plant as a key part of Ford’s future,” Besher said.
With a combined investment of about $5 billion in its Kentucky assembly plant, Ford is expected to create or secure about 4,000 direct jobs between the two plants, while also strengthening its domestic supply chain with dozens of new US-based suppliers.
Ford previously predicted weak revenue growth this year and further losses in the electric vehicle business that functions to manage costs. Ford’s electric vehicle business, Model E, recorded a full-year loss of $5.08 billion in 2024, down 35% in revenue to $3.9 billion.
Ford’s new EV strategy is due to the rapid expansion of Chinese automakers around the world, offering relatively affordable electric vehicles.
“We’re not the most competition to build electric vehicles,” Farley told the Associated Press when asked about competition with China. “We compete to have a profitable, sustainable electricity business that our customers love.
“And this new vehicle, built in Louisville, Kentucky, will be a much better solution than anyone can buy from China,” he added.
Original issue: August 11, 2025 10:40am EDT
