LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Ford Motor Co. is putting nearly $2 billion into transforming its Louisville Assembly Plant from a 70-year run of gas-powered models to a future cranking out electric vehicles—even as Washington rolls back the tax breaks that once fueled the EV market.

CEO Jim Farley pitched the August 11 announcement as a “light the match” moment for the company, saying the redesigned plant will turn out EVs that are cheaper for customers and profitable to build. The first off the line will be a midsize, four-door electric truck in 2027 with a targeted starting price of about $30,000, AP News reported. 

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The move comes as the Biden-era EV push gives way to President Donald Trump’s rollback of subsidies, including the soon-to-expire $7,500 consumer credit for new electric car purchases. While federal incentives shrink, Detroit’s Big Three continue pouring money into battery-powered lineups, betting the shift is inevitable.

The Kentucky overhaul also raises questions back home. Ford’s corporate headquarters sits in Dearborn, yet the $2 billion investment is heading south. Ford cited Kentucky’s more streamlined production build under its new “assembly tree” system, which cuts parts by 20% and speeds assembly by 15%—not something Michigan could match, according to the company. 

The upgrade will secure 2,200 jobs there.

Michigan, however, isn’t sidelined. The Kentucky trucks will run on lower-cost batteries made at Ford’s new $3 billion plant here—part of a combined investment expected to create or protect nearly 4,000 jobs across both states.

Still, losing the final assembly to another state is the kind of economic miss that will have Michigan officials explaining why it wasn’t built here. Farley calls it a “Model T moment” meant to beat low-cost Chinese imports with a sustainable, profitable, U.S.-built truck.

 “We’re not in a race to build the most electric cars,” he said. “This new vehicle built in Louisville, KY is going to be a much better solution to anything that anyone can buy from China.”