Ford to open EV battery plant despite GOP effort to repeal tax credits
Ford Motor Company is moving forward with plans to open a $3 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, despite efforts by Republican lawmakers to eliminate tax credits associated with EVs. During a recent press tour, Ford’s executives, including VP Lisa Drake, reaffirmed their commitment to the facility, which aims to create approximately 1,700 jobs and begin production next year.
Originally, Ford expected that tax incentives from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act would help offset the costs of the plant. However, with a new republican-controlled Congress, the future of these tax credits is uncertain, potentially impacting Ford’s investment. Republicans are considering policies to roll back these incentives, which could have meaningful repercussions for Ford and the EV market at large.
Drake remarked that the elimination of these credits could materially affect the plant and the jobs it generates,highlighting the importance of these opportunities for local employment. The Senate is scheduled to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that may include the repeal of renewable energy tax credits. If enacted, this could drastically reduce EV sales and halt the construction of planned battery plants.
Ford to open EV battery plant despite GOP effort to pull plug on tax credits
Ford is planning to proceed with opening an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan, even as Republican lawmakers move to eliminate the Biden-era EV tax credits.
On Monday, Ford gave reporters a tour of the $3 billion factory in Marshall, Michigan, ahead of an expected Senate vote on the draft language of the budget reconciliation bill this week. The auto manufacturer maintained it is committed to opening the facility despite the political firestorm surrounding EV tax credits.
“We don’t want to back off on this facility,” Lisa Drake, vice president of Ford’s Technology Platform Programs and EV Systems, told reporters. “When we invest, we stick behind our investments. Ford is a company that will weather the storm until we get there.”
The Michigan plant is slated to start production next year and is estimated to create 1,700 jobs.
Ford announced plans to build the EV battery plant in 2023, expecting the tax credits in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to offset the cost. But under a new administration and a Republican-controlled Congress, that expectation may not come to fruition.
Republicans are working on policies to roll back the tax credits for EV purchases and charging infrastructure, as well as those for batteries produced in the United States under a Chinese licensing agreement. This would directly affect Ford, which uses battery technology licensed from China’s leading battery manufacturer, CATL.
Drake anticipates the eliminated tax credits to have a “very material” effect on its new plant.
“It would really be a shame to build these facilities and then all of a sudden have to scale back on the most important part, which is people,” she said. “It’s 1,700 jobs. They don’t come around all that often.”
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If the tax credits are scrapped, United Automobile Workers union official Dave Green said EV sales could be reduced by as much as 40% by 2030 and planned EV battery plants could be canceled.
The Senate can vote as early as Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which will include a repeal of tax credits for renewable energy sources. The House passed a version of the bill last month.
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