Trump praises Ford's plans to build electric vehicles in Michigan

WASHINGTON, March 21 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump praised Ford's announcement that it is building a new plant in Michigan for autonomous vehicles, saying it is "great news." Trump said in a tweet "great news from Ford! They are investing nearly USD one billion in Flat Rock, Michigan for auto production on top of a USD one billion investment last month in a facility outside of Chicago." "Companies are pouring back into the United States - they want to be where the action is!" he remarked.
Ford announced Wednesday that is "expanding its production capacity for the company's next-generation battery electric vehicles at a second North American plant." The company said in a statement that Ford is expanding its BEV manufacturing footprint to its Flat Rock Assembly plant in southeast Michigan," and that the plant will become "the production home to vehicles from the company's next-generation battery electric flexible architecture." It added that Southeast Michigan workers also will make Ford's "first autonomous vehicles starting in 2021," and that it is also building its "next-generation North American Transit Connect in North America in 2021, boosting program profits and regional content, in line with the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)." The statement indicated that the company is "investing approximately USD 900 million in its southeast Michigan manufacturing footprint and targeting 900 incremental direct new jobs through 2023." (end) si.mb