Ford Cancels Plans for $1.6 Billion Mexico Plant, Discusses Plans for New EVs

After months of back and forth arguments between President-elect Donald Trump and Ford Motor Company brass regarding the manufacturer's investment in a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico, Ford recently decided to invest $700 million in its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan. This will create some 700 American jobs and many UAW workers will now be promoted from temporary to full-time status.

Ford CEO Mark Fields stated that the automaker was "encouraged" by the pro-business environment and "pro-growth policies" that Trump and the new Republican congress are likely to pursue, citing these as major factors that the company examined before deciding to cancel the Mexico plant and further invest in the United States. Because of the cancellation, Ford will shift production of the Focus (which was slated to take place at the new plant) to an existing plant in Hermosillo, Mexico. 

Trump has already threatened Ford with a 35 percent tariff on vehicles the maker would import from Mexico, as well as with pulling out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ford's investment will help to transform Flat Rock, which currently builds the Mustang and Lincoln Continental, into a high-tech hub capable of producing several of the thirteen new electric vehicles they plan on bringing to market. This lineup is expected to include hybrid variants of the brand's popular F-150 and Mustang models. Two new pursuit-rated hybrid police vehicles are also expected, along with a plug-in hybrid version of the Transit Custom van that will be available in 2019.

The manufacturer is also said to be developing a 200 mile range electric vehicle, which is expected to be called the Model E, and a fully-electric SUV with a 300 mile range, which will be built in Flat Rock.