LOUISVILLE Ky. (WDRB) -- Ford Motor Co. announced Monday that its Louisville Assembly Plant will be the launch site for a new generation of electric vehicles built on the company’s Universal EV Platform.
Joined by Kentucky officials and Ford executives, CEO Jim Farley unveiled the Ford Universal EV Production System — a streamlined, software-driven approach to vehicle assembly designed to boost efficiency, safety, and quality.
"We tore up the moving assembly line that you see here today and we came up with a brand new concept, a brand new vehicle, and a better way of making a car after 122 years," Farley said to a crowd of LAP workers, state leaders and media at Monday's announcement.
The first product off the line will be a midsize, four-door electric pickup, expected to reach customers in 2027 with a targeted starting price of about $30,000. Ford has not shown the design of the new model.
"This is Ford saying we’re going to take on every EV maker across the world, and we’re going to win," said Governor Andy Beshear, who called the investment a win for Kentucky. "We’re betting on Louisville to get it done."
Declining sales of the Escape SUV in recent years led to concerns about LAP's future. But in 2023, Ford committed to building an "all new" electric vehicle at the Louisville plant once the gas-powered Escape reaches the end of its life cycle this year.
Ford’s investment in the Louisville facility is part of a broader $5 billion commitment that also includes BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, where advanced prismatic lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries will be produced to power the new truck. The initiative is expected to create or secure nearly 4,000 jobs across the two sites.
Ford will begin production of the new EV's in 2026 with 2,200 employees. However, that's 1,000 less employees than the plant had in 2023 and it currently employs about 2,800 hourly workers.
"We're not orphaning people," Farley told WDRB News Monday after the announcement. "We have (Kentucky Truck Assembly) right down the road. They're very busy building the new Expedition, Navigator and Super Duty, and we have plenty of jobs for people."
Governor Beshear was asked if he could provide assurance to current workers.
"With the number of Ford operations across Kentucky, there are going to be lots of opportunities for each and all of these workers," he said. "I'm confident with the relationship between the UAW and Ford that everybody will find a destination where they can provide for their family."
The Big Detroit automakers have continued to transition from internal combustion engines to EV technology even as President Donald Trump’s administration unwinds incentives for automakers to go electric. Trump’s massive tax and spending law targets EV incentives, including the imminent removal of a credit that saves buyers up to $7,500 on a new electric car.
"I think that's one of the reasons Ford is aiming to make an affordable EV, that families can afford even without the tax credits," said Beshear.
Farley and other top executives in the auto industry say that electric vehicles are the future and there is no going back.
The automaker sees this as a “Model T moment” for its EV business — a reference to the mass-produced vehicle that launched the venerable automaker more than a century ago. But Ford says it’s also a nod to the future and the vastly different way Ford says it will build electric vehicles.
The company said it will use a universal platform and production system for its EVs, essentially the underpinning of a vehicle that can be applied across a wide range of models, from sedans to SUV, and include both electric internal combustion vehicles.
Gov. Beshear said Monday that the automaker’s plans for the Louisville plant will strengthen a more than century-old partnership between Ford and the Bluegrass State.
“This announcement not only represents one of the largest investments on record in our state, it also boosts Kentucky’s position at the center of EV-related innovation and solidifies Louisville Assembly Plant as an important part of Ford’s future,” Beshear said.
Ford previously forecast weaker earnings growth for this year and further losses in its electric vehicles business as it works to control costs. Model e, Ford’s electric vehicle business, posted a full-year loss of $5.08 billion for 2024 as revenue fell 35% to $3.9 billion.
Ford announced in April that it would close the LAP for up to ten months to remodel. Representatives from the United Auto Workers union said the plant will close in December, possibly sooner, for the project.
This story will be updated.
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