DETROIT/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford on Thursday sounded the alarm over the potential for the U.S. government to eliminate production tax credits that support the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries using Chinese technology.
The disappearance of the credits would threaten Ford’s projected $3 billion investment in a Marshall, Michigan, plant that is 60% complete and slated to employ 1,700 workers.
“If it doesn’t stay, it will imperil what we do in Marshall,” Ford said at a policy conference of the factory 100 miles (161 km) west of Detroit. “We made a certain investment based upon a policy that was in place. It’s not fair to change policies after all the expenditure has been made.”
Ford said the plant, which was announced in February 2023, is expected to begin producing batteries in 2026.
The tax-reform bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this month could bar lucrative tax credits for batteries produced with components made by some Chinese companies or under a license agreement with Chinese firms.
Ford’s factory would make battery cells using tech from Chinese battery giant CATL.
“I’m spending a lot of time talking about that with politicians. It’s a federal issue, but it’s also a state issue,” Ford said on Thursday.
Ford received a reduced incentive package from Michigan last year for the battery plant after it cut expected production there to match slowing demand for electric vehicles. Since the automaker announced the plant, it has drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers for its ties to the Chinese company.
The company touted a letter from more than 100 Marshall-area business owners, school leaders, elected officials calling on Congress to retain the tax incentives, which noted the area has “lost thousands of jobs over the past several years.”
The House bill would also end a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs, impose a new $250 annual fee on EVs for road repair costs and repeal vehicle emissions rules designed to prod automakers into building more EVs. The U.S. Senate plans to take up the bill and make changes in the coming month.
Reporting by Nora Eckert and David Shepardson in Washngton; Editing by Anna Driver and Jamie Freed
