Photo credit: Ford Motor Co.
The Detroit News
Aug. 12, 2025
Breana Nobles
A small team of Ford Motor Co. engineers in California launched work three years ago to develop an electric vehicle platform and production system that the Dearborn automaker says will be as radical as the Model T. But executives insist that doesn’t mean Michigan is being left behind.
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Michigan needs to ensure it doesn’t get left behind, analysts say. Glenn Stevens Jr., executive director of MichAuto, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s automotive arm, recalled visiting tech companies a decade ago in Silicon Valley where he found respect for Michigan’s manufacturing history.
But he also found a perception of Michigan being the home of “metal-benders” while innovators were on the coasts.
“You have a company, Ford, that has a 120-year-old history and a way of doing things, both right and wrong, and they realize: What got you here won’t get you there,” Stevens said about Ford’s plans. “It is a risk, but I’m optimistic. The spirit of innovation is here, but we as a state and an ecosystem and industry have to foster that.”