Workers at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant on April 30, 2025.
Michael Weiland | CNBC
Detroit — ford motor announced Thursday a $1 billion investment to build a new paint shop at its important Kentucky Truck Plant.
The facility, which Ford calls the world’s most important and profitable plant, produces the company’s large F-250 to F-550 Super Duty trucks, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.
The announcement came two days after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed “deep concerns” about the company’s “manufacturing integrity” in the U.S. and its relationship with a Chinese company that the Trump administration believed could have a negative impact on the Detroit automaker and the U.S. auto industry.
Ford, which regularly touts its position as the top auto producer in the United States, said the comments were a “misguided attempt to grab headlines.”
The paint shop is an important and costly part of a vehicle assembly plant. Ford’s new facility will “replace the existing paint shop and further (modernize) one of Ford’s most important manufacturing operations” at the plant, the company said in a press release Thursday.
The Detroit automaker announced it plans to break ground on the facility later this year. A Ford spokesperson declined to say when the new paint shop will be completed.
Ford said the investment is the latest following recent announcements of approximately $4 billion for the Kentucky facility.
“These investments demonstrate our confidence in Kentucky’s workforce, our commitment to American manufacturing and our belief that the future of mobility and energy is built right here in America,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a release.
Mr. Duffy’s criticism was addressed to Mr. Farley in a letter released by the Trump administration on Tuesday. Following a lengthy response from Ford, the White House Rapid Response Account on X issued a positive statement on Wednesday, calling Ford a “great American company.”
