North American auto manufacturing footprint unlikely to change through 2029, Chicago Fed says

July 24, 2024
Hannah Lutz, AutomotiveNews.com, July 16, 2024

We are sharing the AutomotiveNews.com post in part below.  Image Source: DAPC

"Many existing plants will provide flexibility across propulsion systems as EV demand and consumer preferences fluctuate.

As a massive investment wave for electric vehicle assembly plants subsides, the auto industry's manufacturing footprint is unlikely to change much for the rest of this decade, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Automakers and their partners have invested a cumulative $250 billion in the battery and EV supply chain in North America, with most of that coming since the start of 2021, according to the Department of Energy.

That spending will open new plants that build only EVs, such as Ford Motor Co.'s BlueOval City manufacturing campus in Tennessee, Hyundai's Metaplant in Georgia, and Honda Motor Co.'s EV and battery plants in Ontario in Canada, among others.

But they are outliers, said Thomas Klier, senior economist at the Chicago Fed.

Automakers will invest in their existing plants through the EV transition. Many of those factories will provide flexibility across propulsion systems as EV demand and consumer preferences fluctuate, the Chicago Fed said in a July analysis based on January S&P Global Mobility data."

Read full report here.