President Joe Biden will tour Ford’s new electric vehicle plant in Dearborn next week, one day before the F-150 Lightning is revealed.
The White House confirmed reports that Biden will travel to Dearborn on Tuesday, May 18, but released no other details about the visit. A February tour of Pfizer’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Portage was Biden’s first visit to Michigan since taking office.
Ford Motor Co. is set to unveil its new all-electric F-150 Lightning the following day. Production begins next spring at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, with the first trucks set to roll off the assembly line in 2022.
“We’re honored to host President Biden at Ford Motor Company and excited to preview for him the new F-150 Lightning and the exciting technologies that made it possible,” Melissa Miller, manager of government and public policy communications for Ford, said in a statement.
Miller emphasized that the F-150 Lightning will be built by UAW workers. Biden’s push to strengthen labor unions was a key part of his campaign pitch to Michigan voters in 2020. The UAW International Board endorsed his candidacy for president.
Outside a UAW hall on the campaign trail, Biden pledged to replace the federal government’s fleet of vehicles with electric models. He also vowed to build 550,000 EV charging stations and invest more in clean energy research. Since his inauguration, Biden kept a focus on clean energy, rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and appointing former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to lead the U.S. Department of Energy.
Biden said there’s no reason American workers can’t lead the world in the production of electric vehicle technology during his first address to Congress in April.
Ford officials are making big investments to lead the production of electric vehicle technology. Ford committed to investing more than $22 billion in vehicle electrification through 2025, including $700 million to expand its pickup truck manufacturing capabilities in Dearborn.
In April, Ford announced an additional $185 million investment to create a learning lab in Southeast Michigan dedicated to developing building vehicle battery cells and cell arrays.
Ford representatives did not provide any additional details about Biden’s upcoming visit.