Ford Motor Company announced on September 10 that it will spend $1 billion to build a new, state-of-the-art paint shop at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, replacing the facility’s existing paint operation and extending what has become a multi-billion-dollar capital push across the company’s Kentucky footprint.
America’s highest-revenue auto plant gets a new coat
Kentucky Truck Plant is Ford’s largest and highest-revenue U.S. manufacturing plant, producing F-Series Super Duty pickups, Ford Expedition SUVs, and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.
A vehicle rolls off the assembly line there roughly every 45 seconds. More than 11,500 workers currently staff the plant.
The new facility will replace the existing paint shop and is designed to improve paint quality, efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Groundbreaking is expected by late this year.
Part of a broader Kentucky capital wave
Thursday’s announcement adds to a series of recent Kentucky investments by Ford, including approximately $2 billion committed to transform its Louisville Assembly Plant into a production center for its Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, including the Ford Fathom, a midsize electric pickup expected to launch in 2027.
Ford has also pledged approximately $2 billion to Ford Energy Systems in Glendale, Kentucky, to manufacture battery energy storage systems, with production expected to begin in late 2027.
Combined, Ford’s recent Kentucky investments total roughly $5 billion.
The Kentucky Truck Plant’s outsized revenue importance to Ford helps explain the scale of the paint-shop commitment. Super Duty pickups and full-size SUVs remain the automaker’s most profitable vehicle lines, and factory modernization is a direct lever on both quality scores and long-term unit costs.
State incentives tied to job retention
The incentive total tied to Ford’s Kentucky operations now stands at $578 million, up from $550 million as of August 2025, when the performance-based agreement was updated to reflect a major investment at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant.
The package is tied to $7.55 billion in total plant investments and structured to help maintain up to 12,000 workers annually. The arrangement ties the state’s financial support directly to Ford keeping jobs in place at the Chamberlain Lane site.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a statement that, from Kentucky’s past to its present and future, Ford “is a central part of Kentucky’s story, which continues to show the world that American manufacturing remains strong.” Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said: “For more than a century, Ford and Kentucky have grown together, and we’re investing to ensure that relationship remains strong for generations to come,” adding that the investments reflect the company’s confidence in Kentucky’s workforce, its commitment to American manufacturing, and its belief that the future of mobility and energy will be built in the United States.
Timing and context
The announcement comes two days after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressed “profound concern” about the automaker’s ties to Chinese companies in a letter to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley sent September 8. The letter also criticized Ford’s timeline for shifting Lincoln Nautilus production from China to the US.
The Kentucky Truck Plant opened on its 500-acre Chamberlain Lane site in 1969. Ford’s manufacturing presence in Louisville dates back to 1913, when the first Model T rolled off the assembly line.
Ford has not yet disclosed which paint technology system will be installed or named a contractor for the work. A parallel shift toward electrified truck platforms at the nearby Louisville Assembly Plant means the Kentucky Truck campus as a whole is being rebuilt for a product mix that spans both combustion and electric powertrains across the coming decade.
The company said it plans to celebrate the investment with a Kentucky Truck Plant Family Open House on September 13.
