Ford is investing more than $1.45 billion in two south-east Michigan manufacturing facilities and adding 3,000 new jobs to ‘strengthen its leadership’ in trucks and SUVs and support its expansion into electric and autonomous vehicles.

The company will add 2,700 new jobs at its manufacturing facility in Wayne during the next three years; it will install new equipment to support production of the all-new Ford Bronco and Ford Ranger — and create a new modification centre (www.corporate.ford.com).

Employees at Ford’s Autonomous Vehicle, Bronco and Ranger modification centre in Wayne will complete Ford’s first autonomous vehicles (AVs) in 2021, including installing the vehicles’ ‘unique self-driving technology and unique purpose-built interiors’.

This will be the first centre of its kind for Ford; it will drive synergies with the company’s existing AV research functions in Dearborn and Detroit.

At its Dearborn manufacturing site, Ford will add 300 jobs to support the production of new electrified variants of its F-150 truck, producing both an F-150 hybrid and a fully electric F-150.

Ford will also create a new operation in Dearborn, where battery cells will be assembled into battery packs for the F-150 hybrid and the all-electric F-150.

Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president (automotive), said: “At Ford, we are investing aggressively in building on our strengths today — including trucks and SUVs — while at the same time expanding our leadership into electric and autonomous vehicles.

“As America’s No 1 producer of automobiles, we are proud of our commitment to investing in manufacturing here in Michigan.”