Speaking at the Mackinac Policy Conference in Detroit this week, Ford said the rapid change in the automotive industry towards new technologies, such as hybrid and electric powertrains, presented an opportunity for Michigan to become a global innovation centre and the home to a number of emerging industries.

But, he added, policymakers should ensure they’re not holding it back, commenting that personal property taxes should be eliminated and the electric grid needed to be updating.

‘No other sector of the economy creates as many spinoff jobs as the auto sector,’ he said. ‘For each job created in autos, nine more jobs are created to support it. In the past two years, half of the new jobs that have been created here were manufacturing-related.

‘At Ford, we have invested nearly a billion dollars to build electric vehicles and the battery packs that power them right here in Michigan. We want this technology to become a core competency for us in the 21st century. And we are building the expertise to do that right here in our home state.'