‘EV winter’ freezes Gretchen Whitmer’s $1 billion economic gamble

Under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the state of Michigan bet big on an electric vehicle boom that didn’t transpire.

Now, the cold reality of an “EV winter” is setting in after more than $1 billion in federal and state taxpayer incentives propped-up battery plants and EV projects.

Relying heavily on government subsidies, tax credits, mandates, and targeted policies to shape economic outcomes – often called planned industrial harmony or economic fascism – introduces structural volatility that market-driven approaches avoid. Markets respond to consumer preferences, prices, technological improvements, and competition, which provide continuous feedback and self-correction. Politician-driven planning, by contrast, layers on political timelines, electoral cycles, ideological priorities, and shifting administrations—creating artificial booms followed by painful busts when realities diverge.

Whitmer’s Michigan: EV start-up Bollinger Motors ‘to officially close the doors’ despite $3 million from taxpayers https://t.co/rpNFOVsQGM

— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) November 25, 2025

In Michigan, Gov. Whitmer’s policy priorities have favored rigid government-driven planned industrial harmony as opposed to the flexibility of free-market approaches, and the fallout is a painful job bust as Michigan now ranks second in the nation for job loss.

Whitmer promised thousands of good-paying jobs and billions of dollars in private investment. Ford’s Marshall plant was hailed as a 2,500-job generator. Gotion’s Big Rapids project touted another 2,350 positions. Our Next Energy in Van Buren Township talked of $1.6 billion and over 2,000 roles.

Instead, slowing EV demand – triggered largely by the expiration of federal tax credits and consumer apathy – exposed the fragility of planning an economy around political ideology rather than market signals.

Following years of government subsidized EV production,  the market became saturated with cars nobody really wanted. Since then,  GM has slashed production at Detroit’s Factory Zero, cutting roughly 2,000 jobs as it was forced to move to only one shift. Suppliers like Dana Inc. laid off 200 workers in Auburn Hills.

Our Next Energy laid off dozens and downsized, only repaying about $3.3 million on a $15 million loan from the Jobs for Michigan Investment Fund Loan. The controversial Gotion plant has now been declared abandoned as the state attempts to recover $24 million in taxpayer funded incentives for the failed electric vehicle battery plant.

Some facilities, however, are salvaging sunk costs by retooling EV battery lines for stationary energy storage systems, where demand remains a bit stronger due to renewable energy incentives.

As reported by Crains Detroit this week, major battery makers are now retooling factory lines in Michigan to repurpose production toward battery energy storage systems for grid-scale and stationary applications.

LG Energy Solution – after sinking a $1.4 billion investment into building EV-oriented lithium iron phosphate battery cells at its Holland, Mich. factory – struck deals for ESS applications. Separately, LG reached a major $4.3 billion agreement with Tesla to produce cells for Tesla’s energy storage business at a Lansing facility.

Ford Motor Co. has also announced plans to repurpose capacity at a Kentucky plant with implications for Michigan operations. The company has announced $3 billion in investments to retool the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan facility, which is set to build lithium-iron phosphate batteries. The company plans to produce the LFP batteries specifically for energy storage under initiatives like “Ford Energy.”

However, efforts to keep Ford in Michigan have cost state taxpayers millions, awarded through the state’s controversial Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund. That’s because the central trade-off in planned industry is that private gains remain private, while private losses – such as a lack of return on investment into the state’s ideological priorities – become a taxpayer liability.

Now, as job shortfalls persist and promised economic momentum has cooled, Michigan taxpayers are footing the bill for Whitmer’s planned industry.

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