- Michigan’s auto industry needs full support to retain its economic power, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday.
- Tariffs and Chinese competition pose headwinds for the industry.
- The state is finalizing a plan to aid the transition by focusing on worker training and business diversification.
DETROIT — Gretchen Whitmer took aim at federal tariffs and competition from China on Thursday as she delivered her final address at the Detroit Auto Show as governor.
Both threaten the state’s signature industry, which is worth $348 billion and accounts for about one-fifth of the state’s employment, about 1.2 million jobs.
Michigan, Whitmer said, needs to “stay focused on setting our auto industry up for success.”
The state this week is releasing its first Michigan Economic Transition Strategy to offer a blueprint for workforce development and business diversification, among other goals.
“There’s not an expectation that we are going to see a massive amount of decline in the industry,” said Johnathan Smith, director of Michigan’s Community and Worker Economic Transition Office.
“But what there will be is a lot of churn.”
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As technology advances, fewer workers are required to make traditional vehicle parts, Smith said, and “employers are telling us there will be massive shifts in skills needs.”
Whitmer singled out tariffs as another threat, despite President Donald Trump’s claims during a Detroit speech this week that they are helping autoworkers by moving more production back to the United States.
“Tariffs have their place, but they won’t magically restore American manufacturing,” said Whitmer, a Democrat who is in the final year of her second term. “Without a clear strategy, they hurt us more than our adversaries. We need a strategic national trade policy that encourages competition, fosters innovation, creates jobs and lowers costs.”
Whitmer targeted growth among Chinese automakers, which are rapidly gaining market share.
A report from auto industry proponent MichAuto in December said that China produced 31 million vehicles in 2024, up from 4 million two decades earlier. That compares to 10 million made in the US in 2024, down from 12 million.
Smith, director of Michigan’s Community and Worker Economic Transition Office, said Chinese auto manufacturers are helped not only by government subsidies but “an enormously efficient production process.”
Whitmer’s remarks came one year after she attended the show and warned the state’s economy was “on the line.” At the time, she pushed for “new, better tools” including corporate incentives.
On Thursday, Whitmer didn’t mention subsidies. Despite Whitmer’s pleas, lawmakers last year did not extend the controversial $2 billion Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund in 2025, and competing subsidy plans were proposed by the Democrat-led Senate and Republican-led House.
“Michigan residents expect us to compete and beat other states when it comes to landing job opportunities,” Whitmer said after her address.
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