LANSING, MI - On January 15, 2025, Governor Gretchen Whitmer will deliver her Road Ahead Address at the Detroit Auto Show in advance of the inauguration, presenting a commonsense path forward for Michigan’s economy.

Since elected, Governor Whitmer has made clear that she will work with anyone to support Michiganders across the state. The governor has signed a record 1,431 bipartisan bills into law, the majority of which were signed under a Republican-controlled legislature, to make Michigan the ideal place for people to invest, live, and work. With a focus on top priorities for the next two years, this address will lay out Governor Whitmer’s vision to strengthen Michigan’s economy through partnerships with both sides of the aisle. The speech will also tackle challenges facing economic development in Michigan, such as supporting Michigan’s auto industry and more. 

Please see below for her remarks as prepared for delivery. 

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Happy New Year! I’m excited to be here in the Motor City as we kick off another year where Michigan will be at the center of the action.

This is my seventh year as governor, but I’m still guided by the values I first ran on back in 2018… the same values I was taught growing up in a bipartisan household.

In the Whitmer house, compromise was a good thing.

You see, I want to get things done.

Things that make Michiganders’ lives better.

And I’ll work with anyone who’s serious about solving problems.

And I’ll stand up to anyone who gets in our way.

Heading into 2025, I look forward to working with:

Speaker Hall,

Majority Leader Brinks,

Leader Nesbitt,

Leader Puri,

and… President-elect Trump.

Michiganders elected both me and Donald Trump twice, just two years apart. We all swore an oath to the people we serve.

And the people expect us to find common ground, especially when it comes to:

• lowering costs,

• creating good-paying manufacturing jobs,

• boosting research and innovation,

• and cutting red tape.

Now, I don’t want to pretend like we’ll always agree…

but I will always seek collaboration first.

I won’t go looking for fights…

but I won’t back down from them either.

I’m not here to play games. I’ve got a job to do.

That brings me to why I’m speaking at the auto show. Usually, I wait until my State of the State address to lay out an economic vision, but this couldn’t wait.

This is a serious moment.

Right now, the future of the entire auto industry is at stake.

The very core of Michigan’s economy is on the line.

So today, let’s talk about the ‘Road Ahead.’

As you all know, there’s an ongoing, global competition to build the future of the auto industry. Make no mistake… other states and nations, like China, are gunning for Michigan auto jobs.

For America to win, we must recognize that all of us are on the same team. Both our state and national economy depend on our ability to work together in Lansing and with our partners in DC.

Today, almost 1.2 million jobs, a fifth of Michigan workers, are employed directly or indirectly by the auto industry. These individual jobs pay almost 72 grand. That’s higher than the median household income.

Since I took office, automakers and suppliers have invested a combined $40 billion—that's billion with a B—into Michigan. Today, we’re home to nearly a fifth of all North American auto production.

We also have:

• the highest concentration of engineering talent…

• more than 1,000 independent auto suppliers…

• and 62% of all American auto R&D spending.

Everyone knows someone whose family and future relies on Michigan making cars and trucks.

That includes everyone in this room.

We all know just how much our economy relies on the auto industry. That’s why I will fight alongside any company that invests in Michigan and creates jobs in Michigan.

Together, we can support Michigan workers, from UAW men and women on the assembly line to countless others in R&D, engineering, design, sales, and more.

In short: if the autos succeed, Michigan succeeds, and America succeeds.

I want to take us back to December 2021, when I brought Republicans, Democrats, and industry leaders together to establish our bipartisan job fund. It worked. We won billions of dollars worth of transformational projects. Since then, we’ve built on our momentum.

Passing brownfield legislation, making it easier to convert abandoned buildings into new, cutting-edge factories powered by the latest technology.

Modernizing Renaissance Zones, lowering costs for companies who invest in areas of our state that have been ignored.

Winning hundreds of millions of federal dollars to help manufacturers retool their factories and make sure today’s autoworkers can be part of tomorrow’s economy. Including a new program for small suppliers that we’ll be launching later this year.

And on Monday, I stood with business leaders and signed bipartisan legislation to establish an Innovation Fund and an R&D tax credit. These new tools will launch hundreds of Michigan-based start-ups, create thousands of good-paying Michigan jobs, and increase collaboration with Michigan’s world-class universities.

Over the past six years, we’ve moved forward. But if we don’t keep going, we will fall behind. Michigan is still the number one auto state, but others have gained ground, especially in the south.

They want to steal this vital industry away from us. But we’re Michiganders, damn it. We’regonna fight. Right?

These other states—like Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky—know that once they secure a big auto, battery, or transmission plant, it not only creates thousands of good-paying plant jobs, but also encourages other businesses up and down the auto supply chain to move too.

Because proximity saves companies time and money, and it’s part of the reason Michigan remains dominant—so far. But these big factories have gravity. Eventually, if enough of them are built elsewhere, industry will be pulled out of Michigan’s orbit.

These other states are using every tool at their disposal. Some are just writing blank checks to companies. That’s bad policy. We can do this in a more thoughtful, more strategic way that’s accountable to taxpayers. But the truth is, today, we lack the speed and flexibility to win. And the tools we DO have are going away.

It’s also no longer enough to just have part makers and assembly plants. To compete in the 21st century, we need battery factories, software companies, chip fabs, and startups too.

What defines the “auto industry” is changing right in front of us. It’s evolving into the “auto ecosystem.” Consider all the moving parts, lines of code, and rare-earth materials that go into each vehicle. Owning this ecosystem top-to-bottom is critical.

To build an auto ecosystem, we cannot get complacent. We must update our economic toolkit to match our changing reality.

Two big obstacles stand in our way.

One: our bipartisan job fund goes away in a year.

Two: my road bonding plan—Rebuilding Michigan—is phasing out.

Losing both without better, more comprehensive replacements will throw us off track. It’ll harm both our state and national economy.

We see the bad version of this story playing out in Europe right now, where Chinese electric cars and batteries are gobbling up market share.

European automakers are falling behind. More than 12 million European direct and indirect auto industry jobs are at risk.

If we do not act, that could be our future. One where we allow companies subsidized by the Chinese government to sell at a loss and crush the core of our economy.

That’s not going to happen. Not on our watch.

Instead, let’s seize this moment.

Let’s bring both parties in the legislature together.

And let’s support the auto ecosystem we need to dominate.

First, we must replace our job fund with new, better tools.

We must stay nimble to support businesses already here and win new ones too. I know securing these big factories hasn’t always been easy, but we gotta keep working on it. We can’t just unilaterally disarm, like some on the far left and far right would have us do.

Here’s what we can do now:

One: a new Make it in Michigan job fund to help us close deals and move faster as we compete with other states and nations to land big factories and engineering and tech centers. 10 other states already do this. This is critical to design, engineer, and build the next generation of vehicles. We don’t care what you drive—ICE, hybrid, or EV—we just care that it’s made right here in Michigan, by Michigan workers.

Two: a new payroll tax cut called HIRE Michigan, so the more Michigan employees you hire and the better you pay them, the more you save in Michigan. Governor Snyder had this idea first, and Senator Sam Singh, a Democrat, is carrying it forward today. It’s not politics, it’s just commonsense. We need companies investing in Michigan to put down roots, create high-paying jobs, and hire our workers.

Three: a more streamlined strategic site readiness program, to create space for future projects. We know that companies value having shovel- ready sites where they can just come in and start building on day one. Let’s make it as easy as possible to create jobs in Michigan.

Four: more investments in housing, placemaking, and brownfield redevelopment. Let’s boost our housing supply to drive down costs for buyers and renters while improving our neighborhoods and downtowns.

And finally, five: more investments in transit including buses and rail to boost connectivity across areas with lots of industry.

That brings us to our second obstacle: roads.

Auto companies depend on reliable infrastructure to ship goods between raw materials, suppliers, and factories. The auto ecosystem we want to build is only as strong as the connections between all its parts.

We need roads that are safe to help us attract people to our state too—they can’t be a punchline.

As anyone who drives in Michigan will tell you, we have come a long way. You’re welcome for all those orange barrels, by the way. But the truth is that our roads still need work. I’m proud of the work we’ve done on key highways and bridges with my Rebuilding Michigan bond plan, but we are facing a major funding cliff.

We need a sustainable, long-term solution so we can fix the damn roads using the right mix and materials.

If we don’t find a solution, our roads will get worse and more dangerous. That means more expensive car repairs and delays on your drive home.

Speaker Hall has said roads are a priority. Last fall, we started working on a long-term solution, but we didn’t quite get there. He’s said his caucus wants to keep working on this, and so do I.

To my partners in the legislature:let’s get back to the negotiating table and hammer out a bipartisan deal to get this done in 2025.

Fixing the damn roads means we all need to recognize some hard truths.

To my friends in the GOP: fixing the roads in a sustainable way means looking for new, fair sources of revenue. We can’t just cut our way to better roads. Defunding public safety or public health is not the way to fix potholes.

To my fellow Democrats: fiscally-responsible cuts will need to be a part of the solution. Michigan families and businesses have already tightened their belts because of high costs. We should do the same and focus our resources on the stuff that matters most: roads, schools, safety. Let's lead by example.

Both parties will have to compromise to do this right. And that’s the way it ought to be.

I’m still open to suggestions on both jobs and roads. I don’t care where or who they come from—I just care that they’re serious. What the people of Michigan will not accept is inaction. The only bad idea is no idea.

Moving on… another key player in our auto ecosystem is right across the water: Ontario. We share culture, crops, craft brews, and, some would say, accents. Detroit is the Motor City, and Windsor is the automotive capital of Canada.

Detroit-Windsor is the busiest active border crossing in North America, driving more than a quarter of the $700 billion of annual trade between our countries—and we are still two different countries, right?

We’ve seen what happens when our connection is put at risk. The blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in 2022 hit our auto and ag businesses hard. Hundreds of millions of dollars move across that border every day.

While we may not agree with our Canadian neighbors about everything, I’m proud of the relationship we’ve built through agreements on cross-border electric vehicle testing, supply chains, trade, and job creation. Over the last few years, Canadian businesses have announced 26 projects in Michigan, creating over 4,000 jobs.

Our relationship continues to get stronger. I met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford—a member of their conservative party—last month. The Gordie Howe Bridge, named after Mr. Hockey, opens later this year, a symbol of our friendship and a driver of economic growth for decades to come.

There’s been a lot of talk about tariffs. I’m not opposed to tariffs outright, but we can’t treat them like a “one size fits all” solution. And we certainly shouldn’t use them to punish our closest trading partners.

Doing so hurts all of us, damaging supply chains, slowing production lines, and cutting jobs on both sides of the border. Think about this: 70% of all the auto parts we make in Michigan go directly to our neighbors.

Every time a Michigan auto part crosses over the border and gets taxed, those costs will be passed on to you at the dealership. Sometimes, it happens a couple times throughout production. That means you’ll pay more to buy a Silverado, fix the engine in your Mustang, or replace the fender on your Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The only winner in this equation is China. They would love nothing more than to watch us cripple America’s auto ecosystem all by ourselves. This is a matter of national security.

We can’t let that happen.

That’s why my office has been in active discussions with Premier Ford’s team and leadership from the Liberal Party to explore ways we can collaborate on tariffs, lower the cost of doing business, and protect Michigan industry and consumers.

Let’s renew our commitment to a stronger relationship with our neighbors.

Let’s build a stronger auto ecosystem.

Let’s take on China, together.

Today, we’ve spoken about the Road Ahead and I’m optimistic about our future because I know the journey we’ve been on to get here.

Over the past six years, I’ve signed more than 1,400 bipartisan bills and 6 balanced budgets. And to those keeping score at home, nearly 1,000 of those were with a Republican controlled legislature!

Since I took office…

• we cut taxes by $1 billion for seniors and working families…

• secured nearly 40,000 auto jobs…

• built 50,000 units of housing…

• fedstudents free breakfast and lunch at school…

• replaced tens of thousands of lead pipes…

• and fixed nearly every major freeway…

• Rainy-day fund is at an all-time high

• State revenues are strong

• GDP is up 35%

• Credit rating is up

• Educational attainment, family wealth, and incomes are all up too.

Our strong fiscal management has paid off.

And just look at where we are. Michigan is a state on the rise that’s turning doubters into dreamers. Our Lions are winning big, going from punching bag to powerhouse. We are at the center of America’s most exciting story. 

But there’s always more to do.

If we bring jobs home,

fix the damn roads,

and work with our trading partners….

we can drive towards a brighter future where our people and our auto industry succeed.

As Coach Campbell would say: we are built for this, man!

Michigan is the auto industry, and the auto industry is Michigan.

Our fates are linked.

So, let’s pave the road ahead, together. Thank you.