Automotive Economic Development Exchange
at CAR MBS

Exchange Goal:

Equip economic development leaders with the insight and strategies needed to win—and retain—automotive investment in a rapidly changing global landscape.

Date: Monday, June 15, 2026

Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm

Place: Marriott Eagle Crest Resort (Afternoon) and American Center for Mobility (Evening Networking Reception) | Ypsilanti, MI

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Summit Program

1:00-4:30PM | Economic Development Exchange

• 1:00PM – Welcome Remarks
• 1:10PM – CAR Research Briefing: The New Map of Automotive Investment

A strategic briefing from the Center for Automotive Research examining the global forces reshaping automotive manufacturing and investment, and what they mean for regional competitiveness in North America.

Topics include:

Global Competitiveness Benchmark

China’s Industrial Playbook:
An examination of the structural advantages driving China’s rapid rise in the global automotive industry, including vertically integrated supply chains, supplier clustering, accelerated development cycles, automation, coordinated industrial policy, and leadership in the battery ecosystem.

The Investment Map

Book of Deals / North American Investment Trends:
Using CAR’s investment tracking and “Book of Deals,” this segment analyzes where OEMs and suppliers are investing across North America, which manufacturing segments and technologies are expanding, and which regions are capturing the next wave of automotive projects.

Plant Risk & Industrial Transition

The Changing Manufacturing Footprint:
Insights from CAR’s manufacturing and supplier research identifying plants and regions most vulnerable to disruption as the industry transitions toward electrified and software-defined vehicles—while highlighting opportunities for modernization and reinvestment.

• 2:00PM – Industry Case Study: “When a Plant Closes”

Economic Development Strategy Forums

These forums are designed as facilitated conversations rather than formal panels, allowing participants to exchange perspectives with industry leaders and peers on the challenges shaping regional competitiveness.

Structure:

• • • 5 min framing
    • 15 min discussion
    • 10 min audience Q&A
• 2:15PM – Forum 1: The New Site Selection Playbook – How Automotive Investment Decisions Are Made Today

Automotive investment decisions are evolving rapidly as companies navigate electrification, supply chain realignment, geopolitical risk, and increasing pressure to move faster from project approval to production.

This forum explores how OEMs and suppliers evaluate regions in 2026 and beyond. Discussion will focus on the operational realities shaping investment decisions, including infrastructure readiness, energy capacity, permitting timelines, construction speed, workforce availability, and supplier ecosystems.

Key Discussion Areas

• • Speed-to-market and construction timelines
  • Power capacity, grid reliability, and utilities readiness
  • Permitting and regulatory timelines
  • Workforce pipeline and training infrastructure
  • Supplier clustering and logistics access
  • The growing role of R&D and testing ecosystems
• 2:45PM – Forum 2: Reshoring, Nearshoring & the North American Manufacturing Shift

As global supply chains reorganize in response to geopolitical risk, trade policy, and the rise of Chinese automotive exports, North America is entering a new phase of industrial competition.

This discussion examines how reshoring and nearshoring are reshaping the automotive manufacturing footprint across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Participants will explore how USMCA, battery supply chains, logistics networks, and regional manufacturing strengths are influencing where the next wave of investment will land.

The session will also consider how regions can better position themselves within a more integrated North American manufacturing ecosystem.

Key Discussion Areas

• • USMCA and North American manufacturing integration
  • The growing role of Mexico in automotive production
  • Battery supply chains and mineral sourcing
  • Supplier ecosystem development
  • Regional specialization within the North American auto industry
  • Strategic responses to China’s industrial scale and speed

• 3:15PM – Forum 3: Winning the Retention Battle – Protecting Existing Automotive Plants in an Era of Transition

While much attention is placed on attracting new automotive investment, many regions face an equally urgent challenge: protecting and modernizing the manufacturing footprint they already have.

As electrification, automation, and software-defined vehicle architecture reshape production requirements, many existing plants face major reinvestment decisions. This forum will explore the early warning signs of plant vulnerability and the strategies regions can deploy to support modernization, workforce transition, and supplier ecosystem resilience.

Participants will discuss how economic developers, policymakers, and industry leaders can work together to ensure legacy manufacturing regions remain competitive in the next phase of automotive transformation.

Key Discussion Areas

• • • Identifying plants at risk of closure or downsizing
    • Modernization and retooling investment decisions
    • Workforce retraining and transition strategies
    • Supplier ecosystem health and resilience
    • Automation and digital manufacturing upgrades
    • Policy and incentive strategies to support plant reinvestment
• 3:45PM – VIP Fireside Chat – “What Actually Wins Automotive Investment Today”
• 4:30PM – Networking Reception