LOUISVILLE, KY – The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has announced the launch of its newest industry council, the KAM Automotive Council.
The new Automotive Council, which will meet August 8 for the first time, will focus on promoting and growing Kentucky’s automotive industry, one of the Commonwealth’s leading employers and economic drivers. The automotive sector in Kentucky includes such major OEM assembly facilities as Toyota Kentucky in Georgetown, Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant and Kentucky Truck Plant, and the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant.
The electric vehicle battery boom underway here is expanding the sector’s economic benefits tremendously, led by the construction of two major battery manufacturing facilities, the $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park being built by Ford Motor Company and SK On in Glendale, and the $2 billion AESC plant under construction in Bowling Green.
The Automotive Council is chaired by Jeremy Ballard, General Manager, Production Division, of Toyotetsu America in Somerset, who also serves on the KAM Board of Directors.
“The automotive industry has faced many challenges in recent years and continues to show its resilience,” Ballard said. “Now we have the opportunity not only to enhance our product, but the industrial environment for our team members through mutual idea sharing and initiatives to enhance the automotive industry’s efficiencies through a collaborative effort.”
In a report published in early 2024, management consultant McKinsey & Company indicated that Kentucky’s top economic priority is “winning the automotive future by assisting in the evolution of Kentucky’s automotive base while strategically investing for growth in high-potential sectors such as electric vehicles.”
“Governor Andy Beshear and the Kentucky General Assembly have done a wonderful job bringing new jobs and investment to the state, particularly in the automotive industry,” said KAM Vice-Chair Kerry Creech, President of Toyota Kentucky. “The climate for manufacturing continues to strengthen here, with all of the economic and quality of life benefits manufacturing expansion catalyzes.”
“The relationship that Toyota has had with Kentucky continues to grow because of the investment and jobs that we have brought here,” Creech said. “It’s not just the 10,000 people we employ at Toyota Kentucky; it’s the 30,000 additional jobs that are created because Toyota is in Kentucky.”
Automotive is a multi-billion-dollar industry in Kentucky. According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development:
- Kentucky is the nation’s number one producer of cars, lights trucks, and SUVs per capita.
- Kentucky is home to 557 automotive-related companies that employ more than 103,000 people, including 13,900 new jobs since 2020.
- Since 2020, Kentucky’s automotive industry has announced more than $12.6 billion in investments.
- Kentucky’s automotive-related exports totaled $6 billion in 2023.
- One out of every 18 workers in the U.S. automotive industry works in Kentucky.
“Kentucky is a national leader in the automotive industry,” said KAM President and CEO Frank Jemley III. “KAM’s new Automotive Council is a reflection of the industry’s vital importance to the commonwealth and a clear signal of our commitment at KAM to do all we can to help the industry create more jobs and attract new investment to our great state.”
About the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers
Our mission at the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers is to make a better Kentucky by promoting and growing manufacturing and the economic opportunities it creates in the Commonwealth. Learn more at KAM.us.com.
