Michigan Cash Flow Properties

 “We are very quickly becoming not only an automotive center, but an absolute global leader for the development of this next-generation mobility technology.”

"There was this thinking that Silicon Valley was going to crush Detroit, that they knew how to do it better," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Cox Automotive. "Well, reality has set in" that Detroit knows is how to make cars. "Yes, they can be autonomous, they can be EVs. But … you still have to know how to build a car.”

Detroit does. And recent investments by all three Detroit automakers as well as a Silicon Valley self-driving company are helping the city build on its legacy of manufacturing know-how to stake the claim as the nation’s center for self-driving and electric vehicles. 

Just a few years ago, conventional thinking assumed Silicon Valley's tech heavyweights held the upper hand in producing the next generation of vehicles. That was before the extensive problems experienced by electric-vehicle start-up Tesla Inc. in building EVs at its California plant, among other challenges to the tech-will-prevail thesis.

“It’s almost like we are a Silicon Valley again, because if you look back over a century…we were a hub for natural resources, innovation and people — and we are seeing that again,” said Glenn Stevens, executive director of MICHauto and the Detroit Regional Chamber’s vice president of automotive and mobility initiatives.

The global automotive industry has multiple cities wanting to stake the claim that they are the center for future automotive technologies. Because Detroit is "working from a position of history and a position of strength with regards to the ecosystem, it’s a great place for the center to develop,” Stevens said. 

California-based Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell said it's logical for Detroit to see these investments because of the existing infrastructure, workforce and having the Detroit Three headquartered here.
“The thoughts around Detroit have changed,” she said. “We saw it once as a downtrodden place that once was the center for innovation … it has swung back. Going to Detroit is much different than it was 10 years ago. It looks like a different place.” Michigan Cash Flow Properties