Mobility Industry's Economic Contribution in Michigan

By defining the mobility industry and its significant impact on the state’s economy, we can better understand and harness its potential to create solutions to congestion, emissions, safety, and equity.

“The continuous transformation of automotive to a new mobility industry is an economic benefit to individual Michiganders, our region, and the state. Michigan must position itself to capitalize on the economic opportunity of mobility and lead with technology that solves global issues. We must utilize the auto industry as a platform for diversification, with mobility leading to an expansion of data science, robotics, artificial intelligence, and automation that positions Michigan for sustained economic growth.” – Glenn Stevens Jr., MICHauto executive director

An Essential Contribution

According to the MICHauto Economic Contribution report, Michigan’s mobility industry totaled an economic output of $304 billion in 2019, which makes it larger than Germany’s $250 billion. This represents 23% of Michigan’s gross state product.

More than 1.1 million jobs are either directly or indirectly tied to the industry. This is more than 25% of Michigan’s 4 million private-sector jobs. These are also some of the highest-paying jobs in our state. The average compensation for a worker in the industry is $65,000 compared with the state average of just under $30,000.

Defining Mobility

For the purposes of this report, the mobility industry refers to the production and distribution of goods and provision of services that support the movement of people and products. While this is a broad definition, it represents the reality of mobility – a wide-ranging industry that requires significant resources. These resources include well-known examples, such as automobiles and airplanes, but also lesser-known examples, such as telecommunication services and insurance.

Research on mobility has often focused on its transformative impact, rather than defining the broader industry (MITEI 2019; Center for Automotive Research 2017). While definitions have typically focused on more widely recognized sectors – such as autonomous vehicles, connectivity, electrification, and smart mobility – including those lesser-known, but related, sectors is essential to capturing the economic contribution.

View and Download the Latest Report

Read the 2019 Report

Introduced in 2019, this report estimates the automotive industry’s economic contributions to Michigan and primarily focuses on its economic contribution as a whole. Read the inaugural report.