AVON LAKE, OH—Ford will receive $205 million in incentives to expand its Ohio Assembly Plant here, where it plans to make electric vehicles.

WASHINGTON--Automakers are scrambling to defend the electric vehicle tax credit after House Republicans last week proposed eliminating it to help pay for their broader package of tax cuts.Lobbyists here quickly huddled to figure out how to save the tax credit, which the industry views as critical to promoting commercial adoption of electric vehicle technology.