No. He had to pay more than other employers to retain employees. Once all workers are paid well, he has to pay better than them. It has nothing to do with any desire to protect his own class.

The line about wanting his employees to buy cars is obvious propaganda, but hard to argue with lacking the truth it was meant to distract us from. The truth was not obvious, but required more facts, which the author supplied. So, now we are equipped to put Ford's line to bed: he had no particular desire for his workers to live well, but did need them to stay on the line.