Ford Motor Company

Global automakers face a doubled problem after President Trump declared that from January 1 next year, the US will impose 50% tariffs on Canadian-made vehicles, auto parts, and trucks. One industry executive said, "We must not let Canada be treated like China in January." According to Barclays, Canadian-made vehicles account for only about 6% of US sales in 2025, but if tariffs double, Ford Motor, General Motors, Stellantis, Toyota, and Honda will face significant additional costs on their main models. Moreover, higher tariffs on parts would hit the entire US automotive supply chain. Some industry sources interviewed by Reuters suggested that since the tariffs are months away, there is still room for both sides to reach an agreement. Toyota and Honda are expected to be the most affected, as according to the Canadian Automobile Manufacturers Association, they account for over 75% of the 1.2 million vehicles produced in Canada in 2025, most of which are exported to the US.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government is still working on options for retaliating against US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canadian goods, but added that he's willing to continue trade talks if the US adopts the right attitude. The discussions with US negotiators revealed that Trump wants to destroy Canada's major industries — steel, aluminum and autos — with unfair terms, Carney said. His comments came hours after Trump pledged to hike tariffs on Canadian autos to 50% — and to tax auto parts as well — starting on Jan. 1, marking yet another significant escalation of the trade fight after 50% tariffs on around $20 billion of Canadian products came into effect Saturday morning. Carney has promised to retaliate with counter-tariffs by Sept. 8, affecting American steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, electronics and pulp and paper, but the government is still working on a detailed list. He said the government is looking at a range of options for retaliating against the new US duties and isn't ruling anything out when it comes to potentially using critical minerals, energy or other goods that Canada exports south of the border.

Ford and Stellantis each fell 4% after President Trump announced 50% tariffs on all Canadian vehicles and parts starting January 2027. Ford stock was down to $13.87 and Stellantis to $5.19 in Monday mid-morning trading, while General Motors slipped 2% to $86.28. The announcement came in a Truth Social post in which Trump accused Canada of ripping off the United States and cited a $60 billion trade deficit. The move follows the collapse of U.S.-Canada trade talks late Friday, with Canada's ambassador Mark Wiseman saying the written trade text diverged from what Canada believed it had agreed to. Washington separately applied 50% tariffs to about $20 billion of Canadian goods, and Canada announced counter-tariffs scheduled for September 8.

Mike O'Rourke of JonesTrading warned on CNBC that the market is flying on one AI engine, with NVIDIA defensible at 45 times earnings but Palantir dangerously stretched at 246 times earnings. Target's transaction count declined 2.9% in Q4 and comparable store sales dropped 3.9%, while Ford is already absorbing roughly $2 billion in commodity headwinds and $1 billion in tariff impacts. Lee Baker noted bond markets signal danger while equities ignore it, with the 10-year Treasury at 4.63% near a 12-month high and the VIX near historic lows. O'Rourke said AI itself is fantastic but the valuations of these stocks are a bubble, and any deceleration in hyperscaler capex could compress multiples fast.

General Motors plans to stop Chevrolet sales in China after nearly 21 years, while Ford will stop producing Lincoln vehicles in China for the US market beginning in 2030. Chevrolet's China sales fell from over 767,000 vehicles in 2014 to less than 9,000 last year, a 98.8% decrease, prompting GM to focus on Buick and Cadillac. Ford's move targets the Lincoln Nautilus, its best-selling model and the only vehicle it currently makes in China for American buyers, which faces a 52.5% US tariff. CEO Jim Farley said the decision was prompted by the Trump administration's trade policies, and GM recently extended its SAIC joint venture until 2047 while planning at least 30 new energy vehicles domestically by 2030.

General Motors, Ford Motor, and Stellantis plan to tell the Trump administration that its proposal to tighten automotive rules of origin under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement would add at least $2 billion a year in costs and could hurt their competitiveness against foreign automakers. According to estimates by two of the major U.S. automakers, if requirements are introduced mandating that vehicles contain at least 50 percent U.S.-made parts, or if the North American parts content requirement is raised from the current 75 percent, the Detroit Three would face at least $2 billion in additional annual costs, on top of cost increases from various tariffs introduced since last year. General Motors has already indicated that its total tariff-related costs this year could reach $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion, potentially equivalent to more than 20 percent of its operating profit, while Ford estimates its net tariff burden at about $1 billion. The Office of the United States Trade Representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Tesla sold 93,579 units to Chinese buyers in July, according to official EV figures from the China Passenger Car Association, even as China's overall passenger car market fell 20.9% to 1.46 million retail units. The company also exported 66,330 units from its Shanghai plant during the month, while rival BYD failed to rank among the top three sellers in China. In the US, Tesla holds over half the EV market, helped by GM and Ford retreating from the segment, though US EV sales dropped about 20% in the first half of the year after the $7,500 federal tax credit ended. A 100% US tariff on Chinese EVs shields Tesla from cheaper rivals, and US oil reserves at a low not seen since 1983 could push gas prices toward $5, potentially boosting EV demand.

Ford reported second-quarter revenues of $48.3 billion, down 3.8% year on year and 2.6% below analyst expectations, though adjusted operating income and EPS beat estimates. The stock has fallen 6.5% since the report and trades at $14.00. Among the ten automobile manufacturing stocks tracked, Rivian posted the biggest analyst estimate beat with revenues of $1.66 billion, up 27.2% year on year, while Winnebago delivered the weakest performance with revenues of $698.7 million, down 9.9% year on year. General Motors reported revenues of $48.03 billion, up 1.9% year on year, and its stock is up 15.7% since reporting.

Ford Motor reported a net loss from continuing operations of US$1,327 million on revenue of US$48,296 million for the second quarter of 2026. The results arrive alongside a 90-day share price return of 17.01% and a one-year total shareholder return of 35.10%, as well as a planned European joint venture with Geely. Analyst narratives frame the stock as about 4.1% undervalued at a last close of $14.24 versus a fair value of $14.85, citing growth in the Ford Pro commercial platform where paid software subscriptions rose 24% year over year and aftermarket services approach 20% of Pro EBIT. A separate discounted cash flow model from Simply Wall St suggests a fair value of $11.71, placing the stock in overvalued territory.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an Engineering Analysis into certain Ford vehicles after identifying a potential safety risk linked to timing belt degradation that could cause a loss of engine power while driving. The review follows a preliminary investigation into model year 2015-2017 Ford Fiesta and 2015-2018 Ford Focus vehicles with 1.0-liter engines and manual transmissions, as well as model year 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport and 2016-2018 Focus models with 1.0-liter engines and automatic transmissions as peer vehicles due to similar wet timing belt materials. NHTSA said the timing belt material may degrade and create debris that can clog the engine oil pump pickup screen, reducing oil pressure and potentially leading to loss of engine lubrication, loss of motive power, or engine seizure. Investigation data showed an average failure mileage of about 70,000 miles, with 98% of reported failures occurring before the scheduled 150,000-mile timing belt replacement interval, and failures occurred despite evidence of proper and routine oil maintenance. Ford informed NHTSA in June of a customer satisfaction program that lowers the timing belt replacement interval to 100,000 miles or six years and offers reimbursement to eligible customers for certain timing belt-related repairs. The Engineering Analysis will involve further component-level and vehicle testing to determine whether additional action is required. Shares of the automaker were trading about 1.6% lower in afternoon trade on Monday.

General Motors outperformed Ford in the second quarter, leveraging strong truck and SUV sales to raise its full-year operating income guidance to between $14 billion and $16 billion. GM posted $48 billion in quarterly revenue with North American margins of 8.6% and adjusted earnings per share of $3.57, a 41% year-over-year increase, while Ford matched the $48 billion revenue but saw its electric vehicle unit, Model e, lose $1.26 billion. GM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 5.96 and an EV/EBITDA multiple of 12.01, compared to Ford's 7.88 and 19.76, respectively. Hedge fund holdings also favored GM, with 77 funds holding the stock versus 50 for Ford, and short interest remained low for both automakers.

General Motors and Ford have dramatically reduced how much they discuss electric vehicles on quarterly earnings calls, with mentions falling to levels not seen since before the pandemic, according to a TechCrunch analysis with Hudson Labs. The study of transcripts from 2019 through mid-2026 shows that both automakers now devote a far smaller share of call time to EVs, with GM's references dropping from over 100 per call in late 2020 to just 21 on its most recent call covering the second quarter of 2026. Ford's EV discussions also declined, particularly after the 2024 election, as CEO Jim Farley emphasized support for protectionist trade policy and the profitability of gas-powered F-Series trucks. Both companies have scaled back or delayed EV plans amid regulatory rollbacks under President Trump, including the elimination of the $7,500 federal tax credit, though they maintain that EVs remain part of their long-term strategy. GM spokesperson Jim Cain said quality matters more than quantity, while Ford's David Tovar highlighted a new Universal Electric Vehicle platform set to launch next year with a midsize pickup truck.

Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley said at an employee town hall meeting that the company is preparing for the possibility of Chinese automakers entering the US market within the next five to ten years. Farley has been sounding the alarm about the strong competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, and Ford is moving ahead with preparations to launch a new low-cost EV series to achieve cost competitiveness and efficiency on par with its Chinese rivals. During a Q&A session, executives indicated that a US market entry by Chinese automakers is more likely to occur in the latter half of the five-to-ten-year window. The United States currently imposes roughly 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, and has introduced rules that effectively ban the sale of vehicles with Chinese-made software starting from the 2027 model year and vehicles with Chinese-made hardware starting from the 2030 model year.