As one of the major industries losing to foreign competition, automakers have welcomed the 25% tariffs on auto imports.
Everyone from auto industry execs to auto worker union reps has praised President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Related: Ford reports another blowout sales month, but trouble could be ahead
“Ford supports the administration’s goal to strengthen the U.S. economy by growing manufacturing, and we also support a level playing field globally for domestic and foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEM),” Ford CEO Jim Farley said.
However, unlike the other two U.S. Big 3 automakers, Ford makes the vast majority of its vehicles in the U.S., so it stands to benefit significantly from duties on foreign imports.
Ford says it builds about 80% of the cars it sells in the States.
Ford builds the Maverick and Bronco Sport at its Hermosillo plant in Sonora, Mexico. The Mustang Mach E is manufactured in Cuautitlan, Mexico, and the Ford Edge is made in Ontario, Canada.
Besides that, Ford builds most of the cars it sells here domestically.
“All of our iconic vehicles, really – F-150, Explorer, Bronco; on the Pro side, Super Duty and Transit – are all 100% built here in the U.S.,” said Ford Blue and Model e President Andrew Frick.
Ford brought the Bronco back in 2021.
Image source: Ford
Ford incentives bring buyers through the door
To help push sales and take advantage of buyers who are rushing to dealerships to buy inventory before tariffs hit, Ford launched its “From America, For America” campaign to provide customers with employee pricing.
“It’s really paid off for us in the last 60 days. You’ve seen a lot of the results in the market. Last month (May)… we actually posted a 14.7% share here in the U.S. That’s up 1.9 points of share on a year-over-year basis. A lot of times in this industry we fight for tenths of share, and to have a 1.9% increase year over year was very strong,” said Frick.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of this push has been the Ford Bronco.
Related: Ford CEO Jim Farley has a strong take on tariffs
Ford brought back its compact crossover SUV, the Bronco, in 2021 after a 25-year hiatus, and it has been selling well.
Ford says it sold 30,000 Broncos in May alone. The vehicle has become so popular that, according to Frick, the four-door Bronco beat the iconic Jeep Wrangler in sales for the seventh consecutive month.
“Our trucks had the best – when you look at our whole truck portfolio, it had the best month we have had in two decades,” Frick said.
Ford is taking advantage of the tariff situation
Ford released its May car sales report on Tuesday, June 3.
The company reported a 16.3% increase in May sales to 220,959, mainly due to its biggest, most gas-guzzling models.
Ford SUVs saw a 23% sales increase to 83,000, led by the Explorer, which had over 20,500 sold in the month. Meanwhile, Ford Trucks saw an 11.2% increase to 121,354 units sold.
Overall, Ford has sold 930,925 vehicles to date, a 6.1% year-over-year increase, despite the specter of tariffs upsetting the whole apple cart.
However, one area for the company that wasn’t in the green was electric vehicle sales.
Ford sold 25% fewer electric vehicles this month than last, accelerating a declining sales trend for a segment of the company’s brand that had been experiencing growth.
The Mustang Mach-E was the lone electric vehicle model to see sales growth, with an 11% increase to 4,274. In fact, the Mach E is inching towards overtaking its non-electric brother in sales.
Mustang sales were down 3% in the month to just over 5,000 sold.
