f-20241231
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-K
☑ Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2024
or
☐ Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the transition period from __________ to __________
Commission file number 1-3950
Ford Motor Co mpany
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 38-0549190
(State of incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
One American Road
Dearborn, Michigan 48126
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
313 - 322-3000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading symbols Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $.01 per share F New York Stock Exchange
6.200% Notes due June 1, 2059 FPRB New York Stock Exchange
6.000% Notes due December 1, 2059 FPRC New York Stock Exchange
6.500% Notes due August 15, 2062 FPRD New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☑ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☑
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☑ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☑ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☑
As of June 28, 2024, Ford had outstanding 3,904,327,951 shares of Common Stock and 70,852,076 shares of Class B Stock. Based on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Transaction closing price of the Common Stock on that date ($ 12.54 per share), the aggregate market value of such Common Stock was $ 48,960,272,506 . Although there is no quoted market for our Class B Stock, shares of Class B Stock may be converted at any time into an equal number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of effecting the sale or other disposition of such shares of Common Stock. The shares of Common Stock and Class B Stock outstanding at June 28, 2024 included shares owned by persons who may be deemed to be “affiliates” of Ford. We do not believe, however, that any such person should be considered to be an affiliate. For information concerning ownership of outstanding Common Stock and Class B Stock, see the Proxy Statement for Ford’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders currently scheduled to be held on May 8, 2025 (our “Proxy Statement”), which is incorporated by reference under various Items of this Report as indicated below.
As of February 3, 2025, Ford had outstanding 3,892,595,628 shares of Common Stock and 70,852,076 shares of Class B Stock. Based on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Transaction closing price of the Common Stock on that date ($ 9.89 per share), the aggregate market value of such Common Stock was $ 38,497,770,761 .
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Document Where Incorporated
Proxy Statement* Part III (Items 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14)
__________
* As stated under various Items of this Report, only certain specified portions of such document are incorporated by reference in this Report.
Exhibit Index begins on page 98
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2024
Table of Contents Page
Part I
Item 1 Business 1
Overview 2
Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro Segment 2
Ford Next Segment 5
Ford Credit Segment 6
Corporate Other 7
Interest on Debt 7
Governmental Standards 7
Human Capital Resources 14
Item 1A Risk Factors 17
Item 1B Unresolved Staff Comments 31
Item 1C Cybersecurity 32
Item 2 Properties 34
Item 3 Legal Proceedings 35
Item 4 Mine Safety Disclosures 37
Item 4A Information about our Executive Officers 38
Part II
Item 5 Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
39
Item 6 [Reserved] 40
Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 41
Key Trends and Economic Factors Affecting Ford and the Automotive Industry 41
Results of Operations - 2024 44
Ford Blue Segment 46
Ford Model e Segment 47
Ford Pro Segment 47
Ford Next Segment 49
Ford Credit Segment 49
Corporate Other 52
Interest on Debt 52
Taxes 52
Results of Operations - 2023 53
Ford Blue Segment 55
Ford Model e Segment 56
Ford Pro Segment 56
Ford Next Segment 57
Ford Credit Segment 57
Corporate Other 58
Interest on Debt 58
Taxes 58
Liquidity and Capital Resources 59
Credit Ratings 71
Outlook 72
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements 73
Non-GAAP Financial Measures That Supplement GAAP Measures 75
Table of Contents
(continued)
Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations 77
2024 Supplemental Financial Information 79
Critical Accounting Estimates 83
Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted 90
Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 91
Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 94
Item 9 Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 94
Item 9A Controls and Procedures 95
Item 9B Other Information 95
Item 9C Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 95
Part III
Item 10 Directors, Executive Officers of Ford, and Corporate Governance 96
Item 11 Executive Compensation 96
Item 12 Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
96
Item 13 Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 96
Item 14 Principal Accounting Fees and Services 96
Part IV
Item 15 Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 97
Item 16 Form 10-K Summary 102
Signatures 103
Ford Motor Company and Subsidiaries Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 105
Consolidated Income Statements 108
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 108
Consolidated Balance Sheets 109
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 110
Consolidated Statements of Equity 111
Notes to the Financial Statements 112
Schedule II — Valuation and Qualifying Accounts 177
PART I.
ITEM 1. Business.
Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1919. We acquired the business of a Michigan company, also known as Ford Motor Company, which had been incorporated in 1903 to produce and sell automobiles designed and engineered by Henry Ford. We are a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 171,000 employees worldwide, the Company is committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The Company’s Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities, and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars, and Lincoln luxury vehicles, along with connected services. The Company offers freedom of choice through three customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing breakthrough electric vehicles (“EVs”) along with embedded software that defines always-on digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro, helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses with vehicles and services tailored to their needs. Additionally, the Company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (“Ford Credit”).
In addition to the information about Ford and our subsidiaries contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (“2024 Form 10-K Report” or “Report”), extensive information about our Company can be found at https://corporate.ford.com , including information about our management team, brands, products, services, and corporate governance principles.
The corporate governance information on our website includes our Corporate Governance Principles, Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Personnel, Code of Ethics for the Board of Directors, Code of Corporate Conduct for all employees, and the Charters for each of the Committees of our Board of Directors. In addition, any amendments to our Code of Ethics or waivers granted to our directors and executive officers will be posted on our corporate website. All of these documents may be accessed by going to our corporate website, or may be obtained free of charge by writing to our Shareholder Relations Department, Ford Motor Company, One American Road, P.O. Box 1899, Dearborn, Michigan 48126-1899.
Our recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge at https://shareholder.ford.com . This includes recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments to those reports, and our Section 16 filings. We post each of these documents on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after it is electronically filed with the SEC. Our reports filed with the SEC also may be found on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov .
Our Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report, which details our performance and progress toward our sustainability and corporate responsibility goals, is available at https://sustainability.ford.com .
The foregoing information regarding our websites and their content is for convenience only and not deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Report nor filed with the SEC.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
OVERVIEW
Below is a description of our reportable segments and other activities as of December 31, 2024.
FORD BLUE SEGMENT
Ford Blue primarily includes the sale of Ford and Lincoln internal combustion engine (“ICE”) and hybrid vehicles, service parts, accessories, and digital services for retail customers, together with the associated costs of development, manufacture, and distribution of the vehicles, parts, accessories, and services. This segment focuses on developing Ford and Lincoln ICE and hybrid vehicles. Additionally, this segment provides hardware engineering and manufacturing capabilities to Ford Model e and manufactures vehicles on behalf of Ford Pro and, in certain cases, Ford Model e. Ford Blue also includes:
• All sales for markets not presently in scope for Ford Model e or Ford Pro (as further described below)
• In markets outside of the United States and Canada, sales to commercial, government, and rental customers of ICE and hybrid vehicles not considered core to Ford Pro
• Sales of EVs by our unconsolidated affiliates in China
• All sales of vehicles manufactured and sold to other OEMs
FORD MODEL E SEGMENT
Ford Model e primarily includes the sale of our electric vehicles, service parts, accessories, and digital services for retail customers, together with the associated costs of development, manufacture, and distribution of the vehicles, parts, accessories, and services. This segment focuses on developing EV and digital vehicle technologies, as well as software development. Additionally, Ford Model e provides software and connected vehicle technologies on behalf of the enterprise, and manufactures certain EVs, including for Ford Pro. Ford Model e operates in North America, Europe, and China. Ford Model e also includes EV and related sales not considered core to Ford Pro to commercial, government, and rental customers in Europe, China, and Mexico.
FORD PRO SEGMENT
Ford Pro primarily includes the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, accessories, and services for commercial, government, and rental customers. Included in this segment are sales of all core Ford Pro vehicles, such as Super Duty and the Transit range of vans in North America and Europe and all sales of Ranger in Europe. In the United States and Canada, Ford Pro also includes all vehicle sales to commercial, government, and rental customers. This segment focuses on selling ICE, hybrid, and electric vehicles, and providing digital and physical services to optimize and maintain fleets, including telematics and EV charging solutions. This segment reflects external sales of vehicles produced by Ford Blue and Ford Model e and the costs (including intersegment markup) associated with acquiring vehicles for sale and providing services. Ford Pro operates in North America and Europe.
General
Our vehicle brands are Ford and Lincoln. In 2024, we sold approximately 4,470,000 vehicles at wholesale throughout the world. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (“Item 7”) for a discussion of our calculation of wholesale unit volumes.
Substantially all of our vehicles, parts, and accessories are sold through distributors and dealers (collectively, “dealerships”), the substantial majority of which are independently owned. At December 31, the approximate number of dealerships worldwide distributing our vehicle brands was as follows:
Brand 2023 2024
Ford 8,639 8,212
Ford-Lincoln (combined) 503 451
Lincoln 385 343
Total 9,527 9,006
We do not depend on any single customer or a few customers to the extent that the loss of such customers would have a material adverse effect on our business.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
In addition to the products we sell to our dealerships for retail sale, we also sell vehicles to our dealerships for sale to fleet customers, including commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. We also sell parts and accessories, primarily to our dealerships (which, in turn, sell these products to retail customers) and to authorized parts distributors (which, in turn, primarily sell these products to retailers). We also offer extended service contracts.
The worldwide automotive industry is affected significantly by general economic and political conditions over which we have little control. Vehicles are durable goods, and consumers and businesses have latitude in determining whether and when to replace an existing vehicle. The decision whether to purchase a vehicle may be affected significantly by slowing economic growth, geopolitical events, and other factors (including the cost of purchasing and operating cars, trucks, and utility vehicles, the availability and cost of financing, cost of fuel, and electric vehicle charging availability and cost). As a result, the number of cars, trucks, and utility vehicles sold may vary substantially from year to year. Further, the automotive industry is a highly competitive business that has a wide and growing variety of product and service offerings from a growing number of manufacturers.
Our wholesale unit volumes vary with the level of total industry demand and our share of that industry demand. Our wholesale unit volumes also are influenced by the level of dealer inventory, and our ability to maintain sufficient production levels to support desired dealer inventory in the event of supplier disruptions or other types of disruptions affecting our production. Our share is influenced by how our products are perceived by customers in comparison to those offered by other manufacturers based on many factors, including price, quality, styling, reliability, safety, fuel efficiency, functionality, sustainability, and reputation. Our share also is affected by the timing and frequency of new model introductions. Our ability to satisfy changing consumer and business preferences with respect to type or size of vehicle, as well as design and performance characteristics and the services our vehicles offer, affects our sales and earnings significantly.
As with other manufacturers, the profitability of our business is affected by many factors, including:
• Wholesale unit volumes
• Margin of profit on each vehicle sold - which, in turn, is affected by many factors, such as:
◦ Market factors - volume and mix of vehicles and options sold, and net pricing (reflecting, among other factors, incentive programs)
◦ Costs of components and raw materials necessary for production of vehicles
◦ Costs for customer warranty claims and additional service actions
◦ Costs for safety, emissions, and fuel economy technology and equipment
• A high proportion of relatively fixed structural costs, so that small changes in wholesale unit volumes can significantly affect overall profitability
Although supply disruptions have resulted in a higher level of new vehicle prices, our industry has historically had a very competitive pricing environment, driven in part by excess capacity. For the past several decades, manufacturers typically have offered price discounts and other marketing incentives to provide value for customers and maintain market share and production levels, and we saw some of these actions resume as industry production and inventories improved in recent quarters. The decline in value of foreign currencies can also contribute significantly to competitive pressures in many of our markets.
Competitive Position. The worldwide automotive industry consists of many producers, with no single dominant producer. Certain manufacturers, however, account for the major percentage of total sales within particular countries, especially their countries of origin.
Seasonality. We manage our vehicle production schedule based on a number of factors, including retail sales (i.e., units sold by our dealerships to their customers at retail) and dealer stock levels (i.e., the number of units held in inventory by our dealerships for sale to their customers). Historically, we have experienced some seasonal fluctuation in the business, with production in many markets tending to be higher in the first half of the year to meet demand in the spring and summer (typically the strongest sales months of the year); however, that may not be the case in a particular year depending on the circumstances, e.g., if we have a higher number of vehicle launches (particularly for our higher volume vehicles) in the first half of the year, we would expect production in the second half of the year to be higher.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
Raw Materials. We purchase a wide variety of raw materials from numerous suppliers around the world for use in the production of, and development of technologies in, our vehicles. These materials include base metals (e.g., steel and aluminum), precious metals (e.g., palladium), energy (e.g., natural gas), and plastics/resins (e.g., polypropylene). As we transition to a greater mix of electric vehicles, we expect to increase our reliance on lithium, cobalt, and nickel, among other materials, for batteries. We expect to have adequate supplies or sources of availability of raw materials necessary to meet our needs; however, there always are risks and uncertainties with respect to the supply of raw materials that could impact availability in sufficient quantities and at cost effective prices to meet our needs. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for a discussion of the risks associated with a shortage of components or raw materials, supplier disruptions, and inflationary pressures, the “Key Trends and Economic Factors Affecting Ford and the Automotive Industry” section of Item 7 for a discussion of commodity and energy price changes, and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” (“Item 7A”) for a discussion of commodity price risks.
Intellectual Property. We own or hold licenses to use numerous patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks on a global basis. We expect to continue building this portfolio as we actively pursue innovation in every part of our business. We also own numerous trademarks and service marks that contribute to the identity and recognition of our Company and its products and services globally. While our intellectual property rights in the aggregate are important to the operation of each of our businesses, we do not believe that our business would be materially affected by the expiration of any particular intellectual property right or termination of any particular intellectual property agreement.
Warranty Coverage, Field Service Actions, and Customer Satisfaction Actions. We provide warranties on vehicles we sell. Warranties are offered for specific periods of time and/or mileage and vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Pursuant to these warranties, we will repair, replace, or adjust parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship during the specified warranty period. In addition to the costs associated with this warranty coverage provided on our vehicles, we also incur costs as a result of field service actions (i.e., safety recalls, emission recalls, and other product campaigns) and for customer satisfaction actions. Software updates are increasingly a component of vehicle service and may be performed during warranty coverage repairs, through field service actions, or through over-the-air updates.
For additional information regarding warranty and related costs, see “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 and Note 24 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Wholesales
Wholesales consist primarily of vehicles sold to dealerships. For the majority of such sales, we recognize revenue when we ship the vehicles to our dealerships from our manufacturing facilities. See Item 7 for additional discussion of revenue recognition practices. Wholesales in certain key markets during the past three years were as follows:
Wholesales (a)
(in thousands of units)
2022 2023 2024
United States 2,012 2,097 2,200
China (b) 495 467 442
Canada 258 260 269
United Kingdom 263 243 242
Germany 182 162 155
Türkiye
85 124 114
Italy 107 122 109
Australia (c) 71 89 104
France 90 104 78
Other Markets 668 745 757
Total Company 4,231 4,413 4,470
__________
(a) Wholesale unit volumes include sales of medium and heavy trucks. Wholesale unit volumes also include all Ford and Lincoln badged units (whether produced by Ford or by an unconsolidated affiliate) that are sold to dealerships or others, units manufactured by Ford that are sold to other manufacturers, units distributed by Ford for other manufacturers, local brand units produced by our unconsolidated Chinese joint venture Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. (“JMC”) that are sold to dealerships or others, and Ford badged vehicles produced in Taiwan by Lio Ho Group. Vehicles sold to daily rental car companies that are subject to a guaranteed repurchase option (i.e., rental repurchase), as well as other sales of finished vehicles for which the recognition of revenue is deferred (e.g., consignments), also are included in wholesale unit volumes. Revenue from certain vehicles in wholesale unit volumes (specifically, Ford badged vehicles produced and distributed by our unconsolidated affiliates, as well as JMC brand vehicles) are not included in our revenue.
(b) China includes Taiwan.
(c) Not previously presented.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
Sales, Industry Volume, and Market Share
Sales, industry volume, and market share in certain key markets during the past three years were as follows:
Sales (a) Industry Volume (b) Market Share (c)
(in millions of units) (in millions of units) (as a percentage)
2022 2023 2024 2022 2023 2024 2022 2023 2024
United States 1.9 2.0 2.1 14.2 16.1 16.4 13.1 % 12.4 % 12.6 %
China (d) 0.5 0.5 0.4 23.9 25.1 27.1 2.1 1.8 1.6
Canada 0.2 0.2 0.3 1.6 1.8 1.9 15.2 13.7 14.7
United Kingdom 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.9 2.3 2.4 12.1 10.8 9.6
Germany 0.2 0.2 0.2 3.0 3.2 3.2 5.7 5.1 5.0
Türkiye
0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 1.3 1.3 10.5 8.9 8.8
Italy 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.5 1.8 1.8 6.4 6.1 5.8
Australia (e) 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.1 1.2 1.2 6.2 7.2 8.2
France 0.1 0.1 0.1 2.0 2.3 2.2 3.9 3.9 3.5
__________
(a) Represents primarily sales by dealers, sales to the government, and leases to Ford management, and is based, in part, on estimated vehicle registrations; includes medium and heavy trucks.
(b) Industry volume is an internal estimate based on publicly available data collected from various government, private, and public sources around the globe; includes medium and heavy trucks.
(c) Market share represents reported retail sales of our brands as a percent of total industry volume in the relevant market or region.
(d) China includes Taiwan; China market share includes Ford brand and JMC brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliates.
(e) Not previously presented.
U.S. Sales by Type
The following table shows U.S. sales volume and U.S. wholesales (consisting primarily of vehicles sold to dealerships) segregated by electric, hybrid, and internal combustion vehicles. U.S. sales volume represents primarily sales by dealers, sales to the government, and leases to Ford management, and is based, in part, on estimated vehicle registrations and includes medium and heavy trucks.
U.S. Sales U.S. Wholesales
2023 2024 2023 2024
Electric Vehicles 72,608 97,865 99,928 68,990
Hybrid Vehicles 133,743 187,426 146,249 215,735
Internal Combustion Vehicles 1,789,561 1,793,541 1,850,448 1,914,862
Total Vehicles 1,995,912 2,078,832 2,096,625 2,199,587
FORD NEXT SEGMENT
In 2024, the Ford Next segment primarily included expenses and investments for emerging business initiatives aimed at creating value for Ford in vehicle-adjacent market segments. As of January 1, 2025, Ford Next is no longer a reportable segment, and those expenses and investments are now reflected in either the reportable segments that benefit from those expenses and investments or Corporate Other.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
FORD CREDIT SEGMENT
The Ford Credit segment is comprised of the Ford Credit business on a consolidated basis, which is primarily vehicle-related financing and leasing activities.
Ford Credit offers a wide variety of automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers throughout the world. The predominant share of Ford Credit’s business consists of financing our vehicles and supporting our dealers. Ford Credit earns its revenue primarily from payments made under retail installment sale and finance lease (retail financing) and operating lease contracts that it originates and purchases; interest rate supplements and other support payments from us and our affiliates; and payments made under dealer financing programs.
As a result of these financing activities, Ford Credit has a large portfolio of finance receivables and operating leases which it classifies into two portfolios —“consumer” and “non-consumer.” Finance receivables and operating leases in the consumer portfolio include products offered to individuals and businesses that finance the acquisition of our vehicles from dealers for personal and commercial use. Retail financing includes retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles and finance leases (comprised of sales-type and direct financing leases) for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, including leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. Finance receivables in the non-consumer portfolio include products offered to automotive dealers. Ford Credit makes wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory, also known as floorplan financing, as well as loans to dealers to finance working capital and improvements to dealership facilities, finance the purchase of dealership real estate, and finance other dealer vehicle programs. Ford Credit also purchases receivables generated by us and our affiliates, primarily related to the sale of parts and accessories to dealers and certain used vehicles from daily rental fleet companies. Ford Credit also provides financing to us for vehicles that we lease to our employees.
The majority of Ford Credit’s business is in the United States and Canada. Outside of the United States, Europe is Ford Credit’s largest operation. Ford Credit’s European operations are managed primarily through its United Kingdom-based subsidiary, FCE Bank plc (“FCE”), and its Germany-based subsidiary, Ford Bank GmbH (“Ford Bank”). Within Europe, Ford Credit’s largest markets are the United Kingdom and Germany.
See Item 7 and Notes 10 and 12 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a detailed discussion of Ford Credit’s receivables, credit losses, allowance for credit losses, loss-to-receivables ratios, funding sources, and funding strategies. See Item 7A for a discussion of how Ford Credit manages its financial market risks.
We routinely sponsor special retail financing and lease incentives to dealers’ customers who choose to finance or lease our vehicles from Ford Credit. In order to compensate Ford Credit for the lower interest or lease payments offered to the retail customer, we pay the discounted value of the incentive directly to Ford Credit when it originates the retail finance or lease contract with the dealer’s customer. These programs increase Ford Credit’s financing volume and share. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for information about our accounting for these programs.
We have a Third Amended and Restated Relationship Agreement with Ford Credit, pursuant to which, if Ford Credit’s financial statement leverage for a calendar quarter were to be higher than 12.5:1 (as reported in its most recent periodic report), Ford Credit could require us to make or cause to be made a capital contribution to it in an amount sufficient to have caused such financial statement leverage to have been 12.5:1. No capital contributions have been made pursuant to this agreement. In a separate agreement with FCE, Ford Credit has agreed to maintain FCE’s net worth in excess of $500 million. No payments have been made pursuant to that agreement.
Ford Credit files periodic reports with the SEC that contain additional information regarding Ford Credit. The reports are available through Ford Credit’s website located at www.ford.com/finance/investor-center and can also be found on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov .
The foregoing information regarding Ford Credit’s website and its content is for convenience only and not deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Report nor filed with the SEC.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
CORPORATE OTHER
Corporate Other primarily includes corporate governance expenses, past service pension and other postretirement employee benefits (“OPEB”) income and expense, interest income (excluding Ford Credit interest income and interest earned on our extended service contract portfolio) and gains and losses from our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities (excluding gains and losses on investments in equity securities), and foreign exchange derivatives gains and losses associated with intercompany lending. Corporate governance expenses are primarily administrative, delivering benefit on behalf of the global enterprise, that are not allocated to operating segments. These include expenses related to setting and directing global policy, providing oversight and stewardship, and promoting the Company’s interests. Corporate Other assets include: cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, tax related assets, defined benefit pension plan net assets, and other assets managed centrally.
INTEREST ON DEBT
Interest on Debt consists of interest expense on Company debt excluding Ford Credit.
GOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS
Many governmental standards and regulations relating to safety, fuel economy, air pollution emissions control, noise control, vehicle recycling, substances of concern, vehicle damage, and theft prevention are applicable to new motor vehicles, engines, and equipment. In addition, manufacturing and other automotive assembly facilities are subject to stringent standards regulating air emissions, water discharges, and the handling and disposal of hazardous substances. The most significant of the standards and regulations affecting us are discussed below:
U.S. Vehicle Emissions Standards and Fuel Economy
Federal and California Emissions Standards. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) have motor vehicle tailpipe and evaporative emissions standards that become increasingly stringent over time. In addition to regulating emissions of certain pollutants—known as “criteria pollutants”—for which EPA has adopted ambient health-based standards (e.g., oxides of nitrogen), EPA and CARB also regulate greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) from vehicles (e.g., carbon dioxide). EPA and CARB also require: that vehicles and engines are durable enough to meet emissions standards for prescribed amounts of time; that vehicles and engines be equipped with on-board diagnostic (“OBD”) systems that monitor emissions-related systems and components; and that manufacturers offer and honor warranties on certain emissions-related components. Vehicles and engines must be certified by EPA prior to sale in the United States and by CARB prior to sale in California and those states that have adopted California’s standards.
Manufacturers generally demonstrate compliance with emissions standards on a fleet-wide, production-volume-weighted basis, and over time through a system based on credits. Manufacturers may generate credits insofar as their products emit less than the emissions standards, and may incur and carry credit deficits for a limited amount of time insofar as their products emit more than the emissions standards. Under certain circumstances, manufacturers may sell credits to other manufacturers, who may then use the purchased credits to cure a deficit. If a manufacturer fails to comply with applicable emissions standards, even after considering its ability to carry deficits and use credits, then EPA and CARB may take various actions, including withholding approvals to sell new vehicles and engines and/or enforcement actions for civil penalties and injunctive relief.
For light-duty cars and trucks, EPA and CARB each maintain emissions standards for both criteria pollutants and GHGs. In 2021, EPA promulgated emissions standards for GHGs for the 2023 through 2026 model years, and then in 2024 promulgated emission standards for criteria pollutants and GHGs for the 2027 through 2032 model years. Both sets of standards are subject to pending legal challenges. CARB also has emissions standards for criteria pollutants and GHGs in place through the 2025 model year. In 2022, CARB promulgated emissions standards for criteria pollutants for the 2026 through 2035 model years. Currently, CARB is considering adopting emissions standards for GHGs for future model years. These EPA and CARB standards also include updates to durability, warranty, and OBD requirements.
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Item 1. Business (Continued)
For heavy-duty vehicles and engines, EPA maintains emissions standards for criteria emissions and GHGs. In 2022, EPA promulgated emissions standards for criteria emissions for 2027 and beyond. In 2024, EPA promulgated emissions standards for GHGs for the 2027 through 2032 model years, and these GHG standards are subject to pending legal challenges. CARB also has emissions standards for criteria pollutants and GHGs. CARB has adopted emissions standards for criteria pollutants for 2024 and later model years. CARB has also adopted emissions standards for GHGs for 2027 and beyond. These EPA and CARB standards also include updates to durability, warranty, and OBD requirements.
Seventeen states (referenced as “opt-in” states) have adopted CARB’s light-duty emissions standards, and nine opt-in states have adopted California’s heavy-duty emissions standards. The list of opt-in states changes over time, based on the legislative, executive, and regulatory actions by each individual state.
California ZEV Requirements. California requires manufacturers to produce and deliver for sale zero-emission vehicles (“ZEVs”), which include electric vehicles. This is in addition to the emissions standards outlined above. California’s regulations, which use a system based on credits (whether generated by us or purchased from another manufacturer) that can be banked and carried forward, require annual percentage increases in the production and sale of ZEVs. For light-duty vehicles, in the 2025 model year, CARB regulations require that approximately 22% of a manufacturer’s California light-duty vehicle sales volume be ZEVs. In the 2026 model year, this grows to 35%, and the requirements continue to grow each year, rising to 100% by the 2035 model year. For heavy-duty vehicles, CARB regulations likewise require year-over-year increases in the percentage of a manufacturer’s California sales volume that must be ZEVs, with current percentages in the single digits growing to well over 50% by 2035.
Sixteen opt-in states have adopted California’s ZEV requirements for light-duty vehicles, and 10 opt-in states have adopted California’s ZEV requirements for heavy-duty vehicles. The list of opt-in states changes over time, based on the legislative, executive, and regulatory actions by each individual state.
California Waivers of Clean Air Act Preemption. The federal Clean Air Act preempts states from establishing their own standards, except the Act provides that the EPA shall waive that preemption and thereby allow California to establish its own standards if, among other requirements, those standards will be at least as protective of public health and welfare as federal standards.
For decades, California has requested, and EPA has granted, waivers to allow California to implement emissions standards (and, likewise, allow opt-in states to implement those same standards within their borders). In some cases, EPA withheld approval of waivers. In 2019, during the first Trump administration, in an unprecedented move, the EPA rescinded a previously granted waiver (for California’s emissions standards for GHGs through the 2025 model year). Then, in 2022, during the Biden administration, the EPA reinstated that waiver, allowing California to enforce the relevant standards as though the waiver was never rescinded. These actions reflect policy differences between subsequent presidential administrations and remain the subject of ongoing legal challenges. Such rescissions and reinstatements, and pending and future legal challenges concerning California’s authority, create significant uncertainty for regulated manufacturers about the need to comply with California and opt-in state requirements.
To manage the uncertainty from the 2019 waiver rescission, pending legal challenges, and other considerations, Ford reached an agreement with California and opt-in states on a set of terms for an alternative framework in which Ford committed to meet a designated set of GHG standards on a national basis for the 2021 through 2026 model years that were more stringent than the then-rolled back federal standards in lieu of the California regulatory program. This framework enabled Ford to continue its product planning on a nationwide basis. EPA’s emissions standards for GHGs, as finalized in 2021 and currently in place through the 2026 model year, get stricter over time and become more stringent than this California framework agreement. Such framework agreements are a possibility for manufacturers to manage similar uncertainty in the future.
EPA has issued waivers for the emissions standards and ZEV requirements outlined above. The incoming administration has stated an intent to rescind one or more of these waivers.
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Federal Fuel Economy Requirements. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) requires that light-duty vehicles meet minimum corporate average fuel economy (“CAFE”) standards, and that certain heavy-duty vehicles meet fuel efficiency standards. For CAFE standards, NHTSA establishes separate standards applicable to three subsets of manufacturers’ products: domestic passenger cars, imported passenger cars, and light-duty trucks. In 2022, NHTSA promulgated fuel economy standards for the 2024 through 2026 model years. In 2024, NHTSA promulgated fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles for the 2027 through 2031 model years, as well as standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans for the 2030 through 2035 model years. These recently finalized standards are the subject of ongoing legal challenges. Manufacturers are subject to pre-determined civil penalties if they fail to meet fuel economy standards in any model year, after taking into account all available credits for the preceding five model years and expected credits for the three succeeding model years.
Alignment and Misalignment of Standards. Because the vast majority of GHGs emitted by a vehicle are the result of fuel combustion, GHG emissions correspond closely with fuel economy. Before approximately the 2020 model year, NHTSA and EPA aligned their standards, and California agreed that compliance with the federal program would satisfy compliance with its own GHG requirements, thereby avoiding a patchwork of federal and state standards. Since approximately the 2021 model year, EPA and NHTSA have independently promulgated GHG and fuel economy standards, and while they generally avoided material inconsistencies between the standards, they nonetheless created complexity and redundancy for manufacturers that must meet both sets of standards. Also since approximately the 2021 model year, California and opt-in states have maintained emissions standards and ZEV requirements, outlined above, which are not aligned with and are generally more stringent than the federal requirements and are outside the scope of the existing framework agreement with California described above.
Implications for Ford. The requirements for light-duty vehicles outlined above apply to most cars, sport utility vehicles, and light-duty pickup trucks that Ford sells in the United States. The requirements for heavy-duty vehicles and engines outlined above apply to most heavy-duty pickup trucks, vans, cab-chassis products, and vocational vehicles that Ford sells in the United States. Ford is subject to each separate regulatory regime, and in general, this means separate compliance measures for each regulator and for each regulated pollutant and performance standard. EPA, NHTSA, and CARB have requirements that govern the same aspects of the same products at the same time, as outlined above. Different standards pose additional compliance burdens, including complexity and costs, and these burdens are heightened when these various requirements are misaligned or change, e.g., when there is a change in administration or as a result of a legal challenge.
Compliance with emissions standards, ZEV requirements, fuel economy standards, OBD requirements, emissions warranty requirements, and related regulations can be challenging and can drive increased product development costs, production costs, higher retail prices, warranty costs, and vehicle recalls. Compliance depends in part on the widespread availability of high-quality and consistent automotive fuels that internal combustion vehicles are designed to use. Insofar as regulatory requirements get increasingly stringent, manufacturers must comply by increasing their sales of electric vehicles and other ZEVs, as a portion of overall sales. This is directly required by California’s ZEV requirements, but is also required to comply with the emissions and fuel economy standards described above, which are not achievable solely through sales of internal combustion engines with today’s technology. Sales of electric vehicles continue to grow, however there are factors limiting faster and future growth including: supportive public policy; consumer acceptance and understanding of electric vehicles; upfront costs; technology cost and readiness; battery raw material availability and cost; and the availability of adequate infrastructure to support vehicle charging.
Stringent requirements that are misaligned with market conditions could force Ford to take various product-led actions that could have substantial adverse effects on its sales volumes and operations. Such actions could include: restricting offerings of certain products and popular options; taking actions to increase sales of Ford’s lowest-emitting and most fuel-efficient vehicles; and curtailing the production and sale of certain internal combustion vehicles. For example, in those opt-in states that have adopted California’s ZEV requirements for light-duty vehicles, industrywide sales of ZEVs are growing but generally are not on track to meet the ZEV requirements as early as the 2026 model year, and product-led actions may be necessary to ensure compliance.
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To some extent, Ford can manage and is managing these risks in the United States and elsewhere by purchasing emissions credits from other vehicle manufacturers when the cost of those credits is less than the financial impact of the product-led actions listed above. Such credits are available only from other manufacturers and only to the extent those manufacturers exceed compliance requirements. Credits will have limited availability and may not be adequate to completely eliminate the need for product-led actions. Accordingly, we have made a strategic decision to enter into agreements to purchase regulatory compliance credits for current and future model years in various regions. Our obligations under these agreements are dependent on the continued existence of an underlying regulatory compliance requirement in the applicable jurisdiction. Further, the number of credits we may ultimately purchase is dependent on the sellers’ delivery of the credits. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we entered into agreements for the purchase of about $500 million of regulatory compliance credits, and for full year 2024, we entered into agreements for the purchase of about $4.3 billion of such credits. As of December 31, 2024, our outstanding purchase obligations under our compliance credit purchase agreements totaled about $4.2 billion. During 2024, we recorded about $200 million of expense for our estimated utilization of regulatory compliance credits related to current compliance period volumes (e.g., model year, calendar year), which was allocated to Ford Blue and Ford Pro results.
Ford’s ability to optimize investments and planning for compliance is hampered by sudden or frequent changes in applicable emissions and fuel economy standards and ZEV requirements. Such changes can include rescissions and reinstatements of Clean Air Act waivers for California, court decisions that change applicable regulatory requirements, and significant changes to the stringency of federal requirements with each subsequent administration.
Global Vehicle Emissions Standards and Fuel Economy
European Emissions Standards. EU and U.K. regulations, directives, and related legislation limit the amount of regulated pollutants that may be emitted by new motor vehicles and engines sold in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Regulatory stringency has increased significantly with the application of Stage VI emission standards (first introduced in 2014) and the implementation of a laboratory test cycle for CO 2 and emissions and the introduction of on-road emission testing using portable emission analyzers (Real Driving Emission or “RDE”). These on-road emission tests are in addition to the laboratory-based tests (first introduced in 2017). The divergence between the regulatory limit that is tested in laboratory conditions and the allowed values measured in RDE tests will ultimately be reduced to zero as the regulatory demands increase. In addition, new requirements for tailpipe and non-tailpipe emissions will be included in the upcoming Euro 7 regulation and will be phased in beginning in November 2026 for new vehicle types and for all vehicles in November 2027. The costs associated with complying with all of these requirements are significant, and following the EU Commission’s indication of its intent to accelerate emissions rules in its road map publication “EU Green Deal” as well as the EU sustainable mobility action plan, these challenges will continue in European markets, including the United Kingdom. In addition, the Whole Vehicle Type Approval (“WVTA”) regulation has been updated to increase the stringency of in-market surveillance. Moreover, following the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, we may be subject to diverging requirements in our European markets, which could increase vehicle complexity and duties.
There continues to be an increasing trend of city access restrictions for internal combustion engine powered vehicles. These access rules are developed by individual cities based on their specific concerns, resulting in rapid deployment of access rules that differ greatly among cities. The speed of implementation of access rules may directly influence customer vehicle residual values and choice of next purchase. In an effort to support the Paris Accord, some countries are adopting yearly increases in CO 2 taxes, where such a system is in place, and publishing dates by when internal combustion powered vehicles may no longer be registered, e.g., Norway in 2025 and the Netherlands in 2030.
Other National Emissions Control Requirements. Many countries, in an effort to address air quality and climate change concerns, have adopted previous versions of European or United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (“UN-ECE”) mobile source emission regulations. Some countries have adopted more advanced regulations based on the most recent version of European or U.S. regulations. For example, the China Stage VI light-duty vehicle emission standards, based on European Stage VI emission standards for light-duty vehicles, U.S. evaporative and refueling emissions standards, and CARB OBD II requirements, incorporate two levels of stringency for tailpipe emissions. Under the level one (VI(a)) standard, the emissions limits are comparable to the EU Stage VI limits, except for carbon monoxide, which is 30% lower than the EU Stage VI limit. The more stringent level two (VI(b)) standard’s emissions limits, which are currently in place nationwide in China, are approximately 30-50% lower than the EU Stage VI limits, depending on the pollutants. China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment is currently drafting the China Stage VII emission standards, which are expected to impose significantly lower allowable emission levels for pollutants as compared to the Stage VI limits and be expanded to add GHGs. Detailed proposals for these new standards are expected by the end of 2025. Mexico and most countries in Central America, the Caribbean, and South America continue to evolve and implement more stringent requirements accepting Europe and U.S. regulations, except Brazil, which has a unique local process called PROCONVE based on U.S. regulations for light-duty vehicles and European regulations for heavy-duty vehicles. Other
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countries across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Australasia expect to introduce regulations based on EU Stage VI standards in the near term. Canadian criteria emissions regulations are largely aligned with U.S. requirements, and Canada accepts U.S. EPA certifications of vehicles and engines prior to their sale in Canada.
Elsewhere, there is a mix of regulations and processes based on U.S. and EU standards. Not all countries have adopted appropriate fuel quality standards to accompany the stringent emission standards adopted. This could lead to compliance problems, particularly if OBD or in-use surveillance requirements are implemented.
Global Developments. Vehicle emissions regulators continue to focus on the use of “defeat devices.” Defeat devices are elements of design (typically embedded in software) that improperly cause the emission control system to function less effectively during normal on-road driving than during an official laboratory emissions test, without justification. They are prohibited by law in many jurisdictions, and we do not use defeat devices in our vehicles.
Regulators around the world continue to scrutinize automakers’ emission testing, which has led to a number of defeat device settlements by various manufacturers. EPA is carrying out additional non-standard tests as part of its vehicle certification program. CARB has also been conducting extensive non-standard emission tests, which in some cases have resulted in certification delays for diesel vehicles. In the past, several European countries have conducted non-standard emission tests and published the results, and, in some cases, this supplemental testing has triggered investigations of manufacturers for possible defeat devices. Testing is expected to continue on an ongoing basis, with new testing methods continually under development. In addition, plaintiffs’ attorneys are pursuing consumer class action lawsuits based on alleged excessive emissions from cars and trucks, which could, in turn, prompt further investigations by regulators.
European GHG Requirements. The European Union regulates passenger car and light commercial vehicle CO 2 emissions using sliding scales with different CO 2 targets for each manufacturer based on the respective average vehicle weight for its fleet of vehicles first registered in a calendar year, with separate targets for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. A penalty system applies to manufacturers failing to meet the individual CO 2 targets. Pooling agreements between manufacturers to utilize credits are possible under certain conditions, and Ford has entered into such pooling agreements in order to comply with fuel economy regulations without paying a penalty and to enable other manufacturers to benefit from our positive CO 2 performance. For “multi-stage vehicles” (e.g., Ford’s Transit chassis cabs), the base manufacturer (e.g., Ford) is fully responsible for the CO 2 performance of the final up-fitted vehicles. The initial target levels get significantly more stringent every five years (2025, 2030, and 2035), after which all new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles must be zero emission, requiring significant investments in alternative propulsion technologies and extensive fleet management to enable low CO 2 emissions for our fleet. EU heavy-duty CO 2 regulations are being finalized and will also limit CO 2 fleet performance, with slightly different requirements. The United Kingdom and Switzerland have introduced similar rules for light-duty vehicles, and the United Kingdom has adopted a ZEV mandate as well as CO 2 fleet limits for non-ZEV vehicles starting in 2024.
The EU Commission has introduced mandatory requirements for national authorities to conduct in-service verification testing on vehicles to measure their actual CO 2 emissions in the field. It is also investigating the introduction of Real Driving CO 2 and Life Cycle Assessment elements, and heavy-duty vehicles are addressed in separate regulations with analogous requirements and challenges. As discussed above, the EU Commission has announced a “Green Deal” with more stringent requirements for CO 2 emissions (including stricter CO 2 fleet regulations) and other regulated emissions and include recycling and substance restrictions. While the EU Commission targets net climate neutrality by 2050 and an ambitious 2030 interim target (a 55% CO 2 reduction across all industries compared to 1990), several countries, such as Germany, have adopted stricter interim targets and earlier net climate neutrality targets.
Ford also faces the risk of advance premium payments for both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in all European markets due to, for example, unexpected market fluctuations and shorter lead times impacting average fleet performance.
The United Nations developed a technical regulation for passenger car emissions and CO 2 . This world light-duty test procedure (“WLTP”) is focused primarily on better aligning laboratory CO 2 and fuel consumption figures with customer-reported figures. The introduction of WLTP in Europe started in September 2017 and requires updates to CO 2 labeling, thereby impacting taxes in countries with a CO 2 tax scheme as well as CO 2 fleet regulations for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Costs associated with new or incremental testing for WLTP are significant.
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Some European countries have implemented or are considering other initiatives for reducing CO 2 vehicle emissions, including fiscal measures and CO 2 labeling to address country specific targets associated with the Paris Accord. For example, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, among others, have introduced taxation based on CO 2 emissions. The EU CO 2 requirements are likely to trigger further measures. In addition, delayed vehicle launches and supply shortages, as well as an insufficient charging infrastructure and lower demand for ZEV and low CO 2 emission vehicles as certain electric vehicle incentives are reduced or eliminated or for other reasons, can trigger compliance risks in all European markets.
European regulators are also starting to look beyond tailpipe CO 2 emissions with new requirements for battery electric vehicles and life cycle assessments. For example, the EU Battery Regulation, which came into effect in August 2024, introduces a range of new requirements, including that manufacturers calculate and declare the carbon footprint of their EV batteries and track their environmental performance throughout their life cycles. Maximum carbon footprint thresholds are expected to be set in 2028. Compliance with regulations like these will require manufacturers to navigate complex data collection, calculation, and reporting processes.
In addition to imposing strict emissions requirements, European regulations are increasingly including other sustainability requirements, such as reporting obligations and supply chain due diligence. While these regulations are applicable in European jurisdictions, they often apply to global corporations across jurisdictions and require adjustments in corporate processes, policies, and strategies, which may be costly. For example, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires companies to disclose the compatibility of their business model and strategy with limiting global warming to 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement. Companies that fail to comply with these requirements could face significant monetary penalties and suffer reputational harm.
In 2023, the EU adopted the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”), which will subject certain imported materials (such as iron, steel, and aluminum) to a carbon levy linked to the carbon price payable on domestic goods under the European Trading Scheme. The EU CBAM could increase our costs of importing such materials from 2026 onwards and/or limit our ability to import lower cost materials from non-EU countries. A similar CBAM is expected to be introduced in the United Kingdom in 2027.
Other National GHG and Fuel Economy Requirements. The Canadian federal government regulates vehicle GHG emissions under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. A majority of the U.S. EPA light-duty vehicle standards are automatically adopted in Canada by reference to the United States Code of Federal Regulations, with a few standalone administrative elements. Similarly, heavy-duty vehicle and engine GHG emissions regulations in Canada also incorporate U.S. EPA rules by reference; however, while currently aligned, model year emission targets are standalone in Canada’s heavy-duty vehicle and engine regulations and, therefore, are not automatically updated with any updates to U.S. law. Ford expects that the federal government in Canada will continue to align its standards with the new EPA standards for the 2027 model year and beyond. In 2023, the Canadian federal government also published light-duty ZEV sales requirements through amendments to the Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations. The amendments require annual sales percentages starting with 20% for the 2026 model year to 100% by the 2035 model year. The provinces of Quebec and British Columbia have regulations requiring that 100% of new vehicle sales be ZEVs by 2035. Both provinces have also started developing heavy-duty ZEV mandates based on CARB’s standards. Compliance with ZEV and emissions requirements depends heavily on market conditions that promote consumer preference for EVs, such as technology readiness, purchase incentives, and affordability, as well as the availability and reliability of adequate infrastructure to support vehicle charging. In addition to the ZEV mandate, Quebec is also developing a regulation to ban the sale of light-duty internal combustion engine vehicles as of 2035.
Regional governments across the globe have adopted or are considering implementing, and in some cases introducing, emissions regulations that align with CAFE standards. For example, China’s Corporate Average Fuel Consumption and New Energy Vehicle (“NEV”) Credits Administrative Rules contain fuel consumption requirements as well as credit mandates for NEV passenger vehicles, i.e., plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles, or fuel cell vehicles. The fuel consumption requirement, which is based on the WLTP, uses a weight-based approach to establish targets, with year-over-year target reductions. The credit mandates require OEMs to generate a specific amount of NEV credits each year based on a percentage of the OEM’s annual ICE vehicle production or import volume, with the percentage increasing year over year. China also imposes a national standard governing fuel consumption limits for passenger vehicles that are produced and to be sold domestically in China. An updated version of this national standard, which will impose more stringent fuel consumption limits, will be implemented in January 2026. China is also drafting mandatory national standards for limits on electrical energy consumption of battery electric vehicles, which are expected to be implemented in early 2026. It is also expected that later in 2025, China will start drafting a new national standard imposing electrical energy consumption limits on PHEVs as well.
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South American countries are implementing stricter standards for vehicle energy efficiency and sustainability as well. For example, in 2024, Brazil introduced its MOVER Program, which aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions from Brazil’s automotive fleet through financial incentives for investments in sustainable technologies. In addition to setting stricter fuel economy targets starting in 2027, MOVER mandates new requirements for recyclability and GHG emission reporting.
As discussed above and below in Item 1A. Risk Factors under “ Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans and facilities to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous driving technology, environmental, and other regulations,” in addition to the rates of EV growth, production disruptions, stop ships, supply chain limitations, lower-than-planned market acceptance of our vehicles, and/or other circumstances may cause us to modify product plans or, in some cases, purchase credits in order to comply with emissions standards, fuel economy standards, or ZEV requirements.
Vehicle Safety
U.S. Requirements. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (the “Safety Act”) regulates vehicles and vehicle equipment in two primary ways. First, the Safety Act prohibits the sale in the United States of any new vehicle or equipment that does not conform to applicable vehicle safety standards established by NHTSA. Meeting or exceeding many safety standards is costly and has continued to evolve as global compliance requirements and public domain (e.g., New Car Assessment Programs (“NCAPs”), Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”), and the China Insurance Auto Safety Index) ratings and assessments continue to evolve, are increasing in demands, and lack harmonization globally. As we expand our business priorities to include autonomous vehicle technologies and broader mobility products and services, our financial exposure has increased. Similarly, federal and state regulatory requirements are growing quickly as lawmakers and regulators adapt to advancements in automation, ranging from driver-assistance technologies such as automatic braking to fully autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicle and driver assist technologies continue to be scrutinized by the government, and actual or perceived failures or misuse of these technologies and features have led to government investigations and inquiries, including of Ford, which has responded to information requests from NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board about our hands-free highway driving system, BlueCruise. Ford and other OEMs are required to report to NHTSA any crashes that meet NHTSA-defined criteria and occur when certain advanced driver assistance system features are in use. Second, the Safety Act requires that defects related to motor vehicle safety be remedied through safety recall campaigns. A manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it or NHTSA determines the vehicles contain a non-compliance or a defect resulting in an unreasonable risk to safety. Should we or NHTSA determine that either a safety defect or noncompliance issue exists with respect to any of our vehicles, the cost of such recall campaigns could be substantial.
European Requirements. The EU has established vehicle safety standards and regulations and is likely to adopt additional or more stringent requirements in the future, especially in the areas of access to in-vehicle data, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicle technologies.
The European General Safety Regulation (“GSR”) introduced UN-ECE regulations, which are required for the European Type Approval process. The GSR includes the mandatory introduction of multiple active and passive safety features, including cybersecurity requirements for all registrations, which began in 2024. EU regulators are focusing on active safety features, such as lane departure warning systems, electronic stability control, and automatic brake assist. Electric vehicle safety continues to be an active area of regulation in the EU, with UN-ECE Regulation No. 100 establishing safety requirements for EVs and mandating certain testing of electrical powertrains. Furthermore, mobile network providers in certain EU Member States have begun shutting down their 2G and 3G networks, which form the basis for e-Call system functionality in existing vehicles. The e-Call systems in existing vehicles may need to be updated as these systems are phased out. It is also possible that the EU may mandate Member States to maintain these networks to allow for the continued functionality of existing e-Call systems.
Other National Requirements. Globally, governments generally have been adopting UN-ECE based regulations with minor variations to address local concerns. Any difference between North American and UN-ECE based regulations can add complexity and costs to the development of global platform vehicles, and we continue to support efforts to harmonize regulations to reduce vehicle design complexity while providing a common level of safety performance; we are seeking new opportunities in bilateral negotiations that can potentially contribute to this goal.
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Safety and recall requirements in Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”) countries may add substantial costs and complexity to our global recall practice. Brazil has set mandatory fleet safety targets and penalties are applied if these levels are not maintained, while a tax reduction may be available for over-performance. In Canada, regulatory requirements are mostly aligned with U.S. regulations; however, under the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Minister of Transport has broad powers to order manufacturers to submit a notice of defect or non-compliance when the Minister considers it to be in the interest of safety. In 2021, Canada started preliminary consultations on several new proposed regulations. Final regulations for Administrative Monetary Penalties took effect in 2023. Draft regulations for Analysis of Technical Information for Vehicles and Equipment are expected to be released in 2025 and will likely contain some reporting requirements that are unique to Canada. In China, new standards related to electronic architecture and devices (including e-Call and radio systems) are expected to take effect in 2027 or 2028, and will be more comprehensive than UN-ECE requirements. Additionally, new mandatory national standards for intelligent connected vehicles governing vehicle information security, software updates, and autonomous driving data recording systems are currently under development in China and will take effect in January 2026. Similarly, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, legislators are focusing on regulating driver assistance and autonomous driving technologies, as well as cyber and data security for connected vehicles. In Malaysia and South Korea, mandatory e-Call requirements are being drafted. E-Call is mandatory in the UAE for new vehicles, and, following an update to its next generation e-Call regulations, will be required in Saudi Arabia beginning with the 2027 model year.
New Car Assessment Programs. Organizations around the world rate and compare motor vehicles in NCAPs to provide consumers and businesses with additional information about the safety of new vehicles. NCAPs use crash tests and other evaluations that are different and often more stringent than what is required by applicable regulations. Vehicle safety is rated using stars, with five stars awarded for the highest safety rating and one for the lowest. Achieving high NCAP ratings, which may vary by country or region, can add complexity and cost to vehicles. Similarly, environmental rating systems exist in various regions, e.g., Green NCAP in Europe. In China, updated NCAP protocols were implemented in 2024, requiring more stringent assessment methods for both passive and active safety technologies and expanding the scope of such assessments to pick-up trucks and commercial vans. In Southeast Asia and Latin America, an updated NCAP test and rating protocol is similarly forecast to be effective beginning in 2026 and is expected to put greater emphasis on assessment of driver assistance technologies. These protocols impose additional requirements relating to testing, evaluation, and mandatory safety features, and compliance with them (or any subsequent updates to them) may be costly.
HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
People Strategy and Governance
We strive to create an employee experience that enables an inclusive environment of excellence, focus, and collaboration among team members, allowing us to deliver short- and long-term business success. Ford maintains an Executive People Forum consisting of the CEO and top leadership team that meets monthly with a specific focus on people and organizational topics that will enable and accelerate delivery of our Ford+ plan. Key topic areas include Compensation & Retention; Organization Design; Talent Planning & Development; and Inclusion and Culture.
Our Board of Directors and Board committees provide important oversight on human capital matters, including items discussed at the Executive People Forum. The Compensation, Talent and Culture Committee maintains responsibility to review, discuss, and set strategic direction for various people-related business strategies, including: compensation and benefit programs, leadership succession planning, inclusive culture, and talent development programs. The Sustainability, Innovation and Policy Committee is responsible for discussing and advising management on maintaining and improving sustainability strategies, the implementation of which creates value consistent with the long-term preservation and enhancement of shareholder value and social wellbeing, including human rights, working conditions, and responsible sourcing. Collective recommendations to the Board and its committees are an important part of how we proactively manage our human capital and create an employee experience that allows employees and our organization to thrive.
Employee Health and Safety
Nothing is more important than the health, safety, and wellbeing of our employees and we consistently strive to achieve world-class levels of safety through the application of sound policies and best practices. We maintain a robust safety culture designed to reduce workplace injuries, supported by effective communication, reporting, and external benchmarking.
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We verify compliance with regulatory requirements as well as our internal safety standards. To prevent recurrence of workplace injuries, regular updates are provided to Company management on key safety issues, including safety key performance indicators (“KPI”), significant incidents, and high potential near misses. As a Company, we participate in multi-industry benchmarking groups, within and outside the automotive sector, to share safety best practices and collaborate on common health and safety concerns.
In 2024, there were zero employee fatality incidents globally. Proactive initiatives and leading safety metrics have been implemented as we strive to prevent workplace injuries and reduce risk to our employees and contractors.
Building a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace
At Ford, we are committed to supporting and sustaining a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees. We believe this empowers every person to do their best work and ultimately achieve the Ford+ plan. We actively recruit and hire the best talent and are proud that our workforce is made up of people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences so we can deliver the best products and services for our customers around the world.
Ford offers 10 global Employee Resource Groups (“ERGs”) that represent various dimensions of our employee population, including, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, LGBTQ+, disability, veterans, and generation with chapters throughout the world. All ERGs are open to all employees and are instrumental in providing a voice to our global workforce, while also providing valuable insights into the employee experience and product and service development.
We work to strengthen collaboration across the organization by embedding inclusion in the leadership behaviors that support the Ford operating system. We also leverage the benefit of diversity by listening to the voices of our employees and stakeholders, which strengthen our workplace, systems, and offerings and ultimately drive value for the business.
Our workforce statistics include the following as of December 31, 2024: 28.0% of our salaried employees worldwide are women; 25.7% of our total salaried and hourly employees in the United States are women; and 36.5% of our total salaried and hourly employees in the United States are underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
Talent Attraction, Growth, and Capability Assessment
Talent attraction at Ford is evolving with the transformation of our business. We are sourcing and attracting candidates from multiple industries and regions of the world. We continue to recruit talent from traditional industries, such as manufacturing and consulting, and have been successful in attracting talent from non-traditional industries, specifically the technology industry. This is important as we build our expertise in growth areas such as software, electrification, and integrated services.
From a capability perspective, we leverage best practices in assessments and talent management to strengthen our current capabilities and future pipeline while reinforcing a culture of excellence, focus, and collaboration. The performance management process is reviewed regularly to ensure we set clear expectations, measure individual performance, and reward appropriately. Our process includes a semi-annual review of each individual’s performance to objectives and demonstration of expected behaviors of excellence, focus, and collaboration.
Finally, the extent to which our People Leaders are equipped to drive our transformation plays a vital role in our strategy, and we are committed to helping our leaders strengthen their capabilities with dedicated traditional and non-traditional learning opportunities. Our leadership strategy equips our leaders with the capabilities to deliver business results and grow the talent needed to meet our organizational needs.
Competitive Benefit Programs
We provide employees with a competitive, comprehensive, and flexible set of benefits and resources to support their financial, social, mental/emotional, physical, and professional health. Our comprehensive global benefits programs are designed to attract and retain top talent worldwide. These programs include a wide range of resources and solutions to educate, empower, and support individual and organizational goals while being tailored to local regulations and employee needs across our diverse global workforce. This comprehensive approach is integral to our total rewards strategy, addressing business and employee challenges through a multi-channel approach that provides diverse populations and global regions with flexible options to meet their specific goals.
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We use data-driven insights gathered through surveys, focus groups, and claims data to understand employee challenges and prioritize our programs and resources. Our benefits are regularly reviewed and adjusted to remain competitive within our respective markets and reflect evolving employee expectations. We are committed to creating an environment where employees and People Leaders care for each other as we deliver Ford+.
Employee Sentiment Strategy
We gather feedback from our employees through a variety of channels throughout the year. Our approach is designed to capture sentiment and make it actionable for managers, leadership, and for the teams designing the tools, processes, and policies that impact the employee experience. We use a mix of annual and real-time surveys designed to understand employee sentiment in areas such as people leader effectiveness, job satisfaction, inclusion, wellbeing, overall satisfaction, strategy and execution, and Ford Operating System behaviors.
A critical element of measuring sentiment is ensuring the data gets to those who are best positioned to use it to drive improvements in the employee experience. We design dashboards and tools for managers to view the results from their teams, help them to generate meaningful insights, and convert those insights into guided actions. We share the results with senior executives to identify broader trends and themes and to inform larger strategic decisions across the Company.
Employment Data
The approximate number of individuals employed by us and entities that we consolidated as of December 31 was as follows (in thousands):
2023 2024
United States 87 87
Rest of World 84 78
Company excluding Ford Credit 171 165
Ford Credit 6 6
Total Company 177 171
In the United States, approximately 99% of our unionized hourly employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements and represented by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW” or “United Auto Workers”). At December 31, 2024, approximately 56,500 hourly employees in the United States were represented by the UAW.
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ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.
We have listed below the material risk factors applicable to us grouped into the following categories: Operational Risks; Macroeconomic, Market, and Strategic Risks; Financial Risks; and Legal and Regulatory Risks. We have a global business, and conditions in our industry and the regions where we operate and sell our products and services may change quickly. Accordingly, institutional stability is crucial to businesses like Ford as we make hiring and investment decisions, as well as to the smooth functioning of financial markets on which we depend. Rapid policy change in our home market, the United States, is creating uncertainty in our operations and business outlook, and may remain a source of volatility in the future.
Operational Risks
Ford’s long-term success depends on delivering the Ford+ plan, including improving cost competitiveness. We previously announced our plan for growth and value creation – Ford+. Ford+ is our plan to thrive at the intersection of great vehicles, iconic brands, and innovative software and service, building Ford into a higher growth, higher margin, more capital efficient, and more durable company. Our Ford+ plan is designed to leverage our foundational strengths with enhanced capabilities – enriching customer experiences and deepening loyalty. As we progress this transformation of our business, we must integrate our strategic initiatives into a cohesive business model, and balance competing priorities, or we will not be successful. To facilitate this transformation, we are making substantial investments, recruiting new talent, and modernizing and optimizing our business model, management system, and organization. Our strategy involves providing customers freedom of choice to select the powertrain that best suits their needs and maintaining manufacturing flexibility at Ford to meet shifting customer demand. Accordingly, maintaining discipline in our capital allocation continues to be important, as a strong core business and a balance sheet that provides the flexibility to invest in these opportunities are critical to the success of our Ford+ plan. If we are unable to optimize our capital allocation among vehicles (and propulsion systems among our vehicles), services, technology, and other calls on capital, make sufficient and timely progress to become competitive on cost and quality and ensure that progress is sustainable, or we are otherwise not successful in executing Ford+ (or are delayed for reasons outside of our control), we may not be able to realize the full benefits of our plan, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, if we fail to make progress on our plan at the pace that shareholders expect, it may lead to an increase in shareholder activism, which may disrupt the conduct of our business and divert management’s attention and resources.
Ford’s vehicles could be affected by defects that result in recall campaigns, increased warranty costs, or delays in new model launches, and the time it takes to improve the quality of our vehicles and services and reduce the costs associated therewith could continue to have an adverse effect on our business. Government safety standards require manufacturers to remedy defects related to vehicle safety through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. We may also be obligated to remedy defects or potentially recall our vehicles due to defective components provided to us by our suppliers, arising from their quality issues or otherwise. NHTSA’s enforcement strategy has resulted in significant civil penalties being levied and the use of consent orders, including at Ford, requiring direct oversight by NHTSA of certain manufacturers’ safety processes, a trend that could continue. Should we or government safety regulators determine that a safety or other defect or a noncompliance exists with respect to certain of our vehicles prior to the start of production, the launch of such vehicle could be delayed until such defect is remedied. The cost of recall and customer satisfaction actions to remedy defects in vehicles that have been sold could be substantial, particularly if the actions relate to global platforms or involve defects that are identified years after production. For example, NHTSA and the automotive industry are currently engaged in a study of the safety of approximately 56 million Takata desiccated airbag inflators in the United States. Of these, approximately three and a half million of the inflators are in our vehicles. In addition, NHTSA is considering action related to 52 million vehicles containing inflators from ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive in the United States. Ford has 2.5 million vehicles within this population. Should NHTSA determine that these inflators contain a safety defect, Ford and other manufacturers could potentially face significant incremental recall costs. Further, to the extent recall and customer satisfaction actions relate to defective components we receive from suppliers, our ability to recover from the suppliers may be limited by the suppliers’ financial condition.
We accrue the estimated cost of both base warranty coverages and field service actions at the time a vehicle is sold, and we reevaluate the adequacy of our accruals on a regular basis. In addition, from time to time, we issue extended warranties at our expense, the estimated cost of which is accrued at the time of issuance. The impact of such accruals will be reflected in our results of operations for the period in which the accrual is made, which could cause variability in our quarterly performance, while the cash flow impact may be reflected in a later period or periods. For additional information regarding warranty and field service action costs, including our process for establishing our reserves, see “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 and Note 24 of the Notes to the Financial Statements. If warranty costs are greater than anticipated as a result of increased vehicle and component complexity, the adoption of new technologies, the time it takes
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
to improve the quality of our products and services (or if such efforts are unsuccessful), implementation of additional remedies in the event the initial one is ineffective or parts are unavailable, or otherwise (including as a result of higher repair costs driven by inflation or other economic factors), such costs could continue to have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, launch delays, recall actions, and increased warranty costs have adversely affected and could continue to adversely affect our reputation or the public perception and market acceptance of our products and services as discussed below under “ Ford’s new and existing products and digital, software, and physical services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and digital and software services industries, and Ford’s reputation may be harmed based on positions it takes or if it is unable to achieve the initiatives it has announced. ” In an effort to improve quality, we have slowed down and may continue to slow down launches, which may result in lost sales, revenue, and profits and could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. From time to time, our inventory levels may be higher due to a number of different factors, including as a result of vehicles on hold for quality control, which may cause us to incur additional costs associated with those vehicles, e.g., repair costs for weather-related damage.
Ford is highly dependent on its suppliers to deliver components in accordance with Ford’s production schedule and specifications, and a shortage of or inability to timely acquire key components or raw materials can disrupt Ford’s production of vehicles. Our products contain components that we source globally from suppliers who, in turn, source components from their suppliers. If there is a shortage of a key component in our supply chain or a supplier is unable to deliver a component to us in accordance with our specifications, because of a production issue, limited availability of materials, shipping problems, restrictions on transactions with certain countries or companies, or other reason, and the component cannot be easily sourced from a different supplier, or we are unable to obtain a component on a timely basis, the shortage may disrupt our operations or increase our costs of production.
For the production of our electric vehicles, we are dependent on the supply of batteries and the raw materials (e.g., lithium, cobalt, and nickel) used by our suppliers to produce those batteries. As we increase our production of electric vehicles, we expect our need for such materials to increase significantly. At the same time, other companies are increasing their production of electric vehicles, which will further increase the demand for such raw materials. As a result, we may be unable to acquire raw materials needed for electric vehicle production in sufficient amounts that are responsibly sourced or at reasonable prices. As described below under “ To facilitate access to the raw materials and other components necessary for the production of electric vehicles, Ford has entered into and may, in the future, enter into multi-year commitments to raw material and other suppliers that subject Ford to risks associated with lower future demand for such items as well as costs that fluctuate and are difficult to accurately forecast ” as well as in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section in Item 7 below, we have entered into and we may, in the future, enter into offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts that obligate us, subject to certain conditions such as quality or minimum output, to purchase a certain percentage or minimum amount of output from certain raw materials suppliers. In the event the supplier under those agreements or any of our or our suppliers’ raw material supply contracts is unable to deliver sufficient quantities of raw materials needed for our or our suppliers’ production operations, e.g., if a mine does not produce at expected levels, or the raw materials do not otherwise satisfy our requirements, and we or our suppliers are unable to find an alternative resource with sufficient quantities, at reasonable prices, responsibly sourced (e.g., in compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and similar regulations and standards), and in a timely manner, it could impact our ability to produce electric vehicles.
A shortage of, or our inability to acquire or find adequate suppliers of, key components or raw materials as a result of disruptions in the supply chain, import and export bans or tariffs imposed by the U.S. or foreign governments, capacity constraints, limited availability, competition for those items within the automotive industry and other sectors, or otherwise can cause a significant disruption to our production schedule and have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, as a result of lower-than-anticipated industrywide electric vehicle adoption rates or otherwise, suppliers of such raw materials or components may become distressed.
Ford’s production, as well as Ford’s suppliers’ production, and/or the ability to deliver products to consumers could be disrupted by labor issues, public health issues, natural or man-made disasters, adverse effects of climate change, financial distress, production difficulties, capacity limitations, or other factors. A work stoppage or other limitation on production has occurred, and could in the future occur, at Ford’s facilities, at a facility in its supply chain, or at one of its logistics providers for any number of reasons, including as a result of labor issues, such as shortages of available employees, disputes under existing collective bargaining agreements with labor unions or in connection with negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements, absenteeism, public health issues (e.g., COVID), stay-at-home orders, or in response to potential restructuring actions (e.g., plant closures); as a result of supplier financial distress or other production constraints, such as limited quantities of components or raw materials, quality issues, capacity limitations, or other difficulties; as a result of a natural disaster (including climate-related physical risk); social unrest; cybersecurity incidents; or for other reasons. A suspension or substantial curtailment of our manufacturing operations
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
could have a significant adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, as was the case in 2020, when, consistent with actions taken by governmental authorities, we idled our plants in regions around the world. The duration of a suspension of manufacturing operations and a return to our full production schedule will vary. Our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro operations generally do not realize revenue while our manufacturing operations are suspended, but we continue to incur operating and non-operating expenses, resulting in a deterioration of our cash flow. Accordingly, any significant future disruption to our production schedule, regionally or globally, whether as a result of our own or a supplier’s suspension of operations, could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations. Moreover, our supply and distribution chains may be disrupted by supplier or dealer bankruptcies or their permanent discontinuation of operations triggered by a shutdown of operations.
The limited availability of components, labor shortages, public health emergencies, and supplier operating issues have led to intermittent interruptions in our supply chain and an inconsistent production schedule at our facilities. This has exacerbated the disruption to our suppliers’ operations, which, in turn, has led to higher costs and production shortfalls. As a result of this disrupted production schedule, we have received and continue to receive claims from our supply base for reimbursement of costs beyond our original agreed terms. Upon receipt, we evaluate those claims, and, in certain circumstances, we have made payments to our suppliers, and this trend may continue.
Given the worldwide scope of our supply chain and operations, we and our suppliers face a risk of disruption or operating inefficiencies that may increase costs due to the adverse physical effects of climate change, which are predicted to increase the frequency and severity of weather and other natural events, e.g., wildfires, extended droughts, and extreme temperatures. In addition, in the event a weather-related event, strike, international conflict, or other occurrence limits the ability of freight carriers to deliver components and other materials from suppliers to us or logistics providers to transport our vehicles for an extended period of time, it may increase our costs and delay or otherwise impact both our production operations and customers’ ability to receive our vehicles.
Many components used in our vehicles are available only from a single or limited number of suppliers and, therefore, cannot be re-sourced quickly or inexpensively to another supplier (due to long lead times, new contractual commitments that may be required by another supplier before ramping up to provide the components or materials, etc.). Such suppliers also could threaten to disrupt our production as leverage in negotiations. In addition, when we undertake a model changeover, significant downtime at one or more of our production facilities may be required, and our ability to return to full production may be delayed if we experience production difficulties at one of our facilities or a supplier’s facility. Moreover, as vehicles, components, and their integration become more complex, we may face an increased risk of a delay in production of new vehicles. Regardless of the cause, our ability to recoup lost production volume may be limited. Accordingly, a significant disruption to our production schedule could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations and may impact our strategy to comply with fuel economy standards as discussed below under “ Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans and facilities to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous driving technology, environmental, and other regulations.”
Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of existing or pending strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, or business strategies or the benefits may take longer than expected to materialize. We have invested in, formed strategic alliances with, and announced or formed joint ventures with a number of companies, and we may expand those relationships or enter into similar relationships with additional companies. These initiatives typically involve enormous complexity, may require a significant amount of capital, and may involve a lengthy regulatory approval process. As a result, we may not be able to complete anticipated transactions, the anticipated benefits of these transactions may not be realized, or the benefits may be delayed. For example, we may not successfully integrate an alliance or joint venture with our operations, including the implementation of our controls, systems, procedures, and policies, we may be unable to retain key employees, or unforeseen expenses or liabilities may arise that were not discovered during due diligence prior to an investment or entry into a strategic alliance, or a misalignment of interests may develop between us and the other party. Further, to the extent we share ownership, control, or management with another party in a joint venture, our ability to influence the joint venture may be limited, and we may be unable to prevent misconduct or implement our compliance or internal control systems. Moreover, negative publicity, government investigations, or litigation involving a company with which we have a business or supply relationship may have an adverse effect on our reputation. In order to secure critical materials for production of electric vehicles, we have entered into and may, in the future, enter into offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts with raw materials suppliers and make investments in certain raw material and battery suppliers; however, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of these actions and our efforts to have such suppliers, particularly those in less developed markets, adopt Ford’s sustainability and other standards may be unsuccessful, which could have an adverse impact on our reputation. In addition, the implementation of a new or different business strategy may lead to the disruption of our existing business operations, including distracting management from current operations. For example, our efforts to evaluate and implement alternative distribution models and channels for our products and services from those we have
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
traditionally used may be challenged or may not succeed or be as successful as our historical arrangements. External factors may also impact the success of our initiatives. For example, our business and strategy are susceptible to tensions in U.S.-China relations and the rapid development of the Chinese electric vehicle industry, with domestic Chinese producers exporting to some key markets in which we operate. In addition, as we implement our strategy to provide customers freedom of choice to select the powertrain that best suits their needs and maintain manufacturing flexibility to meet shifting customer demand, we have in the past taken, and may in the future take, actions such as not fully utilizing or reducing the capacity of our existing or future plants, reducing production hours or shifts, cancelling programs, or delaying launches, and we may become subject to claims by suppliers or other parties, incur charges related to impairments, asset write-downs, or inventory adjustments, or lose or become obligated to repay incentives as a result. For example, we have taken, and may in the future take, such actions to better match the pace of electric vehicle adoption, which has been lower than anticipated industrywide. Results of operations from new activities may be lower than our existing activities, and, if a strategy is unsuccessful, we may not recoup our investments, which may be significant, in that strategy. Further, as our strategy evolves in an area, we may be unable to utilize or redeploy our existing assets or investments in that or other areas, which may lead to impairments and other cash and non-cash charges. Moreover, we may continue to have financial exposure following a strategic divestiture or cessation of operations in a market. Failure to successfully and timely realize the anticipated benefits of the transactions or strategies described herein could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of restructuring actions and such actions may cause Ford to incur significant charges, disrupt our operations, or harm our reputation. We continually review and evaluate our business to find opportunities to make our operations more efficient and reduce costs. In doing so, we have taken, and may in the future take, restructuring actions, such as strategic divestitures or ceasing of operations in a market, particularly for those businesses where a path to sustained profitability is not feasible in light of the capital allocation requirements or for other reasons. Our plans for implementing such actions may be accelerated by shifting industry dynamics and new entrants to our industries with which we must compete. These actions may include employee separations, a reduced footprint (e.g., plant closures or smaller operations at existing plants or plants that are not yet on-line), operating our plants at less than full capacity (e.g., reducing shifts), or cancelling products or programs. Such restructuring actions have caused us and may in the future cause us to incur significant costs; record impairments or other charges; subject us to potential claims from employees, suppliers, dealers, other counterparties, or governmental authorities (including a reduction or clawback of incentives); disrupt our operations; distract management from current operations; or harm our reputation. Further, we may not realize the expected benefits of such restructuring actions (e.g., anticipated cost savings), such benefits may be delayed, or market dynamics or other factors may have evolved such that we cannot obtain the original intended results of an action.
Failure to develop and deploy secure digital services that appeal to customers and grow our subscription rates could have a negative impact on Ford’s business. A growing part of our business involves connectivity, digital and physical services, and integrated software services, and we are devoting significant resources to develop this business. Further, we have announced our plans and expectations to grow subscription rates and for integrated services to become a larger portion of our revenue and earnings. If we do not develop, deliver, and make available technologies that customers can easily adopt and use, fail to generate sufficient demand for our integrated software and digital services, or if customers do not opt to activate the modems in our vehicles, which would hinder our ability to offer and sell such services, we may not grow revenue in line with the costs we are investing or achieve profitability on our increasingly digitally-connected products. For additional discussion on the market acceptance of our services, see below under “ Ford’s new and existing products and digital, software, and physical services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and digital and software services industries, and Ford’s reputation may be harmed based on positions it takes or if it is unable to achieve the initiatives it has announced. ”
We contract with third parties to offer digital content to customers and license technologies for use in our software and digital services. This includes the right to sell, or offer subscriptions to, third-party content, as well as the right to incorporate specific content into our own services; however, continuation of these third-party licensing and other arrangements, or their renewal on commercially reasonable terms, is not guaranteed or may be unavailable. Moreover, while we seek to grow our share of this business, third parties may be less inclined to continue developing or licensing software for Ford’s products or permit the Company to distribute their content, or such providers may offer competing products and services to the detriment of our business. If we are unable to offer integrated software applications and digital services on competitive terms, it may reduce customer demand or increase our costs to provide such applications and services, which we may be unable to pass on to customers. Alternatively, we may have to develop or license new content or technology to provide digital services, and there can be no assurance we would be able to develop or license such content or technology at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner, either of which could have a negative impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or reputation.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Sophisticated software integration may have issues that can unexpectedly interfere with the intended operation of hardware or other software products and services. In addition, the services we offer can have quality issues and may, from time to time, experience outages, service slowdowns, or errors. As a result, these services may not always perform as anticipated and may not meet customer expectations. There can be no assurance we will be able to detect and remedy all issues and defects in the hardware, software, and services we offer, or successfully deliver over-the-air (“OTA”) updates. Failure to do so on a timely basis could result in widespread technical and performance issues affecting our products and services. For additional discussion on the risks associated with defects and quality issues, see above under “ Ford’s vehicles could be affected by defects that result in recall campaigns, increased warranty costs, or delays in new model launches, and the time it takes to improve the quality of our vehicles and services and reduce the costs associated therewith could continue to have an adverse effect on our business. ”
We continue to increase the number of BlueCruise (our hands-free highway driving system) enabled vehicles on the road and its growth and expansion remains an important part of our strategy. We also face substantial competition in that area. In addition, autonomous vehicle and driver assist technologies, including BlueCruise, continue to be scrutinized by government regulators and consumers, and actual or perceived failures or misuse of these technologies and features have led to government investigations and inquiries, including of Ford. Such negative publicity of our products or those of our competitors could undermine consumer trust and negatively impact our subscription rates. If we are unable to successfully develop and grow BlueCruise and other subscription services or build and maintain consumer trust in those offerings, we may be unable to recoup the investments we have made in those technologies and it could negatively impact our reputation, financial condition, and results of operations.
The actions of end users are generally beyond our control and some users may engage in fraudulent or abusive activities that involve our digital services. These include unauthorized use of accounts through stolen credentials, failure to pay for services accessed, or other activities that violate our terms of service. While we have implemented security measures intended to prevent unauthorized access to our digital services and related information systems, malicious entities have and will continue to attempt to gain unauthorized access to them. If our efforts to detect such violations or our actions to control these types of fraud and abuse are not effective or timely, it may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or reputation. For further information, see below under “ Operational information systems, security systems, vehicles, and services could be affected by cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks, and other disruptions and impact Ford, Ford Credit, their suppliers, and dealers. ”
Ford’s ability to maintain a competitive cost structure could be affected by labor or other constraints. The vast majority of the hourly employees in our manufacturing operations in the United States and Canada are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. These agreements provide guaranteed wage and benefit levels throughout the contract term and some degree of income security, subject to certain conditions. Based on our current contracts with the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW”) in the United States and Unifor in Canada ratified in 2023, we expect to have a significant increase in labor costs through the life of the contracts, and if we are unable to offset those costs, it could have a significant adverse effect on our business. Some of our competitors do not have such collective bargaining agreements and are not subject to the same constraints. Further, a substantial number of our employees in other regions are represented by unions or government councils, and legislation or custom promoting retention of manufacturing or other employment in the state, country, or region may constrain as a practical matter our ability to sell or close manufacturing or other facilities or increase the cost of doing so. These agreements in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other regions may restrict our ability to close plants and divest businesses. In addition, to the extent companies in our global supply chain that are not currently parties to collective bargaining agreements enter into such agreements or otherwise increase their employees’ wages and benefits, any increased costs incurred by those suppliers may, in turn, increase our costs.
Ford’s ability to attract, develop, grow, support, and reward talent is critical to its success and competitiveness. Our success depends on our ability to continue to attract, develop, grow, support, and reward talented and diverse employees with domain expertise in engineering, software, technology (including digital capabilities and connectivity), integrated services, supply chain, marketing, and finance, among other areas. While we have been successful in attracting talent in recent years, as with any company, the ability to continue to attract talent is important, particularly in growth areas vital to our success such as software, electrification, and integrated services. Competition for such talent is intense, which has led to an increase in compensation throughout a tight labor market, and, accordingly, may increase costs for companies. In addition to attracting talent, we must also retain the talent needed to deliver our business objectives. If we lose existing employees, are unable to attract talent with needed skills, or we are unable to develop existing employees, particularly with the introduction of new technologies and our focus on operational efficiency and quality, it could have a substantial adverse effect on our business.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Operational information systems, security systems, vehicles, and services could be affected by cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks, and other disruptions and impact Ford, Ford Credit, their suppliers, and dealers. We rely on information technology networks and information systems, including in-vehicle systems and mobile devices, some of which are managed by suppliers, some of which are provided by third-party service providers, and some of which ultimately rely on other services provided to these third parties by unaffiliated service providers, to process, transmit, and store electronic information that is important to the operation of our business, our vehicles, and the services we offer. Despite devoting significant resources to our cybersecurity program, we are at risk for interruptions, outages, and compromises of: (i) operational information systems (including business, financial, accounting, product development, consumer receivables, data processing, or manufacturing processes); (ii) facility security systems; and/or (iii) in-vehicle systems or mobile devices, whether caused by a ransomware or other cybersecurity incident, security breach, or other reason (e.g., a natural disaster, fire, acts of terrorism or war, or an overburdened infrastructure system). Such incidents could materially disrupt operational information systems; result in loss or unwilling publication of trade secrets or other proprietary or competitively sensitive information; compromise the privacy of personal information of consumers, employees, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; disrupt or degrade service or our operations; affect the performance of in-vehicle systems or services we offer; and/or impact the safety of our vehicles. This risk exposure rises as we continue to develop and produce vehicles with increased connectivity. Moreover, we, our suppliers, service providers, and dealers have been the target of cybersecurity incidents and such threats are continuing and evolving, which may cause cybersecurity incidents to be more difficult to detect for periods of time. Our networks and in-vehicle systems, sharing similar architectures, could also be impacted by, or a cybersecurity incident may result from, the negligence or misconduct of insiders or third parties who have access to our networks and systems. We employ capabilities, processes, and other security measures we believe are reasonably designed to detect, reduce, and mitigate the risk of cybersecurity incidents, and have requirements for our suppliers and service providers to do the same; however, we may not be aware of all vulnerabilities or might not accurately assess the risks of incidents, and such preventative measures cannot provide absolute security and may not be sufficient in all circumstances or mitigate all potential risks, including potential production disruption or the loss or disclosure of sensitive information. Moreover, a cybersecurity incident could harm our reputation, cause customers to lose trust in our security measures, and/or subject us to regulatory actions or litigation, which may result in fines, penalties, judgments, or injunctions, and a cybersecurity incident involving us or one of our suppliers or service providers could impact our production, internal operations, business strategy, results of operations, financial condition, or our ability to deliver products and services to our customers .
To facilitate access to the raw materials and other components necessary for the production of electric vehicles, Ford has entered into and may, in the future, enter into multi-year commitments to raw material and other suppliers that subject Ford to risks associated with lower future demand for such items as well as costs that fluctuate and are difficult to accurately forecast. We have announced plans to significantly increase our electric vehicle production volumes; however, our ability to produce higher volumes of electric vehicles is dependent upon the availability of raw materials and other components necessary for the production of batteries, e.g., lithium, cobalt, and nickel, among others. As described above under “ Ford is highly dependent on its suppliers to deliver components in accordance with Ford’s production schedule and specifications, and a shortage of or inability to timely acquire key components or raw materials can disrupt Ford’s production of vehicles ,” to facilitate our access to such raw materials, we have entered into and we may, in the future, enter into offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts. Such agreements obligate us, subject to certain conditions such as quality or minimum output, to purchase a certain percentage or minimum amount of output from raw material suppliers over an agreed upon period of time pursuant to agreed upon purchase price mechanisms that are typically based on the market price of the material at the time of delivery.
Unlike our standard arrangements with suppliers, under multi-year offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts, the risks associated with lower-than-expected electric vehicle production volumes or changes in battery technology that reduce the need for certain raw materials, batteries, or their components are borne by Ford rather than our suppliers. In the event we do not purchase the materials or components pursuant to the terms of these agreements, we may nevertheless be obligated to pay the purchase price or otherwise compensate the supplier in an amount determined by the contract or reimburse the supplier for costs or losses it incurs. We have incurred and we may continue to incur such charges. This may be the case even if the supplier finds another purchaser, as we may be responsible for the costs of finding the new purchaser as well as any lost revenue attributable to the replacement purchaser paying a lower price than required under the pricing mechanism in our agreement.
As a result of the competition for and limited availability of the raw materials needed for our electric vehicle business, the costs of such materials are difficult to accurately forecast as they may fluctuate during the term of the offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts based on market conditions. Accordingly, we may be subject to increases in the prices we pay for those raw materials, and our ability to recoup such costs through increased pricing to our customers may be limited. As a result, our margins, results of operations, financial condition, and reputation may be adversely impacted by commitments we make pursuant to offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Macroeconomic, Market, and Strategic Risks
With a global footprint and supply chain, Ford’s results and operations could be adversely affected by economic or geopolitical developments, including protectionist trade policies such as tariffs, or other events. Because of the interconnectedness of the global economy, the challenges of a pandemic, financial crisis, economic downturn or recession (including reduced consumer spending), natural disaster, war, geopolitical crises, or other significant events in one area of the world can have an immediate and material adverse impact on markets around the world. In particular, China presents unique risks to U.S. automakers due to the strain in U.S.-China relations, China’s unique regulatory landscape, the level of integration with key components in our global supply chain, and the rapid development of the Chinese electric vehicle industry, with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers exporting their products to some key markets in which we operate.
Changes in international trade policy can also have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or our business in general. Steps taken by governments to implement local content requirements or apply or consider applying additional or new tariffs on automobiles, parts, and other products and materials have the potential to disrupt existing supply chains, impose additional costs on our business, and could lead to other countries attempting to retaliate by imposing tariffs, which would make our products more expensive for customers, and, in turn, could make our products less competitive. The new, substantial tariff increases on imports to the United States from Canada and Mexico (in addition to China) announced on February 1, 2025, should they be implemented and sustained for an extended period of time, would have a significant adverse effect, including financial, on the overall automotive industry, Ford, and our supply chain. Further, any additional tariffs in the United States or retaliatory tariffs imposed by other governments would exacerbate the impact.
With operations in various markets with volatile economic or political environments and our global supply chain and utilization of transportation routes and logistics providers around the world, we are exposed to heightened risks as a result of economic, geopolitical, or other events. This could include governmental takeover (i.e., nationalization) of our manufacturing facilities or intellectual property, restrictive exchange or import controls, disruption of operations as a result of systemic political or economic instability, outbreak of war or expansion of hostilities (such as the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas, heightened tensions in the Red Sea, and potential tensions in the South China Sea), and acts of terrorism, each of which could impact our supply chain as well as our operations and have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, the U.S. government, other governments, and international organizations could impose additional sanctions or export controls that could restrict us from doing business directly or indirectly in or with certain countries or parties, which could include affiliates, and potentially impact the repatriation of earnings.
Ford’s new and existing products and digital, software, and physical services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and digital and software services industries, and Ford’s reputation may be harmed based on positions it takes or if it is unable to achieve the initiatives it has announced. Although we conduct extensive market research before launching new or refreshed vehicles and introducing new services, many factors both within and outside our control affect the success of new or existing products and services in the marketplace, and we may not be able to accurately predict or identify emerging trends or preferences or the success of new products or services in the market. It takes years to design and develop a new vehicle or change an existing vehicle. Because customers’ preferences may change quickly, our new and existing products may not generate sales in sufficient quantities and at costs low enough to be profitable and recoup investment costs. Offering vehicles and services that customers want and value can mitigate the risks of increasing price competition, price sensitive customers, and declining demand, but products and services that are perceived to be less desirable (whether in terms of price, quality, styling, safety, overall value, fuel efficiency, or other attributes) can exacerbate these risks. For example, if we are unable to differentiate our products and services from those of our competitors in a manner that appeals to customers, develop innovative new products and services, or sufficiently tailor our products and services to customers in other markets, there could be insufficient demand for our products and services, which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Insufficient demand for our products may also result in higher inventory levels, which may lead to downward pricing pressure, or reduced manufacturing efficiencies, which may reduce margins. In the event of a shortage of available products, customers may elect to purchase from our competitors and may not return to Ford in the future.
With increased consumer interconnectedness through the internet, social media, and other media, mere allegations relating to quality, safety, reliability, fuel efficiency, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, or other key attributes can negatively impact our reputation or market acceptance of our products or services, even where such allegations prove to be inaccurate or unfounded. Further, our ability to successfully grow through capacity expansion and investments in the areas of electrification, connectivity, digital and physical services, and software services depends on many factors,
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
including advancements in technology, regulatory changes, infrastructure development (e.g., a widespread vehicle charging network), and other factors that are difficult to predict, that may significantly affect the future of electric vehicles, autonomous and driver assistance technologies, digital and physical services, and software services. The automotive, software, and digital service businesses are very competitive and change rapidly. Traditional competitors are expanding their offerings, and new types of competitors (particularly in our areas of strength, e.g., pick-up trucks, utilities, and commercial vehicles) that may possess superior technology, may have business models with certain aspects that are more efficient, and are not subject to the same level of fixed costs as us, are entering the market. For example, Chinese electric vehicle producers are exporting their products to some key markets in which we operate. This level of competition necessitates that we invest in and integrate emerging technologies into our business and increases the importance of our ability to anticipate, develop, and deliver products and services that customers desire on a timely basis, in quantities in line with demand, with the quality they expect, and at costs low enough to be profitable. Moreover, if we do not meet customer expectations for quickly and effectively addressing and remedying issues that may develop with or that improve our products and services, e.g., successfully delivering OTA updates, it would have an adverse effect on our business.
We have announced our intent to continue making multi-billion dollar investments in electrification and software services. Our plans include offering electrified versions of many of our vehicles, including the F-150 Lightning and E-Transit which we introduced in recent years. We have observed lower than initially anticipated industrywide electric vehicle adoption rates. This trend may continue, including as a result of the regulatory framework in various markets shifting away from supporting the rapid adoption of electrified vehicles, if there is a negative perception of our vehicles or about electric vehicles in general, if we are unable to or are delayed in developing or embracing new technologies or processes, or if consumers prefer our competitors’ vehicles, and there could be an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, as discussed below under “ Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans and facilities to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous driving technology, environmental, and other regulations, ” lower than planned market acceptance of our vehicles may impact our strategy to comply with fuel economy standards.
Ford is addressing its impact on climate change aligned with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris Agreement) by working to reduce our carbon footprint over time across our vehicles, operations, and supply chain. We have announced interim emissions targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and made other statements about similar initiatives. Achievement of these initiatives will require significant investments and the implementation of new processes; however, there is no assurance that the desired outcomes will be achieved. To the extent we are unable to achieve these initiatives or our plans for our electrification transition do not succeed, it may harm our reputation or we may not otherwise receive the expected return on the investment. For example, we are exposed to reputational risk if we do not reduce vehicle CO 2 emissions in line with our targets or in compliance with applicable regulations. Further, our customers, investors, and other stakeholders evaluate how well we are progressing on our announced climate goals and aspirations, and if we are not on track to achieve those goals and aspirations on a timely basis, or if the expectations of our customers and investors change and we do not adequately address their expectations, our reputation could be impacted, and customers may choose to purchase the products and services of, investors may choose to invest in, and suppliers and vendors may choose to do business with other companies. Other parties may object to the positions we have or are perceived to have taken and may, in the future, take or be perceived to take on environmental, social, or other issues, or in the event we change our position on such issues, which may result in a loss of customers, a boycott of our products or services, or other actions that may impact not only our brand and reputation but also our results of operations, financial condition, and the price of our Common Stock.
Moreover, new offerings, including those related to electric vehicles and autonomous driving technologies, may present technological challenges that could be costly to implement and overcome and have subjected us and may continue to subject us to customer claims, government investigations, and recalls of our vehicles if they do not operate as anticipated. In addition, since new technologies are subject to market acceptance, a malfunction involving any manufacturer’s vehicle using autonomous or driver assist technologies may negatively impact the perception of such technologies and erode customer trust.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Ford may face increased price competition for its products and services, including pricing pressure resulting from industry excess capacity, currency fluctuations, competitive actions, or economic or other factors, particularly for electric vehicles. The global automotive industry is intensely competitive, with installed manufacturing capacity generally exceeding current demand. Historically, industry overcapacity has resulted in many manufacturers offering marketing incentives on vehicles in an attempt to maintain and grow market share; these incentives historically have included a combination of subsidized financing or leasing programs, price rebates and reductions, and other incentives. As a result, we are not necessarily able to set our prices to offset higher marketing incentives, commodity or other cost increases, tariffs, or the impact of adverse currency fluctuations. This risk includes cost advantages foreign competitors may have because of their weaker home market currencies, which may, in turn, enable those competitors to offer their products at lower prices. Further, higher inventory levels put downward pressure on pricing, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Although we continue to invest in our electric vehicle strategy, we have observed lower-than-anticipated industrywide electric vehicle adoption rates and near-term pricing pressures, which have led us, and may in the future lead us, to adjust our spending, production, and/or product launches to better match the pace of electric vehicle adoption. The trend may be exacerbated as policy change in the United States could reduce or eliminate supply- and demand-side incentives, resulting in slower adoption of EVs. As a result of the lower-than-anticipated adoption rates, near-term pricing pressures, and other factors, we have accrued and may continue to incur charges related to payments to our electric vehicle-related suppliers (battery, raw material, or otherwise), inventory adjustments, or other matters. Significant unexpected changes in the EV demand environment have led, and may in the future lead, to incremental competitive pricing actions. Battery costs remain high, which is detrimental to electric vehicles reaching pricing parity with ICE vehicles and further exacerbates the pricing pressures on electric vehicles. Furthermore, as we invest in battery production, including the construction of battery plants, if we are unable to operate those plants at their expected capacity because electric vehicle adoption rates remain lower-than-anticipated or otherwise, we may be unable to recoup the investments we have made.
As electric vehicle adoption rates increase, the risk of excess capacity, particularly for internal combustion engine trucks and utilities, may be exacerbated. This excess capacity may further increase price competition in that segment of the market, which could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Inflationary pressure and fluctuations in commodity and energy prices, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and market value of Ford or Ford Credit’s investments, including marketable securities, can have a significant effect on results. We and our suppliers are exposed to inflationary pressure and a variety of market risks, including the effects of changes in commodity and energy prices, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates. We monitor and attempt to manage these exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program, which recognizes the unpredictability of markets and seeks to reduce potentially adverse effects on our business. Changes in commodity and energy prices (from tariffs and the actions taken by Russia in Ukraine, as discussed above under “ With a global footprint and supply chain, Ford’s results and operations could be adversely affected by economic or geopolitical developments, including protectionist trade policies such as tariffs, or other events ,” or otherwise), currency exchange rates, and interest rates cannot always be predicted, hedged, or offset with price increases to eliminate earnings volatility. As a result, significant changes in commodity and energy prices, foreign currency exchange rates, or interest rates as well as increased material, freight, logistics, and similar costs could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. See Item 7 and Item 7A for additional discussion of currency, commodity and energy price, and interest rate risks. These market forces have caused us to incur higher material costs, which may continue, and our warranty costs have increased, in part, due to inflationary cost pressures at our dealers. Moreover, due to inflationary pressure, some of our suppliers have submitted claims to us for reimbursement of costs beyond our original agreed terms. Upon receipt, we evaluate those claims, and, in certain circumstances, we have made payments to our suppliers, and this trend may continue. Further, despite some recent rate cuts, over the last several years interest rates have increased significantly as central banks in developed countries attempt to subdue inflation, and there is no assurance that they will not remain elevated for a multi-year period. At the same time, government deficits and debt remain at high levels in many global markets. Elevated interest rates would make government debts more expensive to finance, and in that environment, businesses would face a higher cost of capital, impacting capital intensive businesses such as Ford. At Ford Credit, a high interest rate environment may impact Ford Credit’s ability to source funding and offer financing at competitive rates, which could reduce its financing margin. In addition, our results are impacted by fluctuations in the market value of our investments, with unrealized gains and losses that could be material in any period.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Ford’s results are dependent on sales of larger, more profitable vehicles, particularly in the United States. A shift in consumer preferences away from larger, more profitable vehicles with internal combustion engines (including trucks and utilities) to electric or other vehicles in our portfolio that may be less profitable could result in an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Despite recent trends, if demand for electric vehicles grows at a rate greater than our ability to increase our production capacity for those vehicles, lower market share and revenue, as well as facility and other asset-related charges (e.g., accelerated depreciation) associated with the production of internal combustion vehicles, may result. In addition, government regulations aimed at reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency (e.g., ZEV mandates and low emission zones) and other factors that accelerate the transition to electric vehicles may increase the cost of vehicles by more than the perceived benefit to consumers and dampen margins. Moreover, governmental restrictions on the sale, purchase, or use of internal combustion engine vehicles (e.g., city access restrictions) may limit our ability to sell some of our more profitable vehicles.
While a suspension or disruption of our manufacturing operations at any facility could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow, such an occurrence at one of our facilities where our larger, more profitable vehicles are produced, or in the event a launch is delayed or a stop ship is initiated for those vehicles, the impact may be particularly significant.
Industry sales volume can be volatile and could decline if there is a financial crisis, recession, public health emergency, or significant geopolitical event. Because we, like other manufacturers, have a higher proportion of fixed structural costs, relatively small changes in industry sales volume can have a substantial effect on our cash flow and results of operations. Vehicle sales are affected by overall economic and market conditions (such as the level of interest rates and tariffs), consumer sentiment and behavior, and developing trends such as shared vehicle ownership and ridesharing services. If industry vehicle sales were to decline to levels significantly below our planning assumption, the decline could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. For a discussion of economic trends, see Item 7.
Financial Risks
The impact of government incentives on Ford’s business could be significant, and Ford’s receipt of government incentives could be subject to reduction, termination, or clawback. We receive economic benefits from national, state, and local governments in various regions of the world in the form of incentives designed to encourage manufacturers to establish, maintain, or increase investment, workforce, or production. These incentives may take various forms, including grants, forgivable loans and loan subsidies, or tax abatements or credits. The impact of these incentives can be significant in a particular market during a reporting period. A decrease in, expiration without renewal of, or other cessation or clawback of government incentives for any of our operations or that impact consumers of our products and services, as a result of administrative decision or otherwise, could have a substantial adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, we may lose or be required to repay incentives or forgivable loans as a result of a change we make to our business strategy, e.g., if we elect not to proceed with a previously planned program or project or do not create as many jobs as initially anticipated.
For example, until 2021, most of our manufacturing facilities in South America were located in Brazil, where the state or federal governments historically offered significant incentives to manufacturers to encourage capital investment, increase manufacturing production, and create jobs. As a result, the performance of our South American operations had been impacted favorably by government incentives to a substantial extent. The federal government in Brazil has levied assessments against us concerning the federal incentives we previously received, and the State of São Paulo has challenged the grant to us of tax incentives by the State of Bahia. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for discussion of our accounting for government incentives, and “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” for a discussion of tax proceedings in Brazil and the potential requirement for us to post collateral.
The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) provides, among other things, financial incentives in the form of tax credits to grow the domestic supply chain and domestic manufacturing base for electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles (“PHEVs”), and other “clean” vehicles. The law likewise incentivizes the purchase of clean vehicles and the infrastructure to fuel them. The IRA authorizes tax credits to manufacturers for the domestic production of batteries and battery components for EVs and PHEVs, and this credit is expected to improve the financial performance of domestic battery manufacturers, including the new operations at our upcoming facility in Michigan and BlueOval SK’s facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee. Further, the degree of success of some of our investment strategies depends upon IRA tax credit eligibility and for those credits to continue to remain available through the currently contemplated expiration.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
The IRA also authorizes tax credits for purchasers of qualified commercial and retail clean vehicles. Ford expects that most commercial customers that purchase an EV or PHEV will be eligible for the commercial clean vehicle credit, although it is unclear at this time how many commercial vehicle purchasers will have the underlying federal tax liability that is necessary to actually monetize this credit. In their current form, the IRA’s tax credit and the commercial clean vehicle credit would, together, likely influence commercial fleets, governmental fleets, and other vehicle purchasers in their evaluation of a transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs and PHEVs.
To claim the retail tax credit, the IRA establishes numerous and complex prerequisites, including that the vehicle must be assembled in North America; the vehicle must be under specified limitations on manufacturer suggested retail price (“MSRP”); purchaser income limitations; any vehicle that contains “battery components” that were “manufactured or assembled” by a “foreign entity of concern” will be ineligible; and, starting in 2025, any vehicle that contains battery materials that were “extracted, processed, or recycled” by a “foreign entity of concern” will be ineligible. A “Critical Minerals Credit” is available for those vehicles that have a specified percentage of critical minerals that are “extracted or produced” in the United States, in a country with which the United States has a Free Trade Agreement, or that is “recycled” in North America. A “Battery Components Credit” is available for those vehicles that have a specified percentage of “value” of its battery “components” that are “manufactured or assembled” in North America.
Although we ultimately expect the IRA to benefit Ford and the automotive industry in general, this would be the case only insofar as the IRA remains in place in its current form. Some policymakers have expressed an intent to repeal or restrict eligibility for elements of the IRA, however, including those credits discussed above, which would adversely affect Ford and the industry. To the extent these elements remain in place or are replaced with new laws that provide benefits using comparable eligibility criteria, the availability of such benefits to Ford will depend on the further development and improvement of the U.S. battery supply, sufficient access to raw materials within the scope of the IRA, and the terms of the regulations and guidance (and the limitations therein) the U.S. government issues for such benefits, which will ultimately determine which vehicles qualify for incentives and the amount thereof. Further, battery and electric vehicle manufacturing and the corresponding supply chains involve substantial lead time, and it may take years before Ford can satisfy any new eligibility criteria. Automakers that better optimize eligibility for their vehicles, as compared to their competition, will have a competitive advantage.
Ford and Ford Credit’s access to debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in sufficient amounts could be affected by credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, asset portfolios, or other factors. Ford and Ford Credit’s ability to obtain unsecured funding at a reasonable cost is dependent on their credit ratings or their perceived creditworthiness. Further, Ford Credit’s ability to obtain securitized funding under its committed asset-backed liquidity programs and certain other asset-backed securitization transactions is subject to having a sufficient amount of assets eligible for these programs, as well as Ford Credit’s ability to obtain appropriate credit ratings for those transactions and, for certain committed programs, derivatives to manage the interest rate risk. Over time, and particularly in the event of credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, or other factors, Ford Credit may reduce the amount of receivables it purchases or originates because of funding constraints. In addition, Ford Credit may reduce the amount of receivables it purchases or originates if there is a significant decline in the demand for the types of securities it offers or Ford Credit is unable to obtain derivatives to manage the interest rate risk associated with its securitization transactions. A significant reduction in the amount of receivables Ford Credit purchases or originates would significantly reduce its ongoing results of operations and could adversely affect its ability to support the sale of Ford vehicles.
An increasing interest rate environment may have an adverse effect on borrowing costs for Ford Credit, making it more expensive to fund our operations or leading to higher rates charged to our customers if these costs are passed on.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Ford Credit could experience higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values, or higher-than-expected return volumes for leased vehicles. Credit risk is the possibility of loss from a customer’s or dealer’s failure to make payments according to contract terms. Credit risk (which is heavily dependent upon economic factors including unemployment, consumer debt service burden, personal income growth, dealer profitability, and used car prices) has a significant impact on Ford Credit’s business. The level of credit losses Ford Credit may experience could exceed its expectations and adversely affect its financial condition or results of operations. In addition, Ford Credit projects expected residual values (including residual value support payments from Ford) and return volumes for the vehicles it leases. Actual proceeds realized by Ford Credit upon the sale of returned leased vehicles at lease termination may be lower than the amount projected, which would reduce Ford Credit’s return on the lease transaction. Among the factors that can affect the value of returned lease vehicles are the volume and mix of vehicles returned industrywide, economic conditions, marketing programs, and quality or perceived quality, safety, fuel efficiency, or reliability of the vehicles, or changes in propulsion technology and related legislative changes. Actual return volumes may be influenced by these factors, as well as by contractual lease-end values relative to auction values. If auction values decrease significantly in the future, return volumes could exceed Ford Credit’s expectations. Each of these factors, alone or in combination, has the potential to adversely affect Ford Credit’s results of operations if actual results were to differ significantly from Ford Credit’s projections. See “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 for additional discussion.
Economic and demographic experience for pension and OPEB plans (e.g., discount rates or investment returns) could be worse than Ford has assumed . The measurement of our obligations, costs, and liabilities associated with benefits pursuant to our pension and OPEB plans requires that we estimate the present value of projected future payments to all participants. We use many assumptions in calculating these estimates, including assumptions related to discount rates, investment returns on designated plan assets, and demographic experience (e.g., mortality and retirement rates). We generally remeasure these estimates at each year end and recognize any gains or losses associated with changes to our plan assets and liabilities in the year incurred. To the extent actual results are less favorable than our assumptions, we may recognize a remeasurement loss in our results, which could be substantial. For additional information regarding our assumptions, see “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 and Note 16 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Pension and other postretirement liabilities could adversely affect Ford’s liquidity and financial condition. We have defined benefit retirement plans in the United States that cover many of our hourly and salaried employees. We also provide pension benefits to non-U.S. employees and retirees, primarily in Europe. In addition, we sponsor plans to provide OPEB for retired employees (primarily health care and life insurance benefits). See Note 16 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information about these plans. These benefit plans impose significant liabilities on us and could require us to make additional cash contributions, which could impair our liquidity. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to meet any pension or OPEB obligations, we could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, suspend dividend payments, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
Ford and Ford Credit could experience unusual or significant litigation, governmental investigations, or adverse publicity arising out of alleged defects in products, services, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise. We spend substantial resources to comply with governmental safety regulations, mobile and stationary source emissions regulations, consumer and automotive financial regulations, labor and employment practices, and other standards, but we cannot ensure that employees, contractors, agents, or other individuals affiliated with us will not violate such laws or regulations, which could result in civil or criminal liability. In addition, as discussed below under “ Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans and facilities to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous driving technology, environmental, and other regulations ” and “ Ford Credit could be subject to new or increased credit regulations, consumer protection regulations, or other regulations ,” regulatory standards and interpretations may change on short notice and impact our compliance status. Government investigations against Ford or Ford Credit have resulted in, and may in the future result in, fines, penalties, orders, or other resolutions, through litigation, administrative proceedings, settlement, or otherwise, which have in the past had, and could in the future have, an adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, or the operation of our business, including oversight by regulators or a government-appointed monitor. Moreover, compliance with governmental standards does not necessarily prevent individual or class action lawsuits, which can entail significant cost and risk. In certain circumstances, courts may permit civil actions even where our vehicles, services, and financial products comply with federal and/or other applicable law. Furthermore, simply responding to actual or threatened litigation or government investigations of our compliance with regulatory standards, whether related to our products, services, or business or commercial relationships, requires significant expenditures of time and other resources and may be disruptive to our operations. Litigation also is inherently uncertain, and we have in the past experienced, and could in the future experience, significant adverse results, including
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
compensatory and punitive damage awards, a disgorgement of profits or revenue, or injunctive relief, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or our business in general, particularly with larger jury verdicts becoming more prevalent. While we have an insurance program that provides coverage for certain claims, it may not be sufficient to cover the losses incurred. In addition, adverse publicity surrounding an allegation, litigation, or investigation, even if there is no merit to the matter, may cause significant reputational harm or create a negative public perception of our products and services, which could have a significant adverse effect on our sales.
Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans and facilities to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous driving technology, environmental, and other regulations. The automotive industry is subject to regulations worldwide that govern product characteristics and that differ by global region, country, and sometimes within national boundaries. Regulators have enacted and are proposing standards to address concerns regarding the environment (including concerns about global climate change and air quality), vehicle safety, and energy independence, and the regulatory landscape can change on short notice. These regulations vary, but generally require that over time motor vehicles and engines emit less air pollution, including GHG emissions, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter, and there are associated increased reporting requirements. Similarly, we are making substantial investments in our facilities and revising our processes to not only comply with applicable regulations but also to make our operations more efficient and sustainable. As our suppliers make similar investments, any higher costs may be passed on to us. In the United States, legal and policy debates on environmental regulations are continuing, with a recent primary trend toward reducing GHG emissions and increasing vehicle electrification. However, different federal administrations have either sought to make standards more strict or to make them less strict, with one administration often replacing the regulations enacted by the last. Various third parties routinely seek judicial review of these federal regulatory and deregulatory efforts. In parallel, California continues to enact increasingly strict emissions standards and requirements for ZEVs (standards that some other states are adopting), and those actions are also the subject of legal challenges. Court rulings regarding regulatory actions by federal, California, and other state regulators create uncertainty and the potential for applicable regulatory standards to change quickly. In addition, many governments regulate local product content or impose import requirements with the aim of creating jobs, protecting domestic producers, and influencing the balance of payments.
We regularly refine our product cycle plan to improve the fuel economy of our internal combustion vehicles and to offer more propulsion choices, such as hybrid and electrified vehicles, that generate lower GHG emissions. Electrification is our core strategy to comply with current and anticipated environmental laws and regulations in major markets. However, there are limits to our ability to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy over given time frames and many factors that could delay or impede our plans. Those factors primarily relate to the cost and effectiveness of available technologies; consumer acceptance of new technologies and their costs; changes in industrial policy, including incentives for electric vehicles and battery manufacturing and requirements for battery supply chains; changes in trade policy, which may affect the profitability of certain products; changes in vehicle mix (as described in more detail above under “ Ford’s new and existing products and digital, software, and physical services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and digital and software services industries, and Ford’s reputation may be harmed based on positions it takes or if it is unable to achieve the initiatives it has announced ”); the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of certain technologies for use in particular vehicles; the widespread availability (or lack thereof) of supporting infrastructure for new technologies, including charging for electric vehicles; the availability (or lack thereof) of the raw materials and component supply to make affordable batteries and other elements of electric vehicles; and the human, engineering, and financial resources necessary to deploy new technologies across a wide range of products and powertrains in a short time. If fuel prices are relatively low and market conditions or the consumer attributes of our vehicles do not lead consumers to purchase electric vehicles and other highly fuel-efficient vehicles in sufficient numbers, it may be difficult to meet applicable environmental standards and may constrain our ability to sell internal combustion engine vehicles, including some of the more profitable vehicles in our portfolio. Our obligations under the regulatory compliance credit purchase agreements we have entered into, including the ultimate number of credits we may purchase under those agreements, are dependent on the sellers’ delivery of the credits. If the seller under a credit purchase agreement does not deliver the credits contracted for, it may cause us to be out of compliance with emissions standards or other requirements. Such noncompliance may result in fines, penalties, or other costs, and/or we may need to modify our product plans and be unable to sell certain products. In the event we are obligated to purchase credits under those agreements, the cash impact of such purchases may be significant.
Moreover, the rates of EV growth, production disruptions, stop ships, supply chain limitations, lower-than-planned market acceptance of our vehicles, and/or other circumstances may cause us to modify product plans, or, in some cases, purchase credits, which we have done, in order to comply with emissions standards, fuel economy standards, or ZEV requirements, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and cause reputational harm.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Increased scrutiny of automaker emission compliance by regulators around the world has led to new regulations, more stringent enforcement programs, additional field actions, demands for reporting on the field performance of emissions components and higher scrutiny of field data, and delays in regulatory approvals. The cost to comply with government regulations concerning new vehicle standards and in-use vehicle requirements, including field service actions, is substantial. Additional regulations, changes in regulatory interpretations, or changes in consumer preferences that affect vehicle mix, as well as any non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations, could have a substantial adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, a number of governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, publicly assess vehicles to their own protocols. Any negative perception regarding the performance of our vehicles subjected to such tests could reduce future sales. Court decisions arising out of consumer and investor litigation could give rise to de facto changes in the interpretation of existing emission laws and regulations, thereby imposing new burdens on manufacturers. For more discussion of the impact of standards on our global business, see the “Governmental Standards” discussion in “Item 1. Business” above.
We and other companies continue to develop autonomous vehicle and driver assist technologies, and the U.S. and foreign governments are continuing to develop the regulatory framework that will govern autonomous vehicles and related technologies. Governmental restrictions on such technologies may limit our ability to provide these features to consumers, and manufacturers are facing increased scrutiny from regulators at the state and federal level on system misuse by customers, feature capabilities, and whether advertising for this technology contains false or misleading information. Some states are developing their own regulations that impact the testing and design of autonomous vehicles. This patchwork approach without federal guidance may subject Ford to additional compliance costs. Further, autonomous vehicle and driver assist technologies continue to be scrutinized by the government and consumers, and actual or perceived failures or misuse of these technologies and features have led to government investigations and inquiries, including of Ford, which has responded to information requests from NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board about our BlueCruise system. We and other OEMs are required to report to NHTSA crashes that meet NHTSA-defined criteria and occur when certain advanced driver assistance system features are in use. Such events involving our vehicles and technologies could require safety recalls and/or subject us to fines, penalties, damages, investigations, and reputational harm. In addition, the demand for these services by consumers is fluctuating as the technology is rolled out in various stages and with mixed industry results.
Ford and Ford Credit could be affected by the continued development of more stringent privacy, data use, data protection, data access, and artificial intelligence laws and regulations as well as consumers’ heightened expectations to safeguard their personal information. We are subject to laws, rules, guidelines from privacy and other regulators, and regulations in the United States and other countries (such as the EU’s and the U.K.’s General Data Protection Regulations, the EU’s Data Act, the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, the Colorado Artificial Intelligence Act, and the California Consumer Privacy Act) relating to the collection, use, transfer, and security of data and the personal information of consumers, employees, or others, including laws that may require us to notify regulators and affected individuals of a data security incident. Such laws, rules, and regulations, also apply to our vendors and/or may hold us liable for any violations by our vendors. Existing and newly developed laws and regulations may apply broadly to our operations within the relevant jurisdiction, are subject to change and uncertain interpretations by courts and regulators, and may be inconsistent across jurisdictions. Accordingly, complying with such laws and regulations may lead to a decline in consumer engagement or cause us to incur substantial costs to modify our operations or business practices. Moreover, regulatory actions seeking to impose significant financial penalties for noncompliance and/or legal actions (including pursuant to laws providing for private rights of action by consumers) could be brought against us in the event of a data compromise, misuse of consumer information, or perceived or actual non-compliance with data protection, data access, privacy, or artificial intelligence requirements. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may intensify these risks. Further, any unauthorized release of personal information could harm our reputation, disrupt our business, cause us to expend significant resources, and lead to a loss of consumer confidence resulting in an adverse impact on our business and/or consumers deciding to withhold or withdraw consent for our collection or use of data.
Ford Credit could be subject to new or increased credit regulations, consumer protection regulations, or other regulations. As a finance company, Ford Credit is highly regulated by governmental authorities in the locations in which it operates, which can impose significant additional costs and/or restrictions on its business. In the United States, for example, Ford Credit’s operations are subject to regulation and supervision under various federal, state, and local laws, including the federal Truth-in-Lending Act, Consumer Leasing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
The Dodd-Frank Act directs federal agencies to adopt rules to regulate the finance industry and the capital markets and gives the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) broad rule-making and enforcement authority for a wide range of consumer financial protection laws that regulate consumer finance businesses, such as Ford Credit’s automotive financing business. Exercise of these powers by the CFPB may increase the costs of, impose additional restrictions on, or otherwise adversely affect companies in the automotive finance business. The CFPB has authority to supervise and examine the largest nonbank automotive finance companies, such as Ford Credit, for compliance with consumer financial protection laws.
Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject Ford Credit to regulatory enforcement actions, including consent orders or similar orders where Ford Credit may be required to revise practices, remunerate customers, or pay fines. An enforcement action against Ford Credit or publicity around even an allegation that Ford Credit has not complied with applicable laws or regulations could harm Ford Credit’s reputation or lead to further litigation.
ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
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ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity Strategy and Risk Management
We devote significant resources to our security program that we believe is reasonably designed to mitigate our cybersecurity and information technology risk. We believe our cybersecurity program is reasonably designed to protect our information systems, software, networks, and other assets against, and mitigate the effects of cybersecurity incidents where unauthorized parties attempt, among other things, to disrupt or degrade service or our operations; misuse or abuse technology and information systems; make unauthorized disclosure of data; or otherwise cause harm to the Company, our customers, suppliers, or dealers, or other key stakeholders. We employ capabilities, processes, and other security measures we believe are reasonably designed to reduce and mitigate these risks, and have requirements for our suppliers and service providers to do the same. Despite having thorough due diligence, onboarding, and cybersecurity assessment processes in place for our suppliers and service providers, the responsibility ultimately rests with those parties to establish and maintain their respective cybersecurity programs. Our ability to monitor the cybersecurity practices of third parties is limited and there can be no assurance that we can prevent or mitigate the risk of any compromise or failure in the information systems, software, networks, and other assets owned or controlled by each of them. When we become aware that a supplier or service provider’s cybersecurity has been compromised, we attempt to mitigate the risk to the Company, including, if appropriate and feasible, by terminating the supplier’s connection to our information systems.
In an effort to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to cybersecurity threats, we employ a multi-layered cybersecurity risk management program supervised by our Chief Information Security Officer, whose team is responsible for leading enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, architecture, and processes. This responsibility includes identifying, considering, and assessing potentially material cybersecurity incidents on an ongoing basis, establishing processes designed to prevent and monitor potential cybersecurity risks, implementing mitigation and remedial measures, and maintaining our cybersecurity program. Our program is informed by and designed to comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). Our program leverages both internal and external techniques and expertise. Internally, we perform penetration tests, internal tests/code reviews, and red team exercises, among other things, to evaluate aspects of our cybersecurity program. We also perform phishing and social engineering simulations with, and provide cybersecurity training for, personnel with Company email and access to Company assets, and regularly circulate security awareness newsletters to employees. Externally, we monitor notifications from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (“CERT”) and various Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (each an “ISAC”); review customer, media, and third-party cybersecurity reports; and operate a bug bounty program. Our cybersecurity program also includes disaster recovery and incident response plans, including a ransomware response plan which is regularly tested and evaluated in tabletop simulations.
The Company’s global cybersecurity incident response is also overseen by our Chief Information Security Officer. Our Chief Information Security Officer has served in that role for over 7 years and has over a decade of engineering and operations expertise with cybersecurity technologies and services. Our Chief Information Security Officer reports to our Chief Enterprise Technology Officer who has spent over two decades managing cybersecurity risks as a leader at enterprise software and Fortune 50 companies. Our Chief Enterprise Technology Officer reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer.
When a cybersecurity threat or incident is identified, our policy is to review and triage the threat or incident, and to then manage it to conclusion in accordance with our cybersecurity incident response processes. When a cybersecurity incident is determined to be significant, it is addressed by management committees using processes that leverage subject-matter expertise from across the Company. Further, we have in the past and may in the future engage with third-party advisors and government and law enforcement agencies as part of our incident management processes. All cybersecurity incidents that are identified as reasonably having the potential to be highly significant to the Company are brought to the attention of both the Chief Enterprise Technology Officer and Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel by the Chief Information Security Officer as part of our cybersecurity incident response processes.
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ITEM 1C. Cybersecurity (Continued)
Cybersecurity Governance and Oversight
Cybersecurity risk identification, assessment, and management are integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program. As part of its enterprise risk management efforts, the Board meets with senior management, including the executive leadership team, to assess and respond to critical business risks. These critical enterprise risks are assessed by senior management annually and discussed with the Board. Then each of the top risks are validated, prioritized, and assigned risk owners who are responsible to oversee risk assessment, develop and implement mitigation plans, and provide regular updates to the Board (and/or Board committee assigned to the risk). In this way, critical business risks, including cybersecurity risk, benefit from both top-down and bottom-up risk management efforts that we believe are reasonably designed to escalate key risk and control issues to senior management and the Board.
As a result of this enterprise risk management process, cybersecurity threats have been and continue to be identified as one of the Company’s critical business risks, with our Chief Enterprise Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer assigned as the executive risk owners. The Chief Enterprise Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer monitor the prevention, mitigation, detection, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents through their management of, and participation in, the cybersecurity risk management and strategy processes described above, including through the operation of the Company’s global cybersecurity incident response plans, which include provisions for escalation to the Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel, as well as the Board and its committees, as appropriate. As discussed below, the executive risk owners for cybersecurity risk report out to the Audit Committee and, in some cases, the Board, on a regular basis as part of our enterprise risk management process.
The Board has delegated primary responsibility for the oversight of cybersecurity and information technology risks, and the Company’s preparedness for these risks, to the Audit Committee. As part of its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee receives regular updates on our cybersecurity practices as well as cybersecurity and information technology risks from our Chief Information Security Officer. These updates include topics related to cybersecurity practices, cyber risks, and risk management processes, such as updates to our cybersecurity programs and mitigation strategies, and other cybersecurity developments. In addition to these regular updates, as part of our incident response processes, the Chief Enterprise Technology Officer, in collaboration with the Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel, provides updates on certain cybersecurity incidents to the Audit Committee and, in some cases, the Board. The Audit Committee reviews and provides input into and oversight of our cybersecurity processes, and in the event Ford determines it has experienced a material cybersecurity incident, the Audit Committee is notified about the incident in advance of filing a Current Report on Form 8-K.
In 2024, we did not identify any cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. For a discussion of whether and how cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks, and other disruptions to our operational information systems, security systems, vehicles, and services could reasonably be expected to affect the Company, including its business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, see our risk factors above in Item 1A. generally and, in particular, “ Operational information systems, security systems, vehicles, and services could be affected by cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks, and other disruptions and impact Ford, Ford Credit, their suppliers, and dealers ” on page 22.
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ITEM 2. Properties.
Our principal properties include manufacturing and assembly facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, sales or administrative offices, and testing, prototype, and operations space.
We own substantially all of our U.S. manufacturing and assembly facilities. Our facilities are situated in various sections of the country and include assembly plants, engine plants, casting plants, metal stamping plants, transmission plants, and other component plants. Most of our distribution centers are leased (we own approximately 34% of the total square footage and lease the balance). The majority of the warehouses that we operate are leased, although many of our manufacturing and assembly facilities contain some warehousing space. Substantially all of our sales offices are leased space. Approximately 80% of the total square footage of our testing, prototype, and operations space is owned by us.
In addition, we maintain and operate manufacturing plants, assembly facilities, parts distribution centers, and engineering centers outside of the United States. We own substantially all of our non-U.S. manufacturing plants, assembly facilities, and engineering centers. The majority of our parts distribution centers outside of the United States are either leased or provided by vendors under service contracts.
We and the entities that we consolidated as of December 31, 2024 use over 375 operations facilities globally, including testing and prototype, across 24 countries, and 41 manufacturing and assembly plants, which includes plants that are operated by us or our consolidated joint venture that support our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segments.
We have one consolidated joint venture with manufacturing operations, which is in our Ford Blue segment:
• Ford Vietnam Limited — a joint venture between Ford (75% partner) and Diesel Song Cong One Member Limited Liability Company (a subsidiary of the Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation, which, in turn, is majority owned (87.43%) by the State of Vietnam represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade) (25% partner). Ford Vietnam Limited assembles and distributes a variety of Ford passenger and commercial vehicle models. The joint venture operates one plant in Vietnam.
In addition to the plants that we operate directly or that are operated by our consolidated joint venture, additional plants that support our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segments are operated by unconsolidated joint ventures of which we are a partner. The most significant of those unconsolidated joint ventures are as follows:
• AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (“AAT”) — a 50/50 joint venture between Ford and Mazda that owns and operates a manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand. AAT produces Ford and Mazda products for domestic and export sales.
• BlueOval SK, LLC — a 50/50 joint venture among Ford, SK On Co., Ltd., and SK Battery America, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of SK On) that is building and will operate electric vehicle battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky to supply batteries to Ford and Ford affiliates.
• Changan Ford Automobile Corporation, Ltd. (“CAF”) — a 50/50 joint venture between Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (“Changan”). CAF operates four assembly plants, an engine plant, and a transmission plant in China where it produces and distributes a variety of Ford and Lincoln brand passenger vehicle models.
• Ford Otomotiv Sanayi Anonim Sirketi (“Ford Otosan”) — a joint venture in Türkiye among Ford (41% partner), the Koc Group of Türkiye (41% partner), and public investors (18%) that is the sole supplier to us of the Transit, Transit Custom, and Transit Courier commercial vehicles and the Puma for Europe and the sole distributor of Ford vehicles in Türkiye. Ford Otosan also manufactures Ford heavy trucks for markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The joint venture owns three plants, a parts distribution depot, and a research and development center in Türkiye, and a combined vehicle and engine plant in Romania.
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Item 2. Properties (Continued)
• JMC — a publicly-traded company in China with Ford (32% shareholder) and Nanchang Jiangling Investment Co., Ltd. (41% shareholder) as its controlling shareholders. Nanchang Jiangling Investment Co., Ltd. is a 50/50 joint venture between Changan and Jiangling Motors Company Group. The public investors in JMC own 27% of its total outstanding shares. JMC assembles Ford Transit, Ford Ranger, a series of Ford SUVs, Ford engines, and non-Ford vehicles and engines for distribution in China and, for certain products, other export markets. JMC operates two assembly plants and one engine plant in Nanchang.
The facilities described above are, in the opinion of management, suitable and adequate for the manufacture and assembly of our and our joint ventures’ products.
The furniture, equipment, and other physical property owned by our Ford Credit operations are not material in relation to the operations’ total assets.
ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings.
The litigation process is subject to many uncertainties, and the outcome of individual matters is not predictable with assurance. See Note 24 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a discussion of loss contingencies. Following is a discussion of our significant pending legal proceedings:
PRODUCT LIABILITY MATTERS
We are a defendant in numerous actions in state and federal courts within and outside of the United States alleging damages from injuries resulting from (or aggravated by) alleged defects in our vehicles. In many actions, no monetary amount of damages is specified or the specific amount alleged is the jurisdictional minimum. Our experience with litigation alleging a specific amount of damages suggests that such amounts, on average, bear little relation to the actual amount of damages, if any, that we will pay in resolving such matters.
In addition to pending actions, we assess the likelihood of incidents that likely have occurred but not yet been reported to us. We also take into consideration specific matters that have been raised as claims but have not yet proceeded to litigation. Individual product liability matters that have more than a remote risk of loss and such loss would likely be significant if the matter is resolved unfavorably to us would be described herein. Currently there are no such matters to report.
Below is a product liability matter currently pending against Ford:
Hill v. Ford. Plaintiffs in this product liability action pending in Georgia state court allege that the roof of a 2002 Ford F-250 involved in a rollover accident was defectively designed. During the first trial in 2018, the judge declared a mistrial, ruled that Ford’s attorneys had violated pre-trial rulings while presenting evidence, and sanctioned Ford by prohibiting Ford from introducing any evidence at the second trial to show that the roof design of the F-250 was not defective. During the second trial in August 2022, a jury found that Pep Boys (the party that sold the tires on the vehicle involved in the rollover accident) was responsible for 30% of the damages, and Ford, as a direct result of the sanctions order prohibiting Ford from presenting its defense, was responsible for 70% of the damages, resulting in $16.8 million in damages being apportioned to Ford. The jury subsequently awarded punitive damages against Ford in the amount of $1.7 billion. We filed post-trial motions seeking a new trial, and on September 14, 2023, the trial court denied our post-trial motions. On October 13, 2023, Ford filed a notice of appeal with the Georgia Court of Appeals, and on November 1, 2024, the Georgia Court of Appeals vacated the trial court’s judgment and remanded the matter for a new trial. On November 7, 2024, the plaintiffs filed their notice of intent to petition the Georgia Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, and on December 19, 2024, the plaintiffs filed their petition with the Georgia Supreme Court. Ford filed its response to the petition on February 5, 2025.
ASBESTOS MATTERS
Asbestos was used in some brakes, clutches, and other automotive components from the early 1900s. Along with other vehicle manufacturers, we have been the target of asbestos litigation and, as a result, are a defendant in various actions for injuries claimed to have resulted from alleged exposure to Ford parts and other products containing asbestos. Plaintiffs in these personal injury cases allege various health problems as a result of asbestos exposure, either from component parts found in older vehicles, insulation or other asbestos products in our facilities, or asbestos aboard our former maritime fleet. We believe that we are targeted more aggressively in asbestos suits because many previously targeted companies have filed for bankruptcy or emerged from bankruptcy relieved of liability for such claims.
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Item 3. Legal Proceedings (Continued)
Most of the asbestos litigation we face involves individuals who claim to have worked on the brakes of our vehicles. We are prepared to defend these cases and believe that the scientific evidence confirms our long-standing position that there is no increased risk of asbestos-related disease as a result of exposure to the type of asbestos formerly used in the brakes on our vehicles. The extent of our financial exposure to asbestos litigation remains very difficult to estimate and could include both compensatory and punitive damage awards. The majority of our asbestos cases do not specify a dollar amount for damages; in many of the other cases the dollar amount specified is the jurisdictional minimum, and the vast majority of these cases involve multiple defendants. Some of these cases may also involve multiple plaintiffs, and we may be unable to tell from the pleadings which plaintiffs are making claims against us (as opposed to other defendants). Annual payout and defense costs may become significant in the future. Our accrual for asbestos matters includes probable losses for both asserted and unasserted claims.
CONSUMER MATTERS
We provide warranties on the vehicles we sell. Warranties are offered for specific periods of time and/or mileage and vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Pursuant to these warranties, we will repair, replace, or adjust parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship during the specified warranty period. Software updates are increasingly a component of vehicle service and may be performed during warranty coverage repairs, through field service actions, or through over-the-air updates. We are a defendant in numerous actions in state and federal courts alleging breach of warranty and claiming damages based on state and federal consumer protection laws. Remedies under these statutes may include vehicle repurchase, civil penalties, and payment by Ford of the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees. In some cases, plaintiffs also include an allegation of fraud. Remedies for a fraud claim may include contract rescission, vehicle repurchase, and punitive damages. Annual payout and defense costs may become significant in the future.
The cost of these litigation matters is included in our warranty costs. We accrue obligations for warranty costs at the time of sale using a patterned estimation model that includes historical information regarding the nature, frequency, and average cost of claims for each vehicle line by model year. We reevaluate the adequacy of our accruals on a regular basis.
We are currently a defendant in a significant number of litigation matters relating to the performance of vehicles, including those equipped with DPS6 transmissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
We have received notices under various federal and state environmental laws that we (along with others) are or may be a potentially responsible party for the costs associated with remediating numerous hazardous substance storage, recycling, or disposal sites in many states and, in some instances, for natural resource damages. We also may have been a generator of hazardous substances at a number of other sites. The amount of any such costs or damages for which we may be held responsible could be significant. Any legal proceeding arising under any federal, state, or local provisions that have been enacted or adopted regulating the discharge of materials into the environment or primarily for the purpose of protecting the environment, in which (i) a governmental authority is a party, and (ii) we believe there is the possibility of monetary sanctions (exclusive of interest and costs) in excess of $1,000,000 is described herein.
On June 16, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) filed a complaint in the Superior Court of New Jersey (Bergen County) seeking natural resource damages and other claims related to the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site located in Ringwood, New Jersey. On February 21, 2023, the court denied our motion to dismiss. We continue to defend against the NJDEP’s allegations.
CLASS ACTIONS
In light of the fact that few of the purported class actions filed against us in the past have been certified by the courts as class actions, in general we list those actions that (i) have been certified as a class action by a court of competent jurisdiction (and any additional purported class actions that raise allegations substantially similar to an existing and certified class), and (ii) have more than a remote risk of loss, and such loss would likely be significant if the action is resolved unfavorably to us. At this time, we have no such class actions filed against us.
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Item 3. Legal Proceedings (Continued)
OTHER MATTERS
Brazilian Tax Matters. One Brazilian state (São Paulo) and the Brazilian federal tax authority currently have outstanding substantial tax assessments against Ford Motor Company Brasil Ltda. (“Ford Brazil”) related to state and federal tax incentives Ford Brazil received for its operations in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The São Paulo assessment is part of a broader conflict among various states in Brazil. The federal legislature enacted laws designed to encourage the states to end that conflict, and in 2017 the states reached an agreement on a framework for resolution. Ford Brazil continues to pursue a resolution under the framework and expects the amount of any remaining assessments by the states to be resolved under that framework. The federal assessments are outside the scope of the legislation.
All of the outstanding assessments have been appealed to the relevant administrative court of each jurisdiction. To proceed with an appeal within the judicial court system, an appellant may be required to post collateral. To date, we have not been required to post any collateral. If we are required to post collateral, which could be in excess of $1 billion, we expect it to be in the form of fixed assets, surety bonds, and/or letters of credit, but we may be required to post cash collateral. Although the ultimate resolution of these matters may take many years, we consider our overall risk of loss to be remote.
European Commission and U.K. Competition and Markets Authority Matter. On March 15, 2022, the European Commission (the “Commission”) and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) conducted unannounced inspections at the premises of, and sent formal requests for information to, several companies and associations active in the automotive sector, including Ford. The inspections and requests for information concern possible collusion in relation to the collection, treatment, and recovery of end-of-life cars and vans (“ELVs”). We understand that the scope of the investigations includes determining whether manufacturers and importers of passenger cars and vans agreed to an approach to (i) the compensation of ELV collection, treatment, and recovery companies, and (ii) the use of data relating to the recyclability or recoverability of ELVs in marketing materials, and whether such conduct violates relevant competition laws. If a violation is found, a broad range of remedies is potentially available to the Commission and/or CMA, including imposing a fine and/or the prohibition or restriction of certain business practices. We are continuing to cooperate with the Commission and the CMA.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Consent Order. On November 13, 2024, Ford entered into a consent order (the “Consent Order”) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) to resolve, without an admission of liability, allegations made by NHTSA following its investigation into whether a recall conducted by Ford in 2020 addressing rearview camera performance was timely under NHTSA’s regulations. The Consent Order includes a $165 million civil penalty, which consists of a $65 million cash payment from Ford, $55 million held in abeyance subject to Ford’s adherence to the terms of the Consent Order, and $45 million that Ford will use to invest in advanced data analytics, a new testing facility, and certain other projects to enhance compliance with NHTSA’s requirements. In addition, during the term of the Consent Order, Ford has agreed to submit a monthly Safety Evaluation List (“SEL”) to NHTSA and to meet with NHTSA each quarter to review and answer NHTSA’s questions about any of the issues on the SEL. Further, Ford has hired an independent third party selected by NHTSA to assess the Company’s adherence to the Consent Order and Vehicle Safety Act over the term of the Consent Order and to report on Ford’s progress to NHTSA. Ford has also committed to review prior recalls over the past three years to ensure that all impacted vehicles were captured. In the event Ford determines that it must add more vehicles to the population, the Company will update the applicable recalls. The term of the Consent Order is three years, and it may be extended for one additional year at NHTSA’s discretion.
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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ITEM 4A. Information About Our Executive Officers.
Our executive officers are as follows, along with each executive officer’s position and age at February 1, 2025:
Name
Position
Position
Held Since Age
William Clay Ford, Jr. (a) Executive Chair and Chair of the Board September 2006 67
James D. Farley, Jr. (b) President and Chief Executive Officer October 2020 62
John Lawler (c) Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer October 2020 58
Ashwani (“Kumar”) Galhotra Chief Operating Officer October 2023 59
Michael Amend Chief Enterprise Technology Officer September 2021 47
Steven P. Croley Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel July 2021 59
J. Doug Field Chief EV, Digital, and Design Officer October 2023 59
Andrew Frick President, Ford Blue and Ford Customer Service Division October 2023 51
Marin Gjaja Chief Operating Officer, Ford Model e September 2023 55
Jennifer Waldo Chief People and Employee Experience Officer May 2022 48
Shengpo (“Sam”) Wu President and Chief Executive Officer, Ford of China March 2023 58
Mark Kosman Chief Accounting Officer February 2024 59
__________
(a) Also a Director, Chair of the Office of the Chair and Chief Executive, Chair of the Finance Committee, and a member of the Sustainability, Innovation and Policy Committee of the Board of Directors. Mr. Ford’s daughter, Alexandra Ford English, is a member of the Board of Directors.
(b) Also a Director and member of the Office of the Chair and Chief Executive.
(c) Mr. Lawler has held the position of Chief Financial Officer since October 2020. He received the additional title of Vice Chair in June 2024.
Except as noted below, each of the officers listed above has been employed by Ford or its subsidiaries in one or more capacities during the past five years.
Prior to joining Ford:
• Michael Amend was President, Online, at Lowe’s from 2018 to 2021. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Amend served as Executive Vice President, Omnichannel, at JCPenney.
• Steven Croley was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Latham & Watkins from 2017 to 2021. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Croley served as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy.
• J. Doug Field was Vice President, Special Projects Group, at Apple from 2018 to 2021. From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Field served as Tesla’s Senior Vice President of Engineering.
• Marin Gjaja was Senior Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”). He had been at BCG since 1996.
• Jennifer Waldo was Vice President, People Business Partners at Apple from 2019 to 2022. From 2015 to 2019, Ms. Waldo was Chief Human Resources Officer at GE Digital.
• Shengpo “Sam” Wu was Executive Vice President and President, Whirlpool Asia from 2019 until he retired from that position in 2022. He served in an advisory role and as the Vice-Chairman of Whirlpool China Co., Ltd. from 2022 to 2023. Mr. Wu joined Whirlpool Corporation in 2017 as President, Whirlpool Asia and a member of the company’s Executive Committee.
Under our by-laws, executive officers are elected by the Board of Directors at an annual meeting of the Board held for this purpose or by a resolution to fill a vacancy. Each officer is elected to hold office until a successor is chosen or as otherwise provided in the by-laws.
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PART II.
ITEM 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market for Registrant’s Stock
Our Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States under the symbol F. As of February 3, 2025, stockholders of record of Ford included approximately 96,223 holders of Common Stock and 3 holders of Class B Stock. We believe that the number of beneficial owners is substantially greater than the number of record holders because a large portion of our Common Stock is held in “street name” by brokers.
Stock Performance Graph
The information contained in this Stock Performance Graph section shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our Common Stock with the total return on the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Automobiles & Parts Titans 30 Index for the five year period ended December 31, 2024. It shows the growth of a $100 investment on December 31, 2019, including the reinvestment of all dividends.
Base Period Years Ending
Company/Index 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Ford Motor Company
100 96 228 132 153 133
S&P 500
100 118 152 125 158 197
Dow Jones Automobiles & Parts Titans 30
100 151 188 128 170 183
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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities (Continued)
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
In the fourth quarter of 2024, we completed an anti-dilutive share repurchase program to offset the dilutive effect of share-based compensation granted during 2024. The program authorized repurchases of up to 53 million shares of Ford Common Stock. As shown in the rightmost column of the table below, we do not intend to make any further purchases under this program because its anti-dilutive purpose was fulfilled after purchasing only 36.43 million shares.
Period Total Number of Shares Purchased Average Price Paid per Share Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly-Announced Plans or Programs Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
October 1, 2024 through October 31, 2024 — $ — — 30,270,000
November 1, 2024 through November 30, 2024 13,700,000 10.91 13,700,000 16,570,000
December 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 — — — 16,570,000 (a)
Total / Average 13,700,000 $ 10.91 13,700,000
__________
(a) The share repurchase program announced February 7, 2024 authorized repurchases of up to 53 million shares of Ford Common Stock. Although we have repurchased 36.43 million shares and the program was authorized for up to 53 million, we do not intend to make any further purchases under this program because its anti-dilutive purpose has been fulfilled.
Dividends
The table below shows the dividends we paid per share of Common and Class B Stock for each quarterly period in 2023 and 2024:
2023 2024
First
Quarter (a)
Second
Quarter Third
Quarter Fourth
Quarter First
Quarter (a)
Second
Quarter Third
Quarter Fourth
Quarter
Dividends per share of Ford Common and Class B Stock
$ 0.80 $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.33 $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.15
__________
(a) In the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, in addition to a regular dividend of $0.15 per share, we paid a supplemental dividend of $0.65 per share and $0.18 per share, respectively.
On February 5, 2025, we declared a regular dividend of $0.15 per share and a supplemental dividend of $0.15 per share.
Subject to legally available funds, we intend to continue to pay a regular quarterly cash dividend on our outstanding Common Stock and Class B Stock. The declaration and payment of future dividends is at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, available cash, and current and anticipated cash needs.
ITEM 6. [Reserved.]
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ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Key Trends and Economic Factors Affecting Ford and the Automotive Industry
Trade Policy. To the extent governments in various regions implement or intensify barriers to imports, such as erecting tariff or non-tariff barriers or manipulating their currency, and provide advantages to local exporters selling into the global marketplace, there can be a significant negative impact on manufacturers based in other markets. In addition, as governments consider an expanded use of tariffs as a lever in achieving a balance of trade, this new dynamic could have a substantial adverse effect on our business and the automotive sector. The new, substantial tariff increases on imports to the United States from Canada and Mexico (in addition to China) announced on February 1, 2025, should they be implemented and sustained for an extended period of time, would have a significant adverse effect, including financial, on the overall automotive industry, Ford, and our supply chain. We will continue to monitor and address the developing role that geopolitical, climate, and labor concerns are playing in trade relations.
Production and Supply Chain. We continued to see improved supply chain throughput in 2024 resulting from improved resilience to short term disruptions. However, production constraints due to capacity and labor shortages remain as we adjust to shifting market conditions and balance our production mix, and the increased tariffs announced on February 1, 2025 and any additional tariffs, as discussed above, could have a significant impact on our supply chain and, in turn, our production. We continue to reevaluate our supply base and sourcing decisions and may in the future incur charges to improve flexibility and cost competitiveness.
Currency Exchange Rate Volatility. Globally, central banks have begun shifting from tightening policy by raising interest rates to holding rates steady or, in several markets, beginning to cut rates. As they do, they need to carefully balance the risk that inflation remains elevated against the heightened financial and economic risks associated with high interest rates. This is notable for many emerging markets, which may also face increased exposure to commodity prices and political instability, contributing to unpredictable movements in the value of their exchange rates. In addition to direct impacts on the financial flows of global automotive companies, currency movements can also impact pricing of vehicles exported to overseas markets. In most markets, exchange rates are market-determined, and all are impacted by many different macroeconomic and policy factors, and thus likely to remain volatile. However, in some markets, exchange rates are heavily influenced or controlled by governments.
Pricing Pressure. Despite vehicle pricing remaining elevated over the last year due to strong demand, supply shortages, and inflationary costs, we have already observed some declines in new and used vehicle prices as auto production recovers from the semiconductor shortage, but it is unclear whether prices will decline fully to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Intense competition and excess capacity are likely to put downward pressure on inflation-adjusted prices, including increased marketing incentives, for similarly-contented vehicles and contribute to a challenging pricing environment for the automotive industry in most major markets.
Electric Vehicle Market. Although we continue to invest in our electric vehicle strategy, we have observed lower-than-anticipated industrywide electric vehicle adoption rates and near-term pricing pressures, which has led us, and may in the future lead us, to adjust our spending, production, and/or product launches to better match the pace of electric vehicle adoption. In 2024, we recorded $1.2 billion of expenses related to the cancellation of a previously announced all-electric three-row SUV program. We may incur additional expenses and cash expenditures of about $700 million related to the cancellation, the majority of which we expect to record by the first half of 2025. Further, significant unexpected changes in the EV demand environment have led, and may in the future lead, to incremental competitive pricing actions, and we may continue to incur expenses related to payments to our electric vehicle-related suppliers (battery, raw material, or otherwise), asset write-downs, or other matters. These market dynamics may continue to occur, which could have a substantial impact on our business, including our investments in supply and production capacity. In addition, policy change in the United States could reduce or eliminate supply- and demand-side incentives, resulting in slower adoption of EVs. Further, the pace of EV adoption could force Ford to take various product-led actions (e.g., curtailing the production and sale of certain internal combustion vehicles) that could have substantial adverse effects on our sales volume and operations. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for additional discussion of the risks related to lower-than-anticipated electric vehicle volumes and our planned transition to a greater mix of electric vehicles.
Commodity and Energy Prices. Prices for commodities remain volatile. Spot prices for various commodities have recently diverged somewhat, as weakening in global industrial activity mitigates price increases for base metals such as steel and aluminum, while precious metals (e.g., palladium), and raw materials that are used in batteries for electric vehicles (e.g., lithium, cobalt, and nickel) have declined from historic highs but remain elevated. The net impact on us and our suppliers has been higher material costs overall. To help ensure supply of raw materials for critical components (e.g.,
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
batteries), we, like others in the industry, have entered into multi-year sourcing agreements and may enter into additional agreements. Similar dynamics are impacting energy markets, with Europe particularly exposed to the risk of both higher prices and constraints on supply of natural gas due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Such shortages may impact facilities operated by us or our suppliers, which could have an impact on us in Europe and other regions. In the long term, the outcome of de-carbonization and electrification of the vehicle fleet may depress oil demand, but geopolitical dynamics and the global energy transition will also contribute to ongoing volatility of oil and other energy prices.
Vehicle Profitability. Our financial results depend on the profitability of the vehicles we sell, which may vary significantly by vehicle line. In general, larger vehicles tend to command higher prices and be more profitable than smaller vehicles. For example, in Ford Blue, our larger, more profitable vehicles had an average contribution margin that was 150% of our total average contribution margin across all vehicles, whereas our smaller vehicles had significantly lower contribution margins. In addition, government regulations aimed at reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency (e.g., ZEV mandates and low emission zones), and other factors that accelerate the transition to electrified vehicles, may increase the cost of vehicles by more than the perceived benefit to consumers and dampen margins.
Inflation and Interest Rates. We continue to see lingering impacts on our business due to inflation, including ongoing geopolitical volatility, driving up energy prices, freight premiums, and other operating costs above normal rates. Although headline inflation in the United States and Europe appears to have peaked, core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) remains elevated and is a source of continued cost pressure on businesses and households. Interest rates have increased significantly and are only now beginning to reverse, as central banks in developed countries attempted to subdue inflation while government deficits and debt remain at high levels in many global markets. Accordingly, the eventual implications of higher government deficits and debt, tighter monetary policy, and potentially higher long-term interest rates may drive a higher cost of capital for the business. At Ford Credit, rising interest rates may impact its ability to source funding and offer financing at competitive rates, which could reduce its financing margin.
Revenue
Company excluding Ford Credit revenue is generated primarily by sales of vehicles, parts, accessories, and services from our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segments. Revenue is recorded when control is transferred to our customers (generally, our dealers and distributors). For the majority of sales, this occurs when products are shipped from our manufacturing facilities. However, we defer a portion of the consideration received when there is a separate future or stand-ready performance obligation, such as extended service contracts or ongoing vehicle connectivity. Revenue related to extended service contracts is recognized over the term of the agreement in proportion to the costs we expect to incur in satisfying the contract obligations; revenue related to other future or stand-ready performance obligations is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which services are expected to be performed. We also earn income from operating lease assets, primarily vehicles, and record the income on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease agreement. Proceeds from the sale of vehicles at auction are recognized in revenue upon transfer of control of the vehicle to the buyer.
Most of the vehicles sold by us to our dealers and distributors are financed at wholesale by Ford Credit. Upon Ford Credit originating the wholesale receivable related to a dealer’s purchase of a vehicle, Ford Credit pays cash to the relevant Ford entity in payment of the dealer’s obligation for the purchase price of the vehicle. The dealer then pays the wholesale finance receivable to Ford Credit when it sells the vehicle to a retail customer.
Our Ford Credit segment revenue is generated primarily from interest on finance receivables and revenue from operating leases. Revenue from interest on finance receivables is recognized over the term of the receivable using the interest method and includes the amortization of certain deferred origination costs. Revenue from operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.
Transactions between Ford Credit and our other segments occur in the ordinary course of business. For example, we offer special retail financing and lease incentives to dealers’ customers who choose to finance or lease our vehicles from Ford Credit. The cost for these incentives is included in our estimate of variable consideration at the date the related vehicle sales to our dealers are recorded. In order to compensate Ford Credit for the lower interest or lease payments offered to the retail customer, we pay the discounted value of the incentive directly to Ford Credit when it originates the retail finance or lease contract with the dealer’s customer. Ford Credit recognizes the incentive amount over the life of retail finance contracts as an element of financing revenue and over the life of lease contracts as a reduction to depreciation. See Note 1 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a more detailed discussion of transactions between Ford Credit and our other segments.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Costs and Expenses
Our income statement classifies our Company excluding Ford Credit total costs and expenses into two categories: (i) cost of sales, and (ii) selling, administrative, and other expenses. We include within cost of sales those costs related to the development, production, and distribution of our vehicles, parts, accessories, and services. Specifically, we include in cost of sales each of the following: material costs (including commodity costs); freight costs; warranty, including product recall costs; labor and other costs related to the development and production of our vehicles and connectivity, parts, accessories, and services; depreciation and amortization; regulatory compliance expenses; and other associated costs. We include within selling, administrative, and other expenses labor and other costs not directly related to the development and production of our vehicles, parts, accessories, and services, including such expenses as advertising and sales promotion costs.
Certain of our costs, such as material costs, generally vary directly with changes in volume and mix of production. In our industry, production volume often varies significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. Quarterly production volumes experience seasonal shifts throughout the year (including peak retail sales seasons and the impact on production of model changeover and new product launches). Annual production volumes are heavily impacted by external economic factors, including the pace of economic growth and factors such as the availability of consumer credit and cost of fuel.
As a result, we analyze the profit impact of certain cost changes, holding constant present-year volume and mix and currency exchange, in order to evaluate our cost trends absent the impact of varying production and currency exchange levels. We analyze these cost changes in the following categories:
• Contribution Costs – these costs typically vary with production volume. These costs include material (including commodity), warranty, and freight and duty costs.
• Structural Costs – these costs typically do not have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. These costs include manufacturing; vehicle and software engineering; spending-related (primarily depreciation and amortization for our manufacturing and engineering assets); advertising and sales promotion; administrative, information technology, and selling; and pension and OPEB costs.
While contribution costs generally vary directly in proportion to production volume, elements within our structural costs category are impacted to differing degrees by changes in production volume. We also have varying degrees of discretion when it comes to controlling the different elements within our structural costs. For example, depreciation and amortization expense largely is associated with prior capital spending decisions. On the other hand, while labor costs do not vary directly with production volume, manufacturing labor costs may be impacted by changes in volume, for example when we increase overtime, add a production shift, or add personnel to support volume increases. Other structural costs, such as advertising or engineering costs, do not necessarily have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. Our structural costs generally are within our discretion, although to varying degrees, and can be adjusted over time in response to external factors.
We consider certain structural costs to be a direct investment in future growth and revenue. For example, structural costs are necessary to grow our business and improve profitability, invest in new products and technologies, respond to increasing industry sales volume, and grow our market share.
Cost of sales and Selling, administrative, and other expenses for full year 2024 were $168.7 billion. Company excluding Ford Credit’s total material and commodity costs make up the largest portion of these costs and expenses, followed by structural costs. Although material costs are our largest absolute cost, our margins can be affected significantly by changes in any category of costs.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2024
The net income attributable to Ford Motor Company was $5,879 million in 2024. Company adjusted EBIT was $10,208 million.
Net income/(loss) includes certain items (“special items”) that are excluded from Company adjusted EBIT. These items are discussed in more detail in Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements. We report special items separately to allow investors analyzing our results to identify certain infrequent significant items that they may wish to exclude when considering the trend of ongoing operating results. Our pre-tax and tax special items were as follows (in millions):
2023 2024
Restructuring (by Geography)
Europe $ (978) $ (716)
North America Hourly Buyouts — (260)
China (958) (16)
Other (a) (87) —
Subtotal Restructuring $ (2,023) $ (992)
Other Items
EV program cancellation $ — $ (1,200)
Transit Connect customs matter (396) —
Extended Oakville Assembly Plant Changeover — (181)
EV program dispute (143) 19
Other (including gains/(losses) on investments) (188) 22
Subtotal Other Items $ (727) $ (1,340)
Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss)
Pension and OPEB remeasurement $ (2,058) $ 687
Pension settlements, curtailments, and separations costs (339) (215)
Subtotal Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss) $ (2,397) $ 472
Total EBIT Special Items $ (5,147) $ (1,860)
Provision for/(Benefit from) tax special items (b) $ (1,273) $ (323)
__________
(a) 2023 includes $28 million related to restructuring charges in India and $41 million in North America.
(b) Includes related tax effect on special items and tax special items.
We recorded $1,860 million of pre-tax special item charges in 2024, primarily reflecting a write-down of certain product specific assets and other expenses related to the cancellation of a previously planned all-electric three-row SUV program, continued ongoing restructuring actions in Europe, and buyouts for hourly employees in North America. Pension and OPEB remeasurement was a partial offset.
In Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements, special items are reflected as a separate reconciling item, as opposed to being allocated among our segments. This reflects the fact that management excludes these items from its review of operating segment results for purposes of measuring segment profitability and allocating resources.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
COMPANY KEY METRICS
The table below shows our full year 2024 key metrics for the Company compared to a year ago.
2023 2024 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Cash Flows from Operating Activities ($B) $ 14.9 $ 15.4 $ 0.5
Revenue ($M) 176,191 184,992 5 %
Net Income/(Loss) ($M) 4,347 5,879 $ 1,532
Net Income/(Loss) Margin (%) 2.5 % 3.2 % 0.7 ppts
EPS (Diluted) $ 1.08 $ 1.46 $ 0.38
Non-GAAP Financial Measures (a)
Company Adj. Free Cash Flow ($B) $ 6.8 $ 6.7 $ (0.1)
Company Adj. EBIT ($M) 10,416 10,208 (208)
Company Adj. EBIT Margin (%) 5.9 % 5.5 % (0.4) ppts
Adjusted EPS (Diluted) $ 2.01 $ 1.84 $ (0.17)
Adjusted ROIC (Trailing Four Quarters) 13.9 % 12.9 % (1.0) ppts
__________
(a) See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
In 2024, our diluted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock was $1.46 and our diluted adjusted earnings per share was $1.84.
Net income/(loss) margin was 3.2% in 2024, up from 2.5% a year ago. Company adjusted EBIT margin was 5.5% in 2024, down from 5.9% a year ago.
The table below shows our full year 2024 net income/(loss) attributable to Ford and Company adjusted EBIT by segment (in millions).
2023 2024 H / (L)
Ford Blue $ 7,462 $ 5,284 $ (2,178)
Ford Model e (4,701) (5,076) (375)
Ford Pro 7,222 9,015 1,793
Ford Next (138) (50) 88
Ford Credit 1,331 1,654 323
Corporate Other (760) (619) 141
Company Adjusted EBIT (a) 10,416 10,208 (208)
Interest on Debt (1,302) (1,115) 187
Special Items (5,147) (1,860) 3,287
Taxes / Noncontrolling Interests 380 (1,354) (1,734)
Net Income/(Loss) $ 4,347 $ 5,879 $ 1,532
__________
(a) See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
The year-over-year increase of $1,532 million in net income/(loss) in 2024 was primarily driven by lower special items and higher Ford Pro EBIT, offset partially by lower Ford Blue EBIT and higher taxes. The lower year-over-year special items primarily reflect the non-recurrence of a pension and OPEB remeasurement loss in 2023, a pension remeasurement gain in 2024, and lower year-over-year restructuring related charges, offset partially by expenses related to the three-row SUV EV program cancellation. The year-over-year decrease of $208 million in Company adjusted EBIT primarily reflects lower Ford Blue and Model e EBIT, offset partially by higher Ford Pro EBIT and Ford Credit EBT.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The tables below and on the following pages provide full year 2024 key metrics and the change in full year 2024 EBIT compared with full year 2023 by causal factor for each of our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segments. For a description of these causal factors, see Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro Causal Factors .
Ford Blue Segment
2023 2024 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 2,920 2,862 (58)
Revenue ($M) $ 101,934 $ 101,935 $ 1
EBIT ($M) 7,462 5,284 (2,178)
EBIT Margin (%) 7.3 % 5.2 % (2.1) ppts
__________
(a) Includes Ford and Lincoln brand and JMC brand vehicles produced and sold in China by our unconsolidated affiliates (about 455,000 units in 2023 and 438,000 units in 2024)
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2023 Full Year EBIT
$ 7,462
Volume / Mix (1,130)
Net Pricing 732
Cost (904)
Exchange (1,194)
Other 318
2024 Full Year EBIT
$ 5,284
In 2024, Ford Blue’s wholesales decreased 2% from a year ago, driven primarily by the end of production of the Fiesta in Europe and the Edge in North America, offset partially by higher Ranger and Bronco wholesales. Full year 2024 revenue is flat year over year, primarily reflecting favorable currency-related pricing in South America and higher outside component sales revenue, offset by unfavorable exchange resulting from a stronger U.S. dollar.
Ford Blue’s 2024 full year EBIT was $5,284 million, a decrease of $2,178 million from a year ago, with an EBIT margin of 5.2%. The lower EBIT was driven primarily by unfavorable exchange, adverse mix (primarily supplier-related constraints and fewer F-150s due to the new model launch) and lower wholesales, and higher cost (including higher material cost for new products and higher warranty costs). Higher currency-related pricing in South America was a partial offset.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Model e Segment
2023 2024 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Wholesale Units (000) 116 105 (11)
Revenue ($M) $ 5,897 $ 3,852 $ (2,045)
EBIT ($M) (4,701) (5,076) (375)
EBIT Margin (%) (79.7) % (131.8) % (52.0) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2023 Full Year EBIT
$ (4,701)
Volume / Mix (101)
Net Pricing (1,575)
Cost 1,375
Exchange (112)
Other 38
2024 Full Year EBIT
$ (5,076)
In 2024, Ford Model e’s wholesales decreased 9% from a year ago, reflecting lower Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning wholesales due to competitive market conditions, offset partially by the introduction of the Explorer BEV and Capri in Europe. Full year 2024 revenue decreased 35%, driven primarily by lower net pricing and lower wholesales.
Ford Model e’s 2024 full year EBIT loss was $5,076 million, a $375 million higher loss than a year ago, with an EBIT margin of negative 131.8%. The lower EBIT was primarily driven by lower net pricing due to industrywide competitive pressures, offset partially by lower costs (including battery-related raw material costs as well as other material costs and lower engineering and warranty expense).
Ford Pro Segment
2023 2024 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 1,377 1,503 126
Revenue ($M) $ 58,058 $ 66,906 $ 8,848
EBIT ($M) 7,222 9,015 1,793
EBIT Margin (%) 12.4 % 13.5 % 1.0 ppts
__________
(a) Includes Ford brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliate Ford Otosan in Türkiye (about 90,000 units in 2023 and 91,000 units in 2024).
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2023 Full Year EBIT
$ 7,222
Volume / Mix 3,309
Net Pricing 937
Cost (2,823)
Exchange 245
Other 125
2024 Full Year EBIT
$ 9,015
In 2024, Ford Pro’s wholesales increased 9% from a year ago, primarily reflecting higher sales of Super Duty and the Transit family of vehicles, offset partially by the end of production of the Edge in North America for fleet customers (including daily rental). Full year 2024 revenue increased 15%, driven by higher wholesales, favorable mix, and higher net pricing.
Ford Pro’s 2024 full year EBIT was $9,015 million, an increase of $1,793 million from a year ago, with an EBIT margin of 13.5%. The EBIT improvement was driven by favorable market factors. Higher cost was a partial offset, including material costs (primarily new product-related and the impact of inflation at our Ford Otosan joint venture in Türkiye), higher warranty costs, and higher growth-related structural costs.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro Causal Factors
In general, we measure year-over-year change in Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segment EBIT using the causal factors listed below, with net pricing and cost variances calculated at present-year volume and mix and exchange:
• Market Factors (exclude the impact of unconsolidated affiliate wholesale units):
◦ Volume and Mix – primarily measures EBIT variance from changes in wholesale unit volumes (at prior-year average contribution margin per unit) driven by changes in industry volume, market share, and dealer stocks, as well as the EBIT variance resulting from changes in product mix, including mix among vehicle lines and mix of trim levels and options within a vehicle line
◦ Net Pricing – primarily measures EBIT variance driven by changes in wholesale unit prices to dealers and marketing incentive programs such as rebate programs, low-rate financing offers, special lease offers, and stock adjustments on dealer inventory
• Cost:
◦ Contribution Costs – primarily measures EBIT variance driven by per-unit changes in cost categories that typically vary with volume, such as material costs (including commodity and component costs), warranty expense, and freight and duty costs
◦ Structural Costs – primarily measures EBIT variance driven by absolute change in cost categories that typically do not have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. Structural costs include the following cost categories:
▪ Manufacturing, Including Volume-Related - consists primarily of costs for hourly and salaried manufacturing personnel, plant overhead (such as utilities and taxes), and new product launch expense. These costs could be affected by volume for operating pattern actions such as overtime, line-speed, and shift schedules
▪ Engineering and Connectivity – consists primarily of costs for vehicle and software engineering personnel, prototype materials, testing, and outside engineering and software services
▪ Spending-Related – consists primarily of depreciation and amortization of our manufacturing and engineering assets, but also includes asset retirements and operating leases
▪ Advertising and Sales Promotions – includes costs for advertising, marketing programs, brand promotions, customer mailings and promotional events, and auto shows
▪ Administrative, Information Technology, and Selling – includes primarily costs for salaried personnel and purchased services related to our staff activities, information technology, and selling functions
• Exchange – primarily measures EBIT variance driven by one or more of the following: (i) transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currencies of the relevant entities, (ii) effects of converting functional currency income to U.S. dollars, (iii) effects of remeasuring monetary assets and liabilities of the relevant entities in currencies other than their functional currency, or (iv) results of our foreign currency hedging
• Other – includes a variety of items, such as parts and services earnings, royalties, government incentives, compensation-related changes, and regulatory compliance expenses
In addition, definitions and calculations used in this report include:
• Wholesales and Revenue – wholesale unit volumes include all Ford and Lincoln badged units (whether produced by Ford or by an unconsolidated affiliate) that are sold to dealerships or others, units manufactured by Ford that are sold to other manufacturers, units distributed by Ford for other manufacturers, and local brand units produced by our China joint venture, Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. (“JMC”), that are sold to dealerships or others. Vehicles sold to daily rental car companies that are subject to a guaranteed repurchase option (i.e., rental repurchase), as well as other sales of finished vehicles for which the recognition of revenue is deferred (e.g., consignments), also are included in wholesale unit volumes. Revenue from certain vehicles in wholesale unit volumes (specifically, Ford badged vehicles produced and distributed by our unconsolidated affiliates, as well as JMC brand vehicles) are not included in our revenue. Excludes transactions between Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segments
• Industry Volume and Market Share – based, in part, on estimated vehicle registrations; includes medium and heavy duty trucks
• SAAR – seasonally adjusted annual rate
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Next Segment
In 2024, the Ford Next segment primarily included expenses and investments for emerging business initiatives aimed at creating value for Ford in vehicle-adjacent market segments. As of January 1, 2025, Ford Next is no longer a reportable segment, and those expenses and investments are reflected in either the reportable segments that benefit from those expenses and investments or Corporate Other.
Our Ford Next segment EBIT loss in 2024 was $50 million, an $88 million improvement from a year ago. Ford Next has evolved from primarily investing in the development of autonomous vehicle capabilities to focus exclusively on incubating and launching new businesses creating strategic value for Ford.
Ford Credit Segment
The tables below provide full year 2024 key metrics and the change in full year 2024 EBT compared with full year 2023 by causal factor for the Ford Credit segment. For a description of these causal factors, see Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors .
2023 2024 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Total Net Receivables ($B) $ 133.2 $ 143.6 $ 10.4
Loss-to-Receivables (bps) (a) 35 50 15
Auction Values (b) $ 30,950 $ 29,810 (4) %
EBT ($M) 1,331 1,654 $ 323
ROE (%) 10.6 % 9.1 % (1.5) ppts
Other Balance Sheet Metrics
Debt ($B) $ 129.3 $ 137.9 $ 8.6
Net Liquidity ($B) 25.7 25.2 (0.5)
Financial Statement Leverage (to 1) 9.7 10.0 0.3
__________
(a) U.S. retail financing only.
(b) U.S. 36-month off-lease auction values at full year 2024 mix.
Change in EBT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2023 Full Year EBT
$ 1,331
Volume / Mix 177
Financing Margin 709
Credit Loss (138)
Lease Residual (376)
Exchange 12
Other (61)
2024 Full Year EBT
$ 1,654
Total net receivables at December 31, 2024 were $10.4 billion higher than a year ago, reflecting higher consumer and non-consumer financing and a larger lease portfolio. Ford Credit’s U.S. 36-month auction values for off-lease vehicles were down 4% from a year ago.
Ford Credit’s 2024 EBT of $1,654 million was $323 million higher than a year ago, explained primarily by higher financing margin and favorable volume and mix, offset partially by higher operating lease depreciation, reflecting higher return rates and lower expected auction values, and higher retail credit losses.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors
In general, we measure year-over-year changes in Ford Credit’s EBT using the causal factors listed below:
• Volume and Mix:
◦ Volume primarily measures changes in net financing margin driven by changes in average net receivables excluding the allowance for credit losses at prior period financing margin yield (defined below in financing margin) at prior period exchange rates. Volume changes are primarily driven by the volume of new and used vehicles sold and leased, the extent to which Ford Credit purchases retail financing and operating lease contracts, the extent to which Ford Credit provides wholesale financing, the sales price of the vehicles financed, the level of dealer inventories, Ford-sponsored special financing programs available exclusively through Ford Credit, and the availability of cost-effective funding
◦ Mix primarily measures changes in net financing margin driven by period-over-period changes in the composition of Ford Credit’s average net receivables excluding the allowance for credit losses by product within each region
• Financing Margin:
◦ Financing margin variance is the period-over-period change in financing margin yield multiplied by the present period average net receivables excluding the allowance for credit losses at prior period exchange rates. This calculation is performed at the product and country level and then aggregated. Financing margin yield equals revenue, less interest expense and scheduled depreciation for the period, divided by average net receivables excluding the allowance for credit losses for the same period
◦ Financing margin changes are driven by changes in revenue and interest expense. Changes in revenue are primarily driven by the level of market interest rates, cost assumptions in pricing, mix of business, and competitive environment. Changes in interest expense are primarily driven by the level of market interest rates, borrowing spreads, and asset-liability management
• Credit Loss:
◦ Credit loss is the change in the provision for credit losses at prior period exchange rates. For analysis purposes, management splits the provision for credit losses into net charge-offs and the change in the allowance for credit losses
◦ Net charge-off changes are primarily driven by the number of repossessions, severity per repossession, and recoveries. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are primarily driven by changes in historical trends in credit losses and recoveries, changes in the composition and size of Ford Credit’s present portfolio, changes in trends in historical used vehicle values, and changes in forward looking macroeconomic conditions. For additional information, refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates - Allowance for Credit Losses” section of Item 7
• Lease Residual:
◦ Lease residual measures changes to residual performance at prior period exchange rates. For analysis purposes, management splits residual performance primarily into residual gains and losses, and the change in accumulated supplemental depreciation
◦ Residual gain and loss changes are primarily driven by the number of vehicles returned to Ford Credit and sold, and the difference between the auction value and the depreciated value (which includes both base and accumulated supplemental depreciation) of the vehicles sold. Changes in accumulated supplemental depreciation are primarily driven by changes in Ford Credit’s estimate of the expected auction value at the end of the lease term, and changes in Ford Credit’s estimate of the number of vehicles that will be returned to it and sold. Depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases includes early termination losses on operating leases due to customer default events. For additional information, refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates - Accumulated Depreciation on Vehicles Subject to Operating Leases” section of Item 7
• Exchange:
◦ Reflects changes in EBT driven by the effects of converting functional currency income to U.S. dollars
• Other:
◦ Primarily includes operating expenses, other revenue, insurance expenses, and other income/(loss) at prior period exchange rates
◦ Changes in operating expenses are primarily driven by salaried personnel costs, facilities costs, and costs associated with the origination and servicing of customer contracts
◦ In general, other income/(loss) changes are primarily driven by changes in earnings related to market valuation adjustments to derivatives (primarily related to movements in interest rates) and other miscellaneous items
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
In addition, the following definitions and calculations apply to Ford Credit when used in this Report:
• Cash (as shown in the Funding Structure and Liquidity tables) – Cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash, excluding amounts related to insurance activities
• Debt (as shown in the Key Metrics and Leverage tables) – Debt on Ford Credit’s balance sheets. Includes debt issued in securitizations and payable only out of collections on the underlying securitized assets and related enhancements. Ford Credit holds the right to receive the excess cash flows not needed to pay the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions
• Earnings Before Taxes (“EBT” ) – Reflects Ford Credit’s income before income taxes
• Loss-to-Receivables (“LTR”) Ratio – LTR ratio is calculated using net charge-offs divided by average finance receivables, excluding unearned interest supplements and the allowance for credit losses
• Return on Equity (“ROE” ) (as shown in the Key Metrics table) – Reflects return on equity calculated by annualizing net income for the period and dividing by monthly average equity for the period
• Securitization and Restricted Cash (as shown in the Liquidity table) – Securitization cash is held for the benefit of the securitization investors (for example, a reserve fund). Restricted cash primarily includes cash held to meet certain local governmental and regulatory reserve requirements and cash held under the terms of certain contractual agreements
• Securitizations (as shown in the Public Term Funding Plan table) – Public securitization transactions, Rule 144A offerings sponsored by Ford Credit, and widely distributed offerings by Ford Credit Canada
• Term Asset-Backed Securities (as shown in the Funding Structure table) – Obligations issued in securitization transactions that are payable only out of collections on the underlying securitized assets and related enhancements
• Total Net Receivables (as shown in the Key Metrics table) – Includes finance receivables (retail financing and wholesale) sold for legal purposes and net investment in operating leases included in securitization transactions that do not satisfy the requirements for accounting sale treatment. These receivables and operating leases are reported on Ford Credit’s balance sheets and are available only for payment of the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions; they are not available to pay the other obligations of Ford Credit or the claims of Ford Credit’s other creditors
51
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Corporate Other
Corporate Other primarily includes corporate governance expenses, past service pension and OPEB income and expense, interest income (excluding Ford Credit interest income and interest earned on our extended service contract portfolio) and gains and losses from our cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities (excluding gains and losses on investments in equity securities), and foreign exchange derivatives gains and losses associated with intercompany lending. Corporate governance expenses are primarily administrative, delivering benefit on behalf of the global enterprise, that are not allocated to operating segments. These include expenses related to setting and directing global policy, providing oversight and stewardship, and promoting the Company’s interests. For full year 2024, Corporate Other had a $619 million EBIT loss, compared with a $760 million EBIT loss in 2023. The EBIT improvement was driven by lower corporate governance expenses and higher Company excluding Ford Credit interest income.
Interest on Debt
Interest on Debt consists of interest expense on Company debt excluding Ford Credit. Our full year 2024 interest expense on Company debt excluding Ford Credit was $1,115 million, compared with $1,302 million in 2023.
Taxes
Our Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes for full year 2024 was a provision of $1,339 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 18.5%.
Our full year 2024 adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes special items, was 18.3%.
We regularly review our organizational structure and income tax elections for affiliates in non-U.S. and U.S. tax jurisdictions, which may result in changes in affiliates that are included in or excluded from our U.S. tax return. Any future changes to our structure, as well as any changes in income tax laws in the countries that we operate, could cause increases or decreases to our deferred tax balances and related valuation allowances.
52
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2023
The net income attributable to Ford Motor Company was $4,347 million in 2023. Company adjusted EBIT was $10,416 million.
Net income/(loss) includes certain items (“special items”) that are excluded from Company adjusted EBIT. These items are discussed in more detail in Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements. We report special items separately to allow investors analyzing our results to identify certain infrequent significant items that they may wish to exclude when considering the trend of ongoing operating results. Our pre-tax and tax special items were as follows (in millions):
2022 2023
Restructuring (by Geography)
China $ (380) $ (958)
Europe (151) (978)
Ford Credit - Brazil (155) —
Other (a) (436) (87)
Subtotal Restructuring $ (1,122) $ (2,023)
Other Items
Gain/(loss) on Rivian investment
$ (7,377) $ (31)
AV strategy including Argo impairment (2,812) —
Transit Connect customs matter — (396)
Russia suspension of operations/asset write-off (158) —
Patent matters related to prior calendar years (124) 8
EV program dispute — (143)
Other (including gains/(losses) on investments) (170) (165)
Subtotal Other Items $ (10,641) $ (727)
Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss)
Pension and OPEB remeasurement $ 29 $ (2,058)
Pension settlements and curtailments (438) (339)
Subtotal Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss) $ (409) $ (2,397)
Total EBIT Special Items $ (12,172) $ (5,147)
Provision for/(Benefit from) tax special items (b) $ (2,573) $ (1,273)
__________
(a) 2022 includes $298 million related to restructuring charges in India and $198 million in North America. 2023 includes $28 million related to restructuring charges in India and $41 million in North America.
(b) Includes related tax effect on special items and tax special items.
We recorded $5.1 billion of pre-tax special item charges in 2023, driven primarily by pension and OPEB remeasurement, restructuring actions in Europe and China, and the Transit Connect customs matter.
In Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements, special items are reflected as a separate reconciling item, as opposed to being allocated among our segments. This reflects the fact that management excludes these items from its review of operating segment results for purposes of measuring segment profitability and allocating resources.
53
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
COMPANY KEY METRICS
The table below shows our full year 2023 key metrics for the Company compared with full year 2022.
2022 2023 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Cash Flows from Operating Activities ($B) $ 6.9 $ 14.9 $ 8.1
Revenue ($M) 158,057 176,191 11 %
Net Income/(Loss) ($M) (1,981) 4,347 $ 6,328
Net Income/(Loss) Margin (%) (1.3) % 2.5 % 3.7 ppts
EPS (Diluted) $ (0.49) $ 1.08 $ 1.57
Non-GAAP Financial Measures (a)
Company Adj. Free Cash Flow ($B) $ 9.1 $ 6.8 $ (2.3)
Company Adj. EBIT ($M) 10,415 10,416 1
Company Adj. EBIT Margin (%) 6.6 % 5.9 % (0.7) ppts
Adjusted EPS (Diluted) $ 1.88 $ 2.01 $ 0.13
Adjusted ROIC (Trailing Four Quarters) 11.2 % 13.9 % 2.7 ppts
__________
(a) See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
In 2023, our diluted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock was $1.08 and our diluted adjusted earnings per share was $2.01.
Net income/(loss) margin was 2.5% in 2023, up from negative 1.3% in 2022. Company adjusted EBIT margin was 5.9% in 2023, down from 6.6% in 2022.
The table below shows our full year 2023 net income/(loss) attributable to Ford and Company adjusted EBIT by segment (in millions).
2022 2023 H / (L)
Ford Blue $ 6,847 $ 7,462 $ 615
Ford Model e (2,133) (4,701) (2,568)
Ford Pro 3,222 7,222 4,000
Ford Next (926) (138) 788
Ford Credit 2,657 1,331 (1,326)
Corporate Other 748 (760) (1,508)
Company Adjusted EBIT (a) 10,415 10,416 1
Interest on Debt (1,259) (1,302) (43)
Special Items (12,172) (5,147) 7,025
Taxes / Noncontrolling Interests 1,035 380 (655)
Net Income/(Loss) $ (1,981) $ 4,347 $ 6,328
__________
(a) See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
The year-over-year increase of $6.3 billion in net income/(loss) in 2023 was primarily driven by the non-recurrences of the mark-to-market net loss on our Rivian investment and the impairment on our Argo investment (both of which were included in special items in 2022), partially offset by a pension and OPEB remeasurement loss and higher charges for restructuring actions in Europe and China. The flat year-over-year Company adjusted EBIT primarily reflected higher Ford Pro and Ford Blue EBIT and a lower EBIT loss in Ford Next. Offsets included higher EBIT losses in Ford Model e, lower past service pension and OPEB income in Corporate Other, and lower Ford Credit EBT.
54
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The tables below and on the following pages provide full year 2023 key metrics and the change in full year 2023 EBIT compared with full year 2022 by causal factor for each of our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro segments. For a description of these causal factors, see Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro Causal Factors.
Ford Blue Segment
2022 2023 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 2,834 2,920 86
Revenue ($M) $ 94,762 $ 101,934 $ 7,172
EBIT ($M) 6,847 7,462 615
EBIT Margin (%) 7.2 % 7.3 % 0.1 ppts
__________
(a) Includes Ford and Lincoln brand and JMC brand vehicles produced and sold in China by our unconsolidated affiliates (about 484,000 units in 2022 and 455,000 units in 2023).
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2022 Full Year EBIT
$ 6,847
Volume / Mix 2,544
Net Pricing 235
Cost (1,558)
Exchange (462)
Other (144)
2023 Full Year EBIT
$ 7,462
In 2023, Ford Blue’s wholesales increased 3% from 2022, primarily reflecting an improvement in production-related supply constraints, offset partially by ceasing production of EcoSport and Fiesta small vehicles and production losses during the UAW strike. Full year 2023 revenue increased 8%, driven by higher wholesales, favorable mix, and higher net pricing, offset partially by weaker currencies.
Ford Blue’s 2023 full year EBIT was $7.5 billion, an increase of $615 million from 2022, with an EBIT margin of 7.3%. The EBIT improvement was driven primarily by favorable mix, lower commodity costs, higher wholesales and net pricing. Partial offsets primarily included higher warranty costs (reflecting inflationary cost pressures and increased field service actions), higher material costs related to new products, higher structural costs and supplemental compensation (including the impact of the UAW collective bargaining agreement), and weaker currencies.
55
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Model e Segment
2022 2023 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Wholesale Units (000) 96 116 20
Revenue ($M) $ 5,253 $ 5,897 $ 644
EBIT ($M) (2,133) (4,701) (2,568)
EBIT Margin (%) (40.6) % (79.7) % (39.1) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2022 Full Year EBIT
$ (2,133)
Volume / Mix (32)
Net Pricing (1,005)
Cost (1,765)
Exchange 84
Other 150
2023 Full Year EBIT
$ (4,701)
In 2023, Ford Model e’s wholesales increased 20% from 2022, primarily reflecting higher production of F-150 Lightning. Full year 2023 revenue increased 12%, driven by higher wholesales, offset partially by lower net pricing.
Ford Model e’s 2023 full year EBIT loss was $4.7 billion, a $2.6 billion higher loss than in 2022, with an EBIT margin of negative 79.7%. The EBIT deterioration was primarily driven by lower net pricing, higher material cost (including volume-related obligations for batteries of about $310 million, inflationary cost increases, and higher launch-related supplier costs), higher volume/capacity-related manufacturing and spending-related costs, higher warranty costs, and higher engineering costs for future programs, offset partially by lower commodity costs and stronger currencies.
Ford Pro Segment
2022 2023 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 1,301 1,377 76
Revenue ($M) $ 48,939 $ 58,058 $ 9,119
EBIT ($M) 3,222 7,222 4,000
EBIT Margin (%) 6.6 % 12.4 % 5.9 ppts
__________
(a) Includes Ford brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliate Ford Otosan in Türkiye (about 76,000 units in 2022 and 90,000 units in 2023).
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2022 Full Year EBIT
$ 3,222
Volume / Mix (331)
Net Pricing 7,067
Cost (2,353)
Exchange 27
Other (410)
2023 Full Year EBIT
$ 7,222
In 2023, Ford Pro’s wholesales increased 6% from 2022, primarily reflecting an improvement in production-related supply constraints, offset partially by production losses during the UAW strike. Full year 2023 revenue increased 19%, driven by higher net pricing and wholesales, offset partially by unfavorable mix.
Ford Pro’s 2023 full year EBIT was $7.2 billion, an increase of $4.0 billion from 2022, with an EBIT margin of 12.4%. The EBIT improvement was driven by higher net pricing, lower commodity costs, and higher wholesales. Partial offsets primarily included higher material costs (related to inflationary cost pressures, new products, and about $80 million of volume-related obligations for batteries), higher warranty costs (reflecting inflationary cost pressures and increased field service actions), and higher structural costs (including volume-related) and supplemental compensation (including the impact of the UAW collective bargaining agreement).
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Next Segment
In our Ford Next segment, our 2023 EBIT loss was $138 million, a $788 million improvement from 2022.
Ford Credit Segment
The tables below provide full year 2023 key metrics and the change in full year 2023 EBT compared with full year 2022 by causal factor for the Ford Credit segment.
2022 2023 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Total Net Receivables ($B) $ 122 $ 133 $ 11
Loss-to-Receivables (bps) (a) 14 35 21
Auction Values (b) $ 33,280 $ 30,950 (7) %
EBT ($M) 2,657 1,331 $ (1,326)
ROE (%) 16 % 11 % (5) ppts
Other Balance Sheet Metrics
Debt ($B) $ 119 $ 129 9 %
Net Liquidity ($B) 21 26 22 %
Financial Statement Leverage (to 1) 10.0 9.7 (0.3)
__________
(a) U.S. retail financing only.
(b) U.S. 36-month off-lease auction values at full year 2024 mix.
Change in EBT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2022 Full Year EBT
$ 2,657
Volume / Mix 153
Financing Margin (493)
Credit Loss (239)
Lease Residual (466)
Exchange 18
Other (299)
2023 Full Year EBT
$ 1,331
Total net receivables at December 31, 2023 were 9% higher than at December 31, 2022, primarily reflecting higher consumer and non-consumer financing and currency exchange rates, offset partially by fewer operating leases. Ford Credit’s U.S. 36-month auction values for off-lease vehicles were down 7% from 2022.
Ford Credit’s 2023 EBT of $1,331 million was $1,326 million lower than 2022, reflecting lower financing margin, the non-recurrence of supplemental depreciation and credit loss reserve releases, lower lease residual performance, unfavorable derivative market valuation, and higher credit losses.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Corporate Other
For full year 2023, Corporate Other had a $760 million EBIT loss, compared with $748 million of positive EBIT in 2022. The EBIT deterioration was driven by lower past service pension and OPEB income, partially offset by higher Company excluding Ford Credit interest income, reflecting higher interest rates.
Interest on Debt
Our full year 2023 interest expense on Company debt excluding Ford Credit was $1,302 million, $43 million higher than in 2022.
Taxes
Our Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes for full year 2023 was a $362 million benefit, resulting in an effective tax rate of negative 9.1%. This includes benefits arising from U.S. research tax credits and legal entity restructuring within our leasing operations and China.
Our full year 2023 adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes special items, was 10.0%.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
At December 31, 2024, total balance sheet cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash, including Ford Credit and entities held for sale, was $38.6 billion.
We consider our key balance sheet metrics to be: (i) Company cash, which includes cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash (including cash held for sale), excluding Ford Credit’s cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash; and (ii) Company liquidity, which includes Company cash, less restricted cash, and total available committed credit lines, excluding Ford Credit’s total available committed credit lines.
Company Excluding Ford Credit
December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024
Balance Sheets ($B)
Company Cash $ 28.8 $ 28.5
Liquidity 46.4 46.7
Debt (19.9) (20.7)
Cash Net of Debt 8.9 7.9
Pension Funded Status ($B)
Funded Plans $ 2.1 $ 3.4
Unfunded Plans (4.4) (3.9)
Total Global Pension $ (2.3) $ (0.5)
Total Funded Status OPEB $ (4.7) $ (4.4)
Liquidity . Our key priority is to maintain a strong balance sheet to withstand potential stress scenarios, while having resources available to invest in and grow our business. At December 31, 2024, we had Company cash of $28.5 billion and liquidity of $46.7 billion. At December 31, 2024, about 88% of Company cash was held by consolidated entities domiciled in the United States.
To be prepared for an economic downturn and other stress scenarios, we target an ongoing Company cash balance at or above $20 billion plus significant additional liquidity above our Company cash target. We expect to have periods when we will be above or below this amount due to: (i) future cash flow expectations, such as for investments in future opportunities, capital investments, debt maturities, pension contributions, or restructuring requirements, (ii) short-term timing differences, and (iii) changes in the global economic or operating environment.
Our Company cash investments primarily include U.S. Department of Treasury obligations, federal agency securities, bank time deposits with investment-grade institutions, investment-grade corporate securities, investment-grade commercial paper, and debt obligations of a select group of non-U.S. governments, non-U.S. governmental agencies, and supranational institutions. The average maturity of these investments is approximately one year and is adjusted based on market conditions and liquidity needs. We monitor our Company cash levels and average maturity on a daily basis.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Material Cash Requirements. Our material cash requirements include:
• Capital expenditures (for additional information, see the “Changes in Company Cash” section below) and other payments for engineering, software, product development, and implementation of our plans for electric vehicles
• Purchases of raw materials and components to support the manufacturing and sale of vehicles (including electric vehicles), parts, and accessories (for additional information, see the Aggregate Contractual Obligations table and the accompanying description of our “Purchase obligations” below)
• Purchases of regulatory compliance credits
• Marketing incentive payments to dealers
• Payments for warranty and field service actions (for additional information, see Note 24 of the Notes to the Financial Statements)
• Debt repayments (for additional information, see the Aggregate Contractual Obligations table below and Note 18 of the Notes the Financial Statements)
• Discretionary and mandatory payments to our global pension plans (for additional information, see the “Liquidity and Capital Resources - Total Company” section below and Note 16 of the Notes to the Financial Statements)
• Employee wages, benefits, and incentives
• Operating lease payments (for additional information, see the Aggregate Contractual Obligations table below and Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements)
• Cash effects related to the restructuring of our business
• Strategic acquisitions and investments to grow our business, including electrification
Subject to approval by our Board of Directors, shareholder distributions in the form of dividend payments and/or a share repurchase program (including share repurchases to offset the anti-dilutive effect of increased share-based compensation) may require the expenditure of a material amount of cash. We target shareholder distributions of 40% to 50% of adjusted free cash flow. Moreover, we may be subject to additional material cash requirements that are contingent upon the occurrence of certain events, e.g., legal contingencies, uncertain tax positions, and other matters.
We are party to many contractual obligations involving commitments to make payments to third parties, and, as noted above, such commitments require a material amount of cash. Most of these are debt obligations incurred by our Ford Credit segment. In addition, as part of our normal business practices, we enter into contracts with suppliers for purchases of certain raw materials, components, and services to facilitate adequate supply of these materials and services. These arrangements, including multi-year offtake commitments, may contain fixed or minimum quantity purchase requirements. “Purchase obligations” in the Aggregate Contractual Obligations table below are defined as off-balance sheet agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding on the Company and that specify all significant terms; however, as we purchase raw materials and components beyond the minimum amounts required by the “Purchase obligations,” our material cash requirements for these items are higher than what is reflected in the Aggregate Contractual Obligations table. For additional information on the timing of these payments and the impact on our working capital, see the “Changes in Company Cash” section below.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
The table below summarizes our aggregate contractual obligations as of December 31, 2024 (in millions):
Payments Due by Period
2025 2026 - 2027 2028 - 2029 Thereafter Total
Company excluding Ford Credit
On-balance sheet
Long-term debt (a) $ 1,042 $ 4,987 $ 816 $ 12,645 $ 19,490
Interest payments relating to long-term debt (b) 960 1,727 1,514 8,963 13,164
Finance leases (c) 134 235 178 510 1,057
Operating leases (d) 639 970 515 505 2,629
Off-balance sheet
Purchase obligations (e) (f) 2,573 4,015 2,125 1,053 9,766
Total Company excluding Ford Credit 5,348 11,934 5,148 23,676 46,106
Ford Credit
On-balance sheet
Long-term debt (a) 35,921 52,596 21,174 12,061 121,752
Interest payments relating to long-term debt (b) 5,133 6,031 2,501 1,401 15,066
Operating leases 12 17 2 3 34
Off-balance sheet
Purchase obligations 59 56 15 — 130
Total Ford Credit 41,125 58,700 23,692 13,465 136,982
Total Company $ 46,473 $ 70,634 $ 28,840 $ 37,141 $ 183,088
__________
(a) Excludes unamortized debt discounts/premiums, unamortized debt issuance costs, and fair value adjustments.
(b) Long-term debt may have fixed or variable interest rates. For long-term debt with variable-rate interest, we estimate the future interest payments based on projected market interest rates for various floating-rate benchmarks received from third parties.
(c) Includes interest payments of $252 million.
(d) Excludes approximately $707 million in future lease payments for various operating leases commencing in a future period.
(e) Includes regulatory compliance credit purchase commitments. For additional information on our regulatory compliance credit purchases, see page 10 in the “Government Standards” section in “Item 1. Business”.
(f) Purchase obligations under existing offtake agreements for certain battery raw materials are not included in the table above. As of December 31, 2024, our estimated expenditures for the maximum quantity that we are committed to purchase under these offtake agreements through 2035, subject to certain conditions, consist of approximately $1.8 billion of purchase obligations and approximately $4.9 billion of contingent purchase obligations based on our present forecast. However, our forecast could fluctuate from period to period based on market prices, which may result in significant increases or decreases in our estimate. The actual price paid for these materials will be recorded on our balance sheet at the time of purchase. In the event that we do not expect to consume all of the materials we are obligated to purchase pursuant to the terms of these agreements, we may sell the excess materials back to the supplier or another party. The resale price may or may not be the same as the original purchase price, depending on then-current market conditions and negotiated terms. As a result, we have recorded, and may in the future record, accruals related to either the resale when the purchase price mechanism under our agreements is higher than the expected resale price of the excess materials or when we are required to otherwise compensate the supplier. Accruals recorded to date for such items have been immaterial. As market conditions dictate, we have entered, and may in the future enter, into additional offtake agreements with raw material suppliers or renegotiate existing agreements. For additional information, see the discussion of our offtake agreements below on page 62.
We plan to utilize our liquidity (as described above) and our cash flows from business operations to fund our material cash requirements.
Changes in Company Cash. In managing our business, we classify changes in Company cash into operating and non-operating items. Operating items include: Company adjusted EBIT excluding Ford Credit EBT, capital spending, depreciation and tooling amortization, changes in working capital, Ford Credit distributions, interest on debt, cash taxes, and all other and timing differences (including timing differences between accrual-based EBIT and associated cash flows). Non-operating items include: restructuring costs, changes in Company debt excluding Ford Credit, contributions to funded pension plans, shareholder distributions, and other items (including gains and losses on investments in equity securities, acquisitions and divestitures, equity investments, and other transactions with Ford Credit).
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
With respect to “Changes in working capital,” in general, the Company excluding Ford Credit carries relatively low trade receivables compared with our trade payables because the majority of our wholesales are financed (primarily by Ford Credit) immediately upon the sale of vehicles to dealers, which generally occurs shortly after being produced. In contrast, our trade payables are based primarily on industry-standard production supplier payment terms of about 45 days. As a result, our cash flow deteriorates if wholesale volumes (and the corresponding revenue) decrease while trade payables continue to become due. Conversely, our cash flow improves if wholesale volumes (and the corresponding revenue) increase while new trade payables are generally not due for about 45 days. For example, the suspension of production at most of our assembly plants and lower industry volumes due to COVID-19 in early 2020 resulted in an initial deterioration of our cash flow, while the subsequent resumption of manufacturing operations and return to pre-COVID-19 production levels at most of our assembly plants resulted in a subsequent improvement of our cash flow. Even in normal economic conditions, however, these working capital balances generally are subject to seasonal changes that can impact cash flow. For example, we typically experience cash flow timing differences associated with inventories and payables due to our annual shutdown periods when production, and therefore inventories and wholesale volumes, are usually at their lowest levels, while payables continue to come due and be paid. The net impact of this typically results in cash outflows from changes in our working capital balances during these shutdown periods.
In response to, or in anticipation of, supplier disruptions, we may stockpile certain components or raw materials to help prevent disruption in our production of vehicles. Such actions could have a short-term adverse impact on our cash and increase our inventory. Moreover, in order to secure critical materials for production of electric vehicles, we have entered into and we may, in the future, enter into offtake agreements with raw material suppliers and make investments in certain raw material and battery suppliers, including contributing up to a maximum of $6.6 billion in capital to BlueOval SK, LLC (“BOSK”) over a five-year period ending in 2026. Through January 2025, we have recognized $2.4 billion of contributions to BOSK, net of returns of capital (for additional information, see Note 23 of the Notes to the Financial Statements). Our actual capital outlay could vary significantly based on the final project costs and potential financing opportunities. Such investments could have an additional adverse impact on our cash in the near-term.
The terms of the offtake agreements we have entered into, and those we may enter into in the future, vary by transaction, though they generally obligate us to purchase a certain percentage or minimum amount of output produced by the counterparty over an agreed upon period of time. The purchase price mechanisms included in our offtake agreements are typically based on the market price of the material at the time of delivery. The terms also may include conditions to our obligation to purchase the materials, such as quality or minimum output. Subject to satisfaction of those conditions, we will be obligated to purchase the materials or otherwise compensate the supplier in the amount determined by the contract. Based on the offtake agreements we have entered into thus far, the earliest date by which we could be obligated to purchase any output, subject to satisfaction of the applicable conditions, will be in the first half of 2025.
Unlike our standard arrangements with suppliers, under multi-year offtake agreements, the risks associated with lower-than-expected electric vehicle production volumes or changes in battery technology that reduce the need for certain raw materials are borne by Ford rather than our suppliers. Accordingly, in the event we do not purchase the materials pursuant to the terms of these agreements, and we are unable to restructure an agreement or an alternate purchaser is unable to be found, Ford retains a financial obligation for those materials. For additional discussion of the risks related to our offtake agreements and other long-term purchase contracts, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
Financial institutions participate in a supply chain finance (“SCF”) program that enables our suppliers, at their sole discretion, to sell their Ford receivables (i.e., our payment obligations to the suppliers) to the financial institutions on a non-recourse basis in order to be paid earlier than our payment terms provide. Our suppliers’ voluntary inclusion of invoices in the SCF program has no bearing on our payment terms, the amounts we pay, or our liquidity. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to participate in the SCF program, and we do not provide any guarantees in connection with it. As of December 31, 2024, the outstanding amount of Ford receivables that suppliers elected to sell to the SCF financial institutions was $172 million. The amount settled through the SCF program during 2024 was $1.6 billion.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Changes in Company cash excluding Ford Credit are summarized below (in billions):
December 31, 2022 December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024
Company Excluding Ford Credit
Company adjusted EBIT excluding Ford Credit (a) $ 7.8 $ 9.1 $ 8.6
Capital spending $ (6.5) $ (8.2) $ (8.6)
Depreciation and tooling amortization 5.2 5.3 5.0
Net spending $ (1.3) $ (2.9) $ (3.6)
Receivables $ (1.0) $ (1.0) $ (0.3)
Inventory (2.5) (1.2) 0.1
Trade payables 3.7 (0.2) (1.3)
Changes in working capital $ 0.2 $ (2.4) $ (1.5)
Ford Credit distributions $ 2.1 $ — $ 0.5
Interest on debt and cash taxes (1.7) (2.2) (2.1)
All other and timing differences 1.9 5.2 4.7
Company adjusted free cash flow (a) $ 9.1 $ 6.8 $ 6.7
Restructuring $ (0.4) $ (0.9) $ (0.8)
Changes in debt (0.4) (0.2) 0.5
Funded pension contributions (0.6) (0.6) (1.1)
Shareholder distributions (2.5) (5.3) (3.5)
All other (b) (9.5) (3.2) (2.0)
Change in cash $ (4.3) $ (3.4) $ (0.3)
__________
(a) See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
(b) 2022 includes a $7.4 billion loss on our Rivian investment. 2023 includes $2.6 billion of capital contributions to BlueOval SK, LLC. 2024 includes $2.3 billion of capital contributions to BlueOval SK, LLC, offset by a return of capital of $1.4 billion.
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
Our full year 2024 Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities was positive $15.4 billion, an increase of $0.5 billion from a year ago (see page 78 for additional information). Company adjusted free cash flow was $6.7 billion, $0.1 billion lower than a year ago.
Capital spending was $8.6 billion in 2024, $0.4 billion higher than a year ago, and is expected to be in the range of $8 billion to $9 billion in 2025.
The full year 2024 working capital impact was $1.5 billion negative, driven by a decrease in payables and an increase in receivables, offset partially by lower inventory. All other and timing differences were positive $4.7 billion. Timing differences include differences between accrual-based EBIT and the associated cash flows (e.g., marketing incentive and warranty payments to dealers, JV equity income, compensation payments, and pension and OPEB income or expense). Cash outflows related to our warranty accruals are expected to occur over several years.
Shareholder distributions (including cash dividends and anti-dilutive share repurchases) were $3.5 billion in 2024. On February 5, 2025, we declared a regular dividend of $0.15 per share and a supplemental dividend of $0.15 per share.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Available Credit Lines . Total Company committed credit lines, excluding Ford Credit, at December 31, 2024 were $20.0 billion, consisting of $13.5 billion of our corporate credit facility, $2.0 billion of our supplemental revolving credit facility, $2.5 billion of our 364-day revolving credit facility, and $2.0 billion of local credit facilities. At December 31, 2024, $1.7 billion of committed Company credit lines, excluding Ford Credit, was utilized under local credit facilities for our affiliates, and the full amount under each of our corporate, supplemental, and 364-day credit facilities was available.
Lenders under our corporate credit facility have $25 million of commitments maturing on April 26, 2026, $3.4 billion of commitments maturing on April 22, 2027, $0.1 billion of commitments maturing on April 26, 2028, and $10.0 billion of commitments maturing on April 20, 2029. Lenders under our supplemental revolving credit facility have $2.0 billion of commitments maturing on April 22, 2027. Lenders under our 364-day revolving credit facility have $2.5 billion of commitments maturing on April 21, 2025.
The corporate, supplemental, and 364-day credit agreements include certain sustainability-linked targets, pursuant to which the applicable margin and facility fees may be adjusted if Ford achieves, or fails to achieve, the specified targets related to global manufacturing facility greenhouse gas emissions, carbon-free electricity consumption, and Ford Europe CO 2 tailpipe emissions. Prior to 2024, the specified targets related to global manufacturing facility greenhouse gas emissions, renewable electricity consumption, and Ford Europe CO 2 tailpipe emissions; Ford outperformed all three of the sustainability-linked metrics for the most recent performance period.
The corporate credit facility is unsecured and free of material adverse change conditions to borrowing, restrictive financial covenants (for example, interest or fixed-charge coverage ratio, debt-to-equity ratio, and minimum net worth requirements), and credit rating triggers that could limit our ability to obtain funding or trigger early repayment. The corporate credit facility contains a liquidity covenant that requires us to maintain a minimum of $4 billion in aggregate of domestic cash, cash equivalents, and loaned and marketable securities and/or availability under the corporate credit facility, supplemental revolving credit facility, and 364-day revolving credit facility. If our senior, unsecured, long-term debt does not maintain at least two investment grade ratings from Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P, the guarantees of certain subsidiaries will be required. The terms and conditions of the supplemental and 364-day revolving credit facilities are consistent with our corporate credit facility. Ford Credit has been designated as a subsidiary borrower under the corporate credit facility and the 364-day revolving credit facility.
Debt. As shown in Note 18 of the Notes to the Financial Statements, at December 31, 2024, Company debt excluding Ford Credit was $20.7 billion. This balance is $0.7 billion higher than at December 31, 2023.
Leverage. We manage Company debt (excluding Ford Credit) levels with a leverage framework that targets investment grade credit ratings through a normal business cycle. The leverage framework includes a ratio of total Company debt (excluding Ford Credit), underfunded pension liabilities, operating leases, and other adjustments, divided by Company adjusted EBIT (excluding Ford Credit EBT), and further adjusted to exclude depreciation and tooling amortization (excluding Ford Credit).
Ford Credit’s leverage is calculated as a separate business as described in the “Liquidity and Capital Resources - Ford Credit Segment” section of Item 7. Ford Credit is self-funding and its debt, which is used to fund its operations, is separate from our Company debt excluding Ford Credit.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Credit Segment
Ford Credit remains well capitalized with a strong balance sheet and funding diversified across platforms and markets. Ford Credit continues to have robust access to capital markets and ended 2024 with $25.2 billion of liquidity.
Key elements of Ford Credit’s funding strategy include:
• Maintain strong liquidity and funding diversity
• Prudently access public markets
• Continue to leverage retail deposits in Europe
• Flexibility to increase asset-backed securities mix as needed; preserving assets and committed capacity
• Target financial statement leverage of 9:1 to 10:1
• Maintain self-liquidating balance sheet
Ford Credit’s liquidity profile continues to be diverse, robust, and focused on maintaining liquidity levels that meet its business and funding requirements. Ford Credit regularly stress tests its balance sheet and liquidity to ensure that it can continue to meet its financial obligations through economic cycles.
Funding Sources. Ford Credit’s funding sources include primarily unsecured debt and securitization transactions (including other structured financings). Ford Credit issues both short-term and long-term debt that is held by both institutional and retail investors, with long-term debt having an original maturity of more than 12 months. Ford Credit sponsors a number of securitization programs that can be structured to provide both short-term and long-term funding through institutional investors and other financial institutions in the United States and international capital markets.
Ford Credit obtains unsecured funding from the sale of demand notes under its Ford Interest Advantage program and through the retail deposit programs at FCE and Ford Bank. At December 31, 2024, the principal amount outstanding of Ford Interest Advantage notes, which may be redeemed at any time at the option of the holders thereof without restriction, and FCE and Ford Bank deposits was $18.3 billion. Ford Credit maintains multiple sources of readily available liquidity to fund the payment of its unsecured short-term debt obligations.
The following table shows funding for Ford Credit’s net receivables (in billions):
December 31, 2022 December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024
Funding Structure
Term unsecured debt $ 48.3 $ 54.1 $ 59.2
Term asset-backed securities 56.4 58.0 60.4
Retail Deposits / Ford Interest Advantage 14.3 17.2 18.3
Other 2.7 1.4 1.2
Equity 11.9 13.4 13.8
Cash (11.3) (10.9) (9.3)
Total Net Receivables $ 122.3 $ 133.2 $ 143.6
Securitized Funding as Percent of Total Debt 47.4 % 44.9 % 43.8 %
Net receivables of $143.6 billion at December 31, 2024 were funded primarily with term unsecured debt and term asset-backed securities. Securitized funding as a percent of total debt was 43.8% as of December 31, 2024.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Public Term Funding Plan. The following table shows Ford Credit’s issuances for full year 2022, 2023, and 2024, and its planned issuances for full year 2025, excluding short-term funding programs (in billions):
2022
Actual
2023
Actual
2024
Actual
2025
Forecast
Unsecured $ 6 $ 14 $ 17 $ 11 -14
Securitizations 10 14 16 13 -16
Total public $ 16 $ 28 $ 33 $ 24 - 30
In 2024, Ford Credit completed $33 billion of public term funding. For 2025, Ford Credit projects full year public term funding in the range of $24 billion to $30 billion. Through February 4, 2025, Ford Credit completed $5 billion of public term issuances.
Liquidity. The following table shows Ford Credit’s liquidity sources and utilization (in billions):
December 31, 2022 December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024
Liquidity Sources (a)
Cash $ 11.3 $ 10.9 $ 9.3
Committed asset-backed facilities 37.4 42.9 42.9
Other unsecured credit facilities 2.3 2.4 1.7
Total liquidity sources $ 51.0 $ 56.2 $ 53.9
Utilization of Liquidity (a)
Securitization cash and restricted cash $ (2.9) $ (2.8) $ (3.1)
Committed asset-backed facilities (26.6) (27.5) (25.6)
Other unsecured credit facilities (0.8) (0.4) (0.5)
Total utilization of liquidity $ (30.3) $ (30.7) $ (29.2)
Available liquidity $ 20.7 $ 25.5 $ 24.7
Other adjustments 0.4 0.2 0.5
Net liquidity available for use $ 21.1 $ 25.7 $ 25.2
__________
(a) See Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors section.
Ford Credit’s net liquidity available for use will fluctuate quarterly based on factors including near-term debt maturities, receivable growth and decline, and timing of funding transactions. At December 31, 2024, Ford Credit’s net liquidity available for use was $25.2 billion, $0.5 billion lower than year-end 2023. Ford Credit’s sources of liquidity include cash, committed asset-backed facilities, and unsecured credit facilities. At December 31, 2024, Ford Credit’s liquidity sources, including cash, committed asset-backed facilities, and unsecured credit facilities, totaled $53.9 billion, down $2.3 billion from year-end 2023, primarily explained by lower cash.
Material Cash Requirements. Ford Credit’s material cash requirements include: (1) the purchase of retail financing and operating lease contracts from dealers and providing wholesale financing for dealers to finance new and used vehicles; and (2) debt repayments (for additional information on debt, see the “Balance Sheet Liquidity Profile” section below, the “Material Cash Requirements” section in “Liquidity and Capital Resources - Company Excluding Ford Credit” above, and Note 18 of the Notes to the Financial Statements). In addition, subject to approval by Ford Credit’s Board of Directors, shareholder distributions may require the expenditure of a material amount of cash. Moreover, Ford Credit may be subject to additional material cash requirements that are contingent upon the occurrence of certain events, e.g., legal contingencies, uncertain tax positions, and other matters.
Ford Credit plans to utilize its liquidity (as described above) and its cash flows from business operations to fund its material cash requirements.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Balance Sheet Liquidity Profile. Ford Credit defines its balance sheet liquidity profile as the cumulative maturities, including the impact of expected prepayments and allowance for credit losses, of its finance receivables, investment in operating leases, and cash, less the cumulative debt maturities over upcoming annual periods. Ford Credit’s balance sheet is inherently liquid because of the short-term nature of its finance receivables, investment in operating leases, and cash. Ford Credit ensures its cumulative debt maturities have a longer tenor than its cumulative asset maturities. This positive maturity profile is intended to provide Ford Credit with additional liquidity after all of its assets have been funded and is in addition to liquidity available to protect for stress scenarios.
The following table shows Ford Credit’s cumulative maturities for assets and total debt for the periods presented and unsecured long-term debt maturities in the individual periods presented (in billions):
2025 2026 2027 2028 and Beyond
Balance Sheet Liquidity Profile
Assets (a) $ 79 $ 109 $ 134 $ 160
Total debt (b) 63 91 109 139
Memo: Unsecured long-term debt maturities 13 13 11 25
__________
(a) Includes gross finance receivables less the allowance for credit losses (including certain finance receivables that are reclassified in consolidation to Trade and other receivables ), investment in operating leases net of accumulated depreciation, cash and cash equivalents, and marketable securities (excluding amounts related to insurance activities). Amounts shown include the impact of expected prepayments.
(b) Excludes unamortized debt (discount)/premium, unamortized issuance costs, and fair value adjustments.
Maturities of investment in operating leases consist primarily of the portion of rental payments attributable to depreciation over the remaining life of the lease and the expected residual value at lease termination. Maturities of finance receivables and investment in operating leases in the table above include expected prepayments for Ford Credit’s retail installment sale contracts and investment in operating leases. The table above also reflects adjustments to debt maturities to match the asset-backed debt maturities with the underlying asset maturities.
All wholesale securitization transactions and wholesale receivables are shown maturing in the next 12 months, even if the maturities extend beyond 2025. The retail securitization transactions under certain committed asset-backed facilities are assumed to amortize immediately rather than amortizing after the expiration of the commitment period. As of December 31, 2024, Ford Credit had $160 billion of assets, $72 billion of which were unencumbered.
Funding and Liquidity Risks. Ford Credit’s funding plan is subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control, including disruption in the capital markets that could impact both unsecured debt and asset-backed securities issuance and the effects of regulatory changes on the financial markets.
Despite Ford Credit’s diverse sources of funding and liquidity, its ability to maintain liquidity may be affected by, among others, the following factors (not necessarily listed in order of importance or probability of occurrence):
• Prolonged disruption of the debt and securitization markets;
• Global capital markets volatility;
• Credit ratings assigned to Ford and Ford Credit;
• Market capacity for Ford- and Ford Credit-sponsored investments;
• General demand for the type of securities Ford Credit offers;
• Ford Credit’s ability to continue funding through asset-backed financing structures;
• Performance of the underlying assets within Ford Credit’s asset-backed financing structures;
• Inability to obtain hedging instruments;
• Accounting and regulatory changes; and
• Ford Credit’s ability to maintain credit facilities and committed asset-backed facilities.
Stress Tests. Ford Credit regularly conducts stress testing on its funding and liquidity sources to ensure it can continue to meet financial obligations and support the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles during firm-specific and market-wide stress events. Stress tests are intended to quantify the potential impact of various adverse scenarios on the balance sheet and liquidity. These scenarios include assumptions on access to unsecured and secured debt markets, runoff of short-term funding, and ability to renew expiring liquidity commitments and are measured over various time periods, including 30 days, 90 days, and longer term. Ford Credit’s stress test does not assume any additional funding, liquidity, or capital support from Ford. Ford Credit routinely develops contingency funding plans as part of its liquidity stress testing.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Leverage. Ford Credit uses leverage, or the debt-to-equity ratio, to make various business decisions, including evaluating and establishing pricing for finance receivable and operating lease financing, and assessing its capital structure.
The table below shows the calculation of Ford Credit’s financial statement leverage (in billions):
December 31, 2022 December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024
Leverage Calculation
Debt $ 119.0 $ 129.3 $ 137.9
Equity (a) 11.9 13.4 13.8
Financial statement leverage (to 1) 10.0 9.7 10.0
__________
(a) Total shareholder’s interest reported on Ford Credit’s balance sheets.
Ford Credit plans its leverage by considering market conditions and the risk characteristics of its business. At December 31, 2024, Ford Credit’s financial statement leverage was 10.0:1. Ford Credit targets financial statement leverage in the range of 9:1 to 10:1.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Total Company
Pension Plan Contributions and Strategy. Our strategy is to reduce the risk of our funded defined benefit pension plans, including minimizing the volatility of the value of our pension assets relative to pension liabilities and the need for unplanned use of capital resources to fund the plans. The strategy reduces balance sheet, cash flow, and income exposures and, in turn, reduces our risk profile. Going forward, we expect to:
• Limit our pension contributions to offset ongoing service cost, ensure our funded plans remain fully funded in aggregate, and meet regulatory requirements, if any;
• Minimize the volatility of the value of our pension assets relative to pension obligations and ensure assets are sufficient to pay plan benefits; and
• Evaluate strategic actions to reduce pension liabilities, such as plan design changes, curtailments, or settlements
2023 2024 2024
H / (L)
2023
Pension Funded Status ($B)
U.S. Plans $ (1.3) $ (1.0) $ 0.3
Non-U.S. Plans (1.0) 0.5 1.5
Total Global Pension $ (2.3) $ (0.5) $ 1.8
Year-End Discount Rate (Weighted Average)
U.S. Plans 5.17 % 5.65 % 48 bps
Non-U.S. Plans 3.98 % 4.51 % 53 bps
Actual Asset Returns
U.S. Plans 7.41 % 0.08 % (7.33) ppts
Non-U.S. Plans 5.56 % 2.77 % (2.79) ppts
Pension - Funded Plans Only ($B)
Funded Status $ 2.1 $ 3.4 $ 1.3
Contributions for Funded Plans 0.6 1.1 0.5
Worldwide, our defined benefit pension plans were underfunded by $0.5 billion at December 31, 2024, an improvement of $1.8 billion from December 31, 2023, primarily reflecting 2024 plan contributions and the impact of higher discount rates compared to year-end 2023, partially offset by actual asset returns lower than our assumptions. Of the $0.5 billion underfunded status at year-end 2024, our funded plans were $3.4 billion overfunded and our unfunded plans were $3.9 billion underfunded. These unfunded plans are “pay as you go” with benefits paid from Company cash and primarily include certain plans in Germany and U.S. defined benefit plans for senior management.
The fixed income mix was 75% in our U.S. plans and 80% in our non-U.S. plans at year-end 2024.
In 2024, we contributed $1,073 million to our global funded pension plans, an increase of $481 million compared with 2023. During 2025, we expect to contribute about $800 million of cash to our global funded pension plans. We also expect to make about $450 million of benefit payments to participants in unfunded plans. Based on current assumptions and regulations, we do not expect to have a legal requirement to fund our major U.S. pension plans in 2025. Our global funded plans remain fully funded in aggregate, demonstrating the effectiveness of our de-risking strategy and our commitment to a strong balance sheet.
For a detailed discussion of our pension plans, refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates - Pensions and Other Postretirement Employee Benefits” section of Item 7 and Note 16 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”). We analyze total Company performance using an adjusted ROIC financial metric based on an after-tax rolling four quarter average. The following table contains the calculation of our ROIC for the years shown (in billions):
December 31, 2022 December 31, 2023 December 31, 2024
Adjusted Net Operating Profit/(Loss) After Cash Tax
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford $ (2.0) $ 4.3 $ 5.9
Add: Noncontrolling interest (0.2) — —
Less: Income tax 0.9 0.4 (1.3)
Add: Cash tax (0.8) (1.0) (1.2)
Less: Interest on debt (1.3) (1.3) (1.1)
Less: Total pension / OPEB income / (cost) 0.4 (3.1) (0.1)
Add: Pension / OPEB service costs (1.0) (0.6) (0.6)
Net operating profit/(loss) after cash tax $ (3.9) $ 6.7 $ 6.7
Less: Special items (excl. pension / OPEB) pre-tax (11.7) (2.7) (2.3)
Adjusted net operating profit/(loss) after cash tax $ 7.8 $ 9.5 $ 9.1
Invested Capital
Equity $ 43.2 $ 42.8 $ 44.9
Debt (excl. Ford Credit) 19.9 19.9 20.7
Net pension and OPEB liability 4.7 7.0 5.0
Invested capital (end of period) $ 67.8 $ 69.8 $ 70.5
Average invested capital $ 70.0 $ 68.1 $ 70.1
ROIC (a) (5.6) % 9.9 % 9.6 %
Adjusted ROIC (Non-GAAP) (b) 11.2 % 13.9 % 12.9 %
__________
(a) Calculated as the sum of net operating profit/(loss) after cash tax from the last four quarters, divided by the average invested capital over the last four quarters.
(b) Calculated as the sum of adjusted net operating profit/(loss) after cash tax from the last four quarters, divided by the average invested capital over the last four quarters.
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
CREDIT RATINGS
Our short-term and long-term debt is rated by four credit rating agencies designated as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: DBRS, Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P.
In several markets, locally recognized rating agencies also rate us. A credit rating reflects an assessment by the rating agency of the credit risk associated with a corporate entity or particular securities issued by that entity. Rating agencies’ ratings of us are based on information provided by us and other sources. Credit ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell, or hold securities and are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating agency may have different criteria for evaluating company risk and, therefore, ratings should be evaluated independently for each rating agency.
There have been no rating actions by these NRSROs since the filing of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
The following table summarizes certain of the credit ratings and outlook presently assigned by these four NRSROs:
NRSRO RATINGS
Ford Ford Credit NRSROs
Issuer
Default /
Corporate /
Issuer Rating Long-Term Senior Unsecured Outlook / Trend Long-Term Senior Unsecured Short-Term
Unsecured Outlook / Trend Minimum Long-Term Investment Grade Rating
DBRS BBB (low) BBB (low) Stable BBB (low) R-2 (low) Stable BBB (low)
Fitch BBB- BBB- Stable BBB- F3 Stable BBB-
Moody’s N/A Ba1 Stable Ba1 NP Stable Baa3
S&P BBB- BBB- Stable BBB- A-3 Stable BBB-
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
OUTLOOK
We provided 2025 Company guidance in our earnings release furnished on Form 8-K dated February 5, 2025. The guidance is based on our expectations as of February 5, 2025, and assumes no material change to our current assumptions for inflation, logistics issues, production, or macroeconomic conditions. Moreover, our guidance has not factored in any new policy changes by the administration in the United States, including recently announced or future tariffs, or tariffs that may be imposed by other governments. Our actual results could differ materially from our guidance due to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those set forth in “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I.
2025 Guidance
Total Company
Adjusted EBIT (a) $7.0 - $8.5 billion
Adjusted Free Cash Flow (a) $3.5 - $4.5 billion
Capital spending $8.0 - $9.0 billion
Ford Credit
EBT About $2.0 billion
__________
(a) When we provide guidance for Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, we do not provide guidance for the most comparable GAAP measures because, as described in more detail below in “Non-GAAP Measures That Supplement GAAP Measures,” they include items that are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty.
For full-year 2025, we expect adjusted EBIT of $7.0 billion to $8.5 billion and adjusted free cash flow of $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion.
On a segment basis, we expect:
• Ford Pro EBIT of $7.5 billion to $8.0 billion, reflecting continued strength of core Ford Pro products and services along with moderated pricing across fleets, including daily rental
• Ford Blue EBIT of $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion, reflecting lower wholesales as inventories rebalance and exchange rate pressures. We also expect cost efficiencies to be a partial offset
• Ford Model e EBIT loss of $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion, reflecting continued pricing pressure and on-going investments in our next generation products, offset partially by continued cost efficiencies
• Ford Credit EBT of about $2.0 billion
Our outlook for 2025 assumes:
• U.S. industry sales of 16.0 million to 16.5 million units
• Lower pricing across the industry with inventory at normalized levels
• Net cost reduction of at least $1.0 billion
We are continuing to assess the full implications of the tariffs on imports to the United States from Canada and Mexico (in addition to China) announced on February 1, 2025. The precise impacts depend on scope and timing in addition to a number of secondary and tertiary effects, e.g., price elasticities, how our Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers react, possible substitution effects, and possible duty drawbacks. However, should 25% tariffs be implemented and remain in place for an extended period of time, it would significantly reduce Ford’s earnings over the course of the year.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included or incorporated by reference herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, forecasts, and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including, without limitation:
• Ford’s long-term success depends on delivering the Ford+ plan, including improving cost and competitiveness;
• Ford’s vehicles could be affected by defects that result in recall campaigns, increased warranty costs, or delays in new model launches, and the time it takes to improve the quality of our vehicles and services and reduce the costs associated therewith could continue to have an adverse effect on our business;
• Ford is highly dependent on its suppliers to deliver components in accordance with Ford’s production schedule and specifications, and a shortage of or inability to timely acquire key components or raw materials can disrupt Ford’s production of vehicles;
• Ford’s production, as well as Ford’s suppliers’ production, and/or the ability to deliver products to consumers could be disrupted by labor issues, public health issues, natural or man-made disasters, adverse effects of climate change, financial distress, production difficulties, capacity limitations, or other factors;
• Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of existing or pending strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, or business strategies or the benefits may take longer than expected to materialize;
• Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of restructuring actions and such actions may cause Ford to incur significant charges, disrupt our operations, or harm our reputation;
• Failure to develop and deploy secure digital services that appeal to customers and grow our subscription rates could have a negative impact on Ford’s business;
• Ford’s ability to maintain a competitive cost structure could be affected by labor or other constraints;
• Ford’s ability to attract, develop, grow, support, and reward talent is critical to its success and competitiveness;
• Operational information systems, security systems, vehicles, and services could be affected by cybersecurity incidents, ransomware attacks, and other disruptions and impact Ford, Ford Credit, their suppliers, and dealers;
• To facilitate access to the raw materials and other components necessary for the production of electric vehicles, Ford has entered into and may, in the future, enter into multi-year commitments to raw material and other suppliers that subject Ford to risks associated with lower future demand for such items as well as costs that fluctuate and are difficult to accurately forecast;
• With a global footprint and supply chain, Ford’s results and operations could be adversely affected by economic or geopolitical developments, including protectionist trade policies such as tariffs, or other events;
• Ford’s new and existing products and digital, software, and physical services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and digital and software services industries, and Ford’s reputation may be harmed based on positions it takes or if it is unable to achieve the initiatives it has announced;
• Ford may face increased price competition for its products and services, including pricing pressure resulting from industry excess capacity, currency fluctuations, competitive actions, or economic or other factors, particularly for electric vehicles;
• Inflationary pressure and fluctuations in commodity and energy prices, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and market value of Ford or Ford Credit’s investments, including marketable securities, can have a significant effect on results;
• Ford’s results are dependent on sales of larger, more profitable vehicles, particularly in the United States;
• Industry sales volume can be volatile and could decline if there is a financial crisis, recession, public health emergency, or significant geopolitical event;
• The impact of government incentives on Ford’s business could be significant, and Ford’s receipt of government incentives could be subject to reduction, termination, or clawback;
• Ford and Ford Credit’s access to debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in sufficient amounts could be affected by credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, asset portfolios, or other factors;
• Ford Credit could experience higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values, or higher-than-expected return volumes for leased vehicles;
• Economic and demographic experience for pension and OPEB plans (e.g., discount rates or investment returns) could be worse than Ford has assumed;
• Pension and other postretirement liabilities could adversely affect Ford’s liquidity and financial condition;
• Ford and Ford Credit could experience unusual or significant litigation, governmental investigations, or adverse publicity arising out of alleged defects in products, services, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise;
• Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans and facilities to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous driving technology, environmental, and other regulations;
• Ford and Ford Credit could be affected by the continued development of more stringent privacy, data use, data protection, data access, and artificial intelligence laws and regulations as well as consumers’ heightened expectations to safeguard their personal information; and
• Ford Credit could be subject to new or increased credit regulations, consumer protection regulations, or other regulations.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast, or assumption made in preparing forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projection will be realized. It is to be expected that there may be differences between projected and actual results. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For additional discussion, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” above.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES THAT SUPPLEMENT GAAP MEASURES
We use both generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and non-GAAP financial measures for operational and financial decision making, and to assess Company and segment business performance. The non-GAAP measures listed below are intended to be considered by users as supplemental information to their equivalent GAAP measures, to aid investors in better understanding our financial results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful perspective on underlying operating results and trends, and a means to compare our period-over-period results. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies due to possible differences in method and in items or events being adjusted.
• Company Adjusted EBIT (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Net Income/(Loss) Attributable to Ford) – Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excludes interest on debt (excl. Ford Credit Debt), taxes, and pre-tax special items. This non-GAAP measure is useful to management and investors because it focuses on underlying operating results and trends, and improves comparability of our period-over-period results. Our management ordinarily excludes special items from its review of the results of the operating segments for purposes of measuring segment profitability and allocating resources. Our categories of pre-tax special items and the applicable significance guideline for each item (which may consist of a group of items related to a single event or action) are as follows:
Pre-Tax Special Item Significance Guideline
∘ Pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses ∘ No minimum
∘ Gains and losses on investments in equity securities ∘ No minimum
∘ Personnel expenses, supplier- and dealer-related costs, and facility-related charges stemming from our efforts to match production capacity and cost structure to market demand and changing model mix ∘ Generally $100 million or more
∘ Other items that we do not necessarily consider to be indicative of earnings from ongoing operating activities ∘ $500 million or more for individual field service actions; generally $100 million or more for other items
When we provide guidance for adjusted EBIT, we do not provide guidance on a net income basis because the GAAP measure will include potentially significant special items that have not yet occurred and are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty, including gains and losses on pension and OPEB remeasurements and on investments in equity securities.
• Company Adjusted EBIT Margin (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Company Net Income/(Loss) Margin) – Company adjusted EBIT margin is Company adjusted EBIT divided by Company revenue. This non-GAAP measure is useful to management and investors because it allows users to evaluate our operating results aligned with industry reporting.
• Adjusted Earnings/(Loss) Per Share (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Earnings/(Loss) Per Share) – Measure of Company’s diluted net earnings/(loss) per share adjusted for impact of pre-tax special items (described above), tax special items, and restructuring impacts in noncontrolling interests. The measure provides investors with useful information to evaluate performance of our business excluding items not indicative of earnings from ongoing operating activities. When we provide guidance for adjusted earnings/(loss) per share, we do not provide guidance on an earnings/(loss) per share basis because the GAAP measure will include potentially significant special items that have not yet occurred and are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty prior to year-end, including pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses.
• Adjusted Effective Tax Rate (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Effective Tax Rate) – Measure of Company’s tax rate excluding pre-tax special items (described above) and tax special items. The measure provides an ongoing effective rate which investors find useful for historical comparisons and for forecasting. When we provide guidance for adjusted effective tax rate, we do not provide guidance on an effective tax rate basis because the GAAP measure will include potentially significant special items that have not yet occurred and are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty prior to year-end, including pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
• Company Adjusted Free Cash Flow (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Net Cash Provided By/(Used In) Operating Activities) – Measure of Company’s operating cash flow excluding Ford Credit’s operating cash flows. The measure contains elements management considers operating activities, including Company excluding Ford Credit capital spending, Ford Credit distributions to its parent, and settlement of derivatives. The measure excludes cash outflows for funded pension contributions, restructuring actions, and other items that are considered operating cash flows under U.S. GAAP. This measure is useful to management and investors because it is consistent with management’s assessment of the Company’s operating cash flow performance. When we provide guidance for Company adjusted free cash flow, we do not provide guidance for net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities because the GAAP measure will include items that are difficult to quantify or predict with reasonable certainty, including cash flows related to the Company's exposures to foreign currency exchange rates and certain commodity prices (separate from any related hedges), Ford Credit's operating cash flows, and cash flows related to special items, including separation payments, each of which individually or in the aggregate could have a significant impact to our net cash provided by/(used in) our operating activities.
• Adjusted ROIC – Calculated as the sum of adjusted net operating profit/(loss) after cash tax from the last four quarters, divided by the average invested capital over the last four quarters. Adjusted Return on Invested Capital (“Adjusted ROIC”) provides management and investors with useful information to evaluate the Company’s after-cash tax operating return on its invested capital for the period presented. Adjusted net operating profit/(loss) after cash tax measures operating results less special items, interest on debt (excl. Ford Credit Debt), and certain pension/OPEB costs. Average invested capital is the sum of average balance sheet equity, debt (excl. Ford Credit Debt), and net pension/OPEB liability.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE RECONCILIATIONS
The following tables show our Non-GAAP financial measure reconciliations.
Net Income/(Loss) Reconciliation to Adjusted EBIT ($M)
2022 2023 2024
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford (GAAP) $ (1,981) $ 4,347 $ 5,879
Income/(Loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests (171) (18) 15
Net income/(loss) $ (2,152) $ 4,329 $ 5,894
Less: (Provision for)/Benefit from income taxes (a) 864 362 (1,339)
Income/(Loss) before income taxes $ (3,016) $ 3,967 $ 7,233
Less: Special items pre-tax (12,172) (5,147) (1,860)
Income/(Loss) before special items pre-tax $ 9,156 $ 9,114 $ 9,093
Less: Interest on debt (1,259) (1,302) (1,115)
Adjusted EBIT (Non-GAAP) $ 10,415 $ 10,416 $ 10,208
Memo:
Revenue ($B) $ 158.1 $ 176.2 $ 185.0
Net income/(loss) margin (%) (1.3) % 2.5 % 3.2 %
Adjusted EBIT margin (%) 6.6 % 5.9 % 5.5 %
_________
(a) 2022 reflects the tax consequences of unrealized losses on marketable securities and favorable changes in our valuation allowances; 2023 reflects benefits from U.S. research tax credits and legal entity restructuring within our leasing operations and China.
Earnings/(Loss) per Share Reconciliation to Adjusted Earnings/(Loss) per Share
2022 2023 2024
Diluted After-Tax Results ($M)
Diluted after-tax results (GAAP) $ (1,981) $ 4,347 $ 5,879
Less: Impact of pre-tax and tax special items (a) (9,599) (3,786) (1,537)
Adjusted net income/(loss) - diluted (Non-GAAP) $ 7,618 $ 8,133 $ 7,416
Basic and Diluted Shares (M)
Basic shares (average shares outstanding) 4,014 3,998 3,978
Net dilutive options, unvested restricted stock units, unvested restricted stock shares, and convertible debt 42 43 43
Diluted shares 4,056 4,041 4,021
Earnings/(Loss) per share - diluted (GAAP) (b) $ (0.49) $ 1.08 $ 1.46
Less: Net impact of adjustments (2.37) (0.93) (0.38)
Adjusted earnings per share - diluted (Non-GAAP) $ 1.88 $ 2.01 $ 1.84
_________
(a) Includes adjustment for noncontrolling interest in 2023.
(b) In 2022, there were 42 million shares excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings/(loss) per share due to their anti-dilutive effect.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Effective Tax Rate Reconciliation to Adjusted Effective Tax Rate
2022 2023 2024
Pre-Tax Results ($M)
Income/(Loss) before income taxes (GAAP) $ (3,016) $ 3,967 $ 7,233
Less: Impact of special items (12,172) (5,147) (1,860)
Adjusted earnings before taxes (Non-GAAP) $ 9,156 $ 9,114 $ 9,093
Taxes ($M)
(Provision for)/Benefit from income taxes (GAAP) (a) $ 864 $ 362 $ (1,339)
Less: Impact of special items (b) 2,573 1,273 323
Adjusted (provision for)/benefit from income taxes (Non-GAAP) $ (1,709) $ (911) $ (1,662)
Tax Rate (%)
Effective tax rate (GAAP) (a) 28.6 % (9.1) % 18.5 %
Adjusted effective tax rate (Non-GAAP) 18.7 % 10.0 % 18.3 %
_________
(a) 2023 reflects benefits from U.S. research tax credits and legal entity restructuring within our leasing operations and China.
(b) 2022 reflects the tax consequences of unrealized losses on marketable securities and favorable changes in our valuation allowances; 2023 reflects benefits from China legal entity restructuring.
Net Cash Provided by/(Used in) Operating Activities Reconciliation to Company Adjusted Free Cash Flow ($M)
2022 2023 2024
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities (GAAP) $ 6,853 $ 14,918 $ 15,423
Less: Items not included in Company Adjusted Free Cash Flows
Ford Credit operating cash flows $ (5,416) $ 1,180 $ 3,600
Funded pension contributions (567) (592) (1,073)
Restructuring (including separations) (a) (835) (1,025) (799)
Ford Credit tax payments/(refunds) under tax sharing agreement 147 169 (15)
Other, net (58) 240 (877)
Add: Items included in Company Adjusted Free Cash Flows
Company excluding Ford Credit capital spending $ (6,511) $ (8,152) $ (8,590)
Ford Credit distributions 2,100 — 500
Settlement of derivatives (90) 7 175
Company adjusted free cash flow (Non-GAAP) $ 9,081 $ 6,801 $ 6,672
__________
(a) Restructuring excludes cash flows reported in investing activities.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
2024 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
The tables below provide supplemental consolidating financial information and other financial information. Company excluding Ford Credit includes our Ford Blue, Ford Model e, Ford Pro, and Ford Next reportable segments, Corporate Other, Interest on Debt, and Special Items. Eliminations, where presented, primarily represent eliminations of intersegment transactions and deferred tax netting.
Selected Income Statement Information. The following table provides supplemental income statement information (in millions):
For the Year Ended December 31, 2024
Company excluding Ford Credit Ford Credit Consolidated
Revenues $ 172,706 $ 12,286 $ 184,992
Total costs and expenses 168,721 11,052 179,773
Operating income/(loss) 3,985 1,234 5,219
Interest expense on Company debt excluding Ford Credit 1,115 — 1,115
Other income/(loss), net 2,073 378 2,451
Equity in net income/(loss) of affiliated companies 636 42 678
Income/(Loss) before income taxes 5,579 1,654 7,233
Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes 941 398 1,339
Net income/(loss) 4,638 1,256 5,894
Less: Income/(Loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 15 — 15
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford Motor Company $ 4,623 $ 1,256 $ 5,879
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selected Balance Sheet Information. The following tables provide supplemental balance sheet information (in millions):
December 31, 2024
Assets Company excluding
Ford Credit Ford Credit Eliminations Consolidated
Cash and cash equivalents $ 13,663 $ 9,272 $ — $ 22,935
Marketable securities 14,707 706 — 15,413
Ford Credit finance receivables, net — 51,850 — 51,850
Trade and other receivables, net 5,868 8,855 — 14,723
Inventories 14,951 — — 14,951
Other assets 3,339 1,263 — 4,602
Receivable from other segments 1,134 2,285 (3,419) —
Total current assets 53,662 74,231 (3,419) 124,474
Ford Credit finance receivables, net — 59,786 — 59,786
Net investment in operating leases 1,258 21,689 — 22,947
Net property 41,645 283 — 41,928
Equity in net assets of affiliated companies 6,691 130 — 6,821
Deferred income taxes 16,196 178 1 16,375
Other assets 11,628 1,237 — 12,865
Receivable from other segments 74 — (74) —
Total assets $ 131,154 $ 157,534 $ (3,492) $ 285,196
Liabilities
Payables $ 23,167 $ 961 $ — $ 24,128
Other liabilities and deferred revenue 24,963 2,819 — 27,782
Company excluding Ford Credit debt payable within one year 1,756 — — 1,756
Ford Credit debt payable within one year — 53,193 — 53,193
Payable to other segments 3,394 25 (3,419) —
Total current liabilities 53,280 56,998 (3,419) 106,859
Other liabilities and deferred revenue 27,165 1,667 — 28,832
Company excluding Ford Credit long-term debt 18,898 — — 18,898
Ford Credit long-term debt — 84,675 — 84,675
Deferred income taxes 709 364 1 1,074
Payable to other segments — 74 (74) —
Total liabilities $ 100,052 $ 143,778 $ (3,492) $ 240,338
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selected Cash Flow Information. The following tables provide supplemental cash flow information (in millions):
For the Year Ended December 31, 2024
Cash flows from operating activities Company excluding Ford Credit Ford Credit Eliminations Consolidated
Net income/(loss) $ 4,638 $ 1,256 $ — $ 5,894
Depreciation and tooling amortization 5,038 2,529 — 7,567
Other amortization 39 (1,739) — (1,700)
Provision for credit and insurance losses 13 562 — 575
Pension and OPEB expense/(income) 149 — — 149
Equity method investment (earnings)/losses and impairments in excess of dividends received (277) (10) — (287)
Foreign currency adjustments 317 (90) — 227
Net realized and unrealized (gains)/losses on cash equivalents, marketable securities, and other investments 45 (3) — 42
Stock compensation 493 18 — 511
Provision for/(Benefit from) deferred income taxes 74 276 — 350
Decrease/(Increase) in finance receivables (wholesale and other) — (4,299) — (4,299)
Decrease/(Increase) in intersegment receivables/payables 529 (529) — —
Decrease/(Increase) in accounts receivable and other assets (2,230) (267) — (2,497)
Decrease/(Increase) in inventory 27 — — 27
Increase/(Decrease) in accounts payable and accrued and other liabilities
8,106 319 — 8,425
Other 211 228 — 439
Interest supplements and residual value support to Ford Credit
(5,349) 5,349 — —
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities $ 11,823 $ 3,600 $ — $ 15,423
Cash flows from investing activities
Capital spending $ (8,590) $ (94) $ — $ (8,684)
Acquisitions of finance receivables and operating leases — (59,720) — (59,720)
Collections of finance receivables and operating leases — 45,159 — 45,159
Purchases of marketable securities and other investments (12,026) (274) — (12,300)
Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments 11,990 356 — 12,346
Settlements of derivatives 175 (443) — (268)
Capital contributions to equity method investments (2,323) — — (2,323)
Returns of capital from equity method investments 1,465 — — 1,465
Other (45) — — (45)
Investing activity (to)/from other segments 500 4 (504) —
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities $ (8,854) $ (15,012) $ (504) $ (24,370)
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash payments for dividends and dividend equivalents $ (3,118) $ — $ — $ (3,118)
Purchases of common stock (426) — — (426)
Net changes in short-term debt 519 (795) — (276)
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 110 57,202 — 57,312
Payments on long-term debt (152) (45,528) — (45,680)
Other (192) (135) — (327)
Financing activity to/(from) other segments (4) (500) 504 —
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities $ (3,263) $ 10,244 $ 504 $ 7,485
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash $ (191) $ (267) $ — $ (458)
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selected Other Information.
Equity. At December 31, 2023, total equity attributable to Ford was $42.8 billion, a decrease of $0.4 billion compared with December 31, 2022. At December 31, 2024, total equity attributable to Ford was $44.8 billion, an increase of $2.1 billion compared with December 31, 2023. The detail for the changes is shown below (in billions):
2023 vs 2022 Increase/
(Decrease)
2024 vs 2023 Increase/
(Decrease)
Net income/(loss) $ 4.3 $ 5.9
Shareholder distributions (a) (5.4) (3.6)
Other comprehensive income/(loss) 0.3 (0.6)
Adoption of accounting standards — —
Common stock issued (including share-based compensation impacts) 0.4 0.4
Total $ (0.4) $ 2.1
________
(a) Includes cash dividends, dividend equivalents, and anti-dilutive share repurchases.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (1) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (2) changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period, or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
Management has discussed the development and selection of these critical accounting estimates with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors. In addition, there are other items within our financial statements that require estimation, but are not deemed critical as defined above. Changes in estimates used in these and other items could have a material impact on our financial statements.
Warranties and Field Service Actions
Nature of Estimates Required. We provide base warranties on the products we sell for specific periods of time and/or mileage, which vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Separately, we also periodically perform field service actions related to safety recalls, emission recalls, and other product campaigns. Software updates are increasingly a component of vehicle service and may be performed during warranty coverage repairs, through field service actions, or through over-the-air updates. We accrue the estimated cost of both base warranty coverages and field service actions at the time of sale. In addition, from time to time, we issue extended warranties at our expense, the estimated cost of which is accrued at the time of issuance.
Assumptions and Approach Used. We establish our estimate of base warranty obligations using a patterned estimation model. We use historical information regarding the nature, frequency, and average cost of claims for each vehicle line by model year. We reevaluate our estimate of base warranty obligations on a regular basis. Experience has shown that initial data for any given model year may be volatile; therefore, our process relies on long-term historical averages until sufficient data are available. With actual experience, we use the data to update the historical averages. We then compare the resulting accruals with present spending rates to assess whether the balances are adequate to meet expected future obligations. Based on this data, we update our estimates as necessary.
Field service actions may occur in periods beyond the base warranty coverage period. We establish our estimates of field service action obligations using a patterned estimation model. We use historical information regarding the nature, frequency, severity, and average cost of claims for each model year. We assess our obligation for field service actions on a regular basis using actual claims experience and update our estimates as necessary.
Due to the uncertainty and potential volatility of the factors used in establishing our estimates, changes in our assumptions could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations. See Note 24 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for information regarding warranty and field service action costs.
Pensions and Other Postretirement Employee Benefits
Nature of Estimates Required. The estimation of our defined benefit pension and OPEB plan obligations and expenses requires that we utilize the calculated present value of the projected future payments to all participants, taking into consideration valuation assumptions specific to each plan. Plan obligations and expenses are based on existing retirement plan provisions. No assumption is made regarding any potential future changes to benefit provisions beyond those to which we are presently committed (e.g., in existing labor contracts).
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Assumptions and Approach Used. The assumptions used in developing the required estimates include the following key factors:
• Discount rates. Our discount rate assumptions are based primarily on the results of cash flow matching analyses, which match the future cash outflows for each major plan to a yield curve based on high-quality bonds specific to the country of the plan. Benefit payments are discounted at the rates on the curve to determine the year-end obligations.
• Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. Our expected long-term rate of return considers inputs from a range of advisors for capital market returns, adjusted for specific aspects of our investment strategy by plan. Historical returns also are considered when appropriate. The assumption is based on consideration of all inputs, with a focus on long-term trends to avoid short-term market influences.
• Salary growth. Our salary growth assumption reflects our actual experience, long-term outlook, and assumed inflation.
• Inflation. Our inflation assumption is based on an evaluation of external market indicators, including real gross domestic product growth and central bank inflation targets.
• Expected contributions. Our expected amount and timing of contributions are based on an assessment of minimum requirements, cash availability, and other considerations (e.g., funded status, avoidance of regulatory premiums and levies, and tax efficiency).
• Retirement rates. Retirement rates are developed to reflect actual and projected plan experience.
• Mortality rates. Mortality rates are developed to reflect actual and projected plan experience.
• Health care cost trends . Our health care cost trend assumptions are developed based on historical cost data, the near-term outlook, and an assessment of likely long-term trends.
Assumptions are set at each year-end and are generally not changed during the year unless there is a major plan event, such as a curtailment or settlement that would trigger a plan remeasurement.
See Note 16 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding pension and OPEB costs and assumptions.
Pension Plans
Effect of Actual Results . The year-end 2024 weighted average discount rate was 5.65% for U.S. plans and 4.51% for non-U.S. plans, reflecting increases of 48 and 53 basis points, respectively, compared with year-end 2023. Higher discount rates lowered the valuations of U.S. and non-U.S. plans. In 2024, the U.S. actual return on assets was 0.08%, which was lower than the expected long-term rate of return of 5.93%. Non-U.S. actual return on assets was 2.77%, which was lower than the expected long-term rate of return of 4.53%. The lower returns are explained primarily by lower returns on fixed income assets given the increase in long-term interest rates. In total, higher discount rates, partially offset by asset returns lower than our assumptions, resulted in a net remeasurement gain of $575 million. This gain has been recognized within net periodic benefit cost and reported as a special item.
For 2025, the expected long-term rate of return on assets is 6.37% for U.S. plans, up 44 basis points from 2024, and 5.23% for non-U.S. plans, up 70 basis points compared with a year ago, reflecting higher expected capital market return assumptions, including increased long-term interest rates.
De-risking Strategy . We employ a broad de-risking strategy for our global funded plans that increases the matching characteristics of our assets relative to our obligation as funded status improves. Changes in interest rates, which directly influence changes in discount rates, in addition to other factors have a significant impact on the value of our pension obligation and fixed income asset portfolio. Our de-risking strategy has increased the allocation to fixed income investments and reduced our funded status sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Changes in interest rates should result in offsetting effects in the value of our pension obligation and the value of the fixed income asset portfolio.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Sensitivity Analysis. The December 31, 2024 pension funded status and 2025 expense are affected by year-end 2024 assumptions. Sensitivities to these assumptions may be asymmetric and are specific to the time periods noted. The effects of changes in the factors that generally have the largest impact on year-end funded status and pension expense are discussed below.
Discount rates and interest rates have the largest impact on our obligations and fixed income assets. The table below estimates the effect on our funded status of an increase/decrease in discount rates and interest rates (in millions):
Basis
Point Change Increase/(Decrease) in
December 31, 2024 Funded Status
Factor U.S. Plans Non-U.S. Plans
Discount rate - obligation +/- 100 bps $2,500/$(3,000) $2,300/$(2,800)
Interest rate - fixed income assets +/- 100 (2,400)/2,800 (1,700)/2,100
Net impact on funded status $100/$(200) $600/$(700)
The fixed income asset sensitivity shown excludes other fixed income return components (e.g., changes in credit spreads, bond coupon and active management excess returns), and growth asset returns. Other factors that affect net funded status (e.g., contributions) are not reflected.
Interest rates and the expected long-term rate of return on assets have the largest effect on pension expense. These assumptions are generally set at each year-end for expense recorded throughout the following year. The table below estimates the effect on pension expense of a higher/lower assumption for these factors (in millions):
Basis
Point Change Increase/(Decrease) in
2025 Pension Expense
Factor U.S. Plans Non-U.S. Plans
Interest rate - service cost and interest cost +/- 25 bps $25/$(25) $15/$(15)
Expected long-term rate of return on assets +/- 25 (70)/70 (50)/50
The effect of changing multiple factors simultaneously cannot be calculated by combining the individual sensitivities. The sensitivity of pension expense to a change in discount rate assumptions may not be linear.
Other Postretirement Employee Benefits
Effect of Actual Results . The weighted average discount rate used to determine the benefit obligation for worldwide OPEB plans at December 31, 2024 was 5.46%, compared with 5.10% at December 31, 2023, resulting in a worldwide net remeasurement gain of $112 million, which has been recognized within net periodic benefit cost and reported as a special item.
Sensitivity Analysis. Discount rates and interest rates have the largest effect on our OPEB obligation and expense. The table below estimates the effect on 2025 OPEB expense of higher/lower assumptions for these factors (in millions):
Worldwide OPEB
Basis
Point Change (Increase)/Decrease
2024 YE Obligation Increase/(Decrease)
2025 Expense
Factor
Discount rate - obligation +/- 100 bps $400/$(475) N/A
Interest rate - service cost and interest cost +/- 25 N/A $5/$(5)
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Income Taxes
Nature of Estimates Required. We must make estimates and apply judgment in determining the provision for income taxes for financial reporting purposes. We make these estimates and judgments primarily in the following areas: (i) the calculation of tax credits, (ii) the calculation of differences in the timing of recognition of revenue and expense for tax reporting and financial statement purposes, as well as (iii) the calculation of interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions. Changes in these estimates and judgments may result in a material increase or decrease to our tax provision, which would be recorded in the period in which the change occurs.
Assumptions and Approach Used. We are subject to the income tax laws and regulations of the many jurisdictions in which we operate. These tax laws and regulations are complex and involve uncertainties in the application to our facts and circumstances that may be open to interpretation. We recognize benefits for these uncertain tax positions based upon a process that requires judgment regarding the technical application of the laws, regulations, and various related judicial opinions. If, in our judgment, it is more likely than not (defined as a likelihood of more than 50%) that the uncertain tax position will be settled favorably for us, we estimate an amount that ultimately will be realized. This process is inherently subjective since it requires our assessment of the probability of future outcomes. We evaluate these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis, including consideration of changes in facts and circumstances, such as new regulations or recent judicial opinions, as well as the status of audit activities by taxing authorities. Changes to our estimate of the amount to be realized are recorded in our provision for income taxes during the period in which the change occurred.
We must also assess the likelihood that we will be able to recover our deferred tax assets against future sources of taxable income and reduce the carrying amount of deferred tax assets by recording a valuation allowance if, based on all available evidence, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of such assets will not be realized.
This assessment, which is completed on a taxing jurisdiction basis, takes into account various types of evidence, including the following:
• Nature, frequency, and severity of current and cumulative financial reporting losses. A pattern of objectively measured recent financial reporting losses is heavily weighted as a source of negative evidence. We generally consider cumulative pre-tax losses in the three-year period ending with the current quarter to be significant negative evidence regarding future profitability. We also consider the strength and trend of earnings, as well as other relevant factors. In certain circumstances, historical information may not be as relevant due to changes in our business operations;
• Sources of future taxable income. Future reversals of existing temporary differences are heavily weighted sources of objectively verifiable positive evidence. Projections of future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences are a source of positive evidence only when the projections are combined with a history of recent profits and can be reasonably estimated. Otherwise, these projections are considered inherently subjective and generally will not be sufficient to overcome negative evidence that includes relevant cumulative losses in recent years, particularly if the projected future taxable income is dependent on an anticipated turnaround to profitability that has not yet been achieved. In such cases, we generally give these projections of future taxable income no weight for the purposes of our valuation allowance assessment; and
• Tax planning strategies. If necessary and available, tax planning strategies could be implemented to accelerate taxable amounts to utilize expiring carryforwards. These strategies would be a source of additional positive evidence and, depending on their nature, could be heavily weighted.
In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider the trade-offs between cash preservation and cash outlays to preserve tax credits. We presently believe that global valuation allowances of $3.9 billion are required and that we ultimately will recover the remaining $15.3 billion of deferred tax assets. However, realization of our deferred tax assets is impacted by a number of variables, including future profitability within relevant tax jurisdictions, tax law changes, and tax planning and the related effects on our cash and liquidity position. Accordingly, our valuation allowances may increase or decrease in future periods.
For additional information regarding income taxes, see Note 7 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Asset groups are tested at the level of the smallest identifiable group of assets that generate cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows from other assets or groups of assets. Asset groupings for impairment analysis are reevaluated when events occur, such as changes in organizational structure and management reporting. Our asset groups for 2024 were: Ford Blue North America, Ford Blue Europe, Ford Blue Rest of World, Ford Model e, Ford Pro, Ford Credit, and Ford Next.
Nature of Estimates Required - Held-and-Used Long-Lived Assets. We test our long-lived asset groups when changes in circumstances indicate their carrying value may not be recoverable. Events that trigger a test for recoverability include:
• Material adverse changes in projected revenues or expenses, present negative cash flows combined with a history of negative cash flows and a forecast that demonstrates significant continuing losses
• Adverse change in legal factors or significant negative industry or regulatory trends (such as overcrowding of market offerings or changes in regulations, resulting in excess capacity relative to market demand)
• Current expectation that a long-lived asset group will be disposed of significantly before the end of its useful life
• Significant adverse change in the manner in which an asset group is used or in its physical condition
• Significant change in the asset grouping
In addition, investing in new or emerging products (e.g., EVs) or services (e.g., connectivity) may require substantial upfront capital, which may result in initial forecasted negative cash flows in the near term. In these instances, near-term negative cash flows on their own may not be indicative of a triggering event for evaluation of impairment. In such circumstances, we also conduct a qualitative evaluation of the business growth trajectory, which includes updating our assessment of when positive cash flows are expected to be generated, confirming whether established milestones are being achieved, and assessing our ability and intent to continue to access required funding to execute the plan. If this evaluation indicates a triggering event has occurred, a test for recoverability is performed.
When a triggering event occurs, a test for recoverability is performed, comparing projected undiscounted future cash flows to the carrying value of the asset group. If the undiscounted forecasted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets, the asset group’s fair value is measured relying primarily on a discounted cash flow method. To the extent available, we will also consider third-party valuations of our long-lived assets that may have been prepared for other business purposes. An impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its estimated fair value. When an impairment loss is recognized for assets to be held and used, the adjusted carrying amounts of those assets are depreciated over their remaining useful life.
Nature of Estimates Required - Held-for-Sale Operations. We perform an impairment test on a disposal group to be discontinued, held for sale, or otherwise disposed of when we have committed to an action and the action is expected to be completed within one year. We estimate fair value to approximate the expected proceeds to be received, less cost to sell, and compare it to the carrying value of the disposal group. An impairment charge is recognized when the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value. We also assess fair value if circumstances arise that were considered unlikely and, as a result, we decide not to sell a disposal group previously classified as held for sale upon reclassification to held and used. When there is a change to a plan of sale, and the assets are reclassified from held for sale to held and used, the long-lived assets are reported at the lower of (i) the carrying amount before a held-for-sale designation, adjusted for depreciation that would have been recognized if the assets had not been classified as held for sale, or (ii) the fair value at the date the assets no longer satisfy the criteria for classification as held for sale.
Assumptions and Approach Used - Held-and-Used Long-Lived Assets. The fair value of an asset group is determined from the perspective of a market participant. Considerations include appropriate discount rates, valuation techniques, the most advantageous market, and assumptions about the highest and best use of the asset group.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
We measure the fair value of an asset group based on market prices (i.e., the amount for which the asset could be sold to a third party) when available. When market prices are not available, we generally estimate the fair value of the asset group using the income approach and/or the market approach. The income approach uses cash flow projections. Inherent in our development of cash flow projections are assumptions and estimates derived from a review of our operating results, business plan forecasts, expected growth rates, and cost of capital, similar to those a market participant would use to assess fair value. We also make certain assumptions about future economic conditions and other data. Many of the factors used in assessing fair value are outside the control of management, and these assumptions and estimates may change in future periods.
Changes in assumptions or estimates can materially affect the fair value measurement of an asset group and, therefore, can affect the test results. The following are key assumptions we use in making cash flow projections:
• Business projections. We make assumptions about the demand for our products in the marketplace. These
assumptions drive our planning assumptions for volume, mix, and pricing. We also make assumptions about our cost levels (e.g., capacity utilization, cost performance). These projections are derived using our internal business plan forecasts that are updated at least annually and reviewed by our Board of Directors.
• Long-term growth rate. A growth rate is used to calculate the terminal value of the business and is added to the present value of the debt-free interim cash flows. The growth rate is the expected rate at which an asset group’s earnings stream is projected to grow beyond the planning period.
• Discount rate. When measuring possible impairment, future cash flows are discounted at a rate that is consistent with a weighted-average cost of capital that we anticipate a potential market participant would use. Weighted-average cost of capital is an estimate of the overall risk-adjusted pre-tax rate of return expected by equity and debt holders of a business enterprise.
• Economic projections. Assumptions regarding general economic conditions are included in and affect our assumptions regarding industry sales and pricing estimates for our vehicles. These macroeconomic assumptions include, but are not limited to, industry sales volumes, inflation, interest rates, prices of raw materials (e.g., commodities), and foreign currency exchange rates.
The market approach is another method for measuring the fair value of an asset group. This approach relies on the market value (i.e., market capitalization) of companies that are engaged in the same or a similar line of business as the asset group being evaluated. In addition, to the extent available, we also consider third-party valuations that may have been prepared for other business purposes.
During 2024, no triggering events were identified.
Assumptions and Approach Used - Held-for-sale Operations. In the first quarter of 2024, we entered into an agreement to sell 100% of our equity interest in Ford Sales and Service Korea Company (“FSSK”), and the assets and liabilities of the entity were classified as held for sale. However, as of December 31, 2024, FSSK no longer met the held-for-sale criteria as that sale transaction did not close and is no longer probable of occurring. Accordingly, FSSK’s assets and liabilities were reclassified and reported as held and used as of December 31, 2024. In the third quarter of 2024, we entered into an agreement to sell 100% of our equity interest in Ford Motor Company A/S, our national sales company in Denmark. The entity was classified as held for sale in the fourth quarter of 2024 once all held-for-sale criteria were met. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2024, the assets and liabilities of Ford Motor Company A/S were reported as held for sale. We determined that the assets of both FSSK and Ford Motor Company A/S, which were not material, were not impaired. See Note 21 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding held-for-sale operations.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Allowance for Credit Losses
The allowance for credit losses represents Ford Credit’s estimate of the expected lifetime credit losses inherent in finance receivables as of the balance sheet date. The adequacy of Ford Credit’s allowance for credit losses is assessed quarterly, and the assumptions and models used in establishing the allowance are evaluated regularly. Because credit losses can vary substantially over time, estimating credit losses requires a number of assumptions about matters that are uncertain. Changes in assumptions affect Ford Credit interest, operating, and other expenses on our consolidated income statements and the allowance for credit losses contained within Ford Credit finance receivables, net on our consolidated balance sheets. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding allowance for credit losses.
Nature of Estimates Required. Ford Credit estimates the allowance for credit losses for receivables that share similar risk characteristics based on a collective assessment using a combination of measurement models and management judgment. The models consider factors such as historical trends in credit losses, recent portfolio performance, and forward-looking macroeconomic conditions. The models vary by portfolio and receivable type including consumer finance receivables, wholesale loans, and dealer loans. If Ford Credit does not believe the models reflect lifetime expected credit losses for the portfolio, an adjustment is made to reflect management judgment regarding qualitative factors, including economic uncertainty, observable changes in portfolio performance, and other relevant factors.
Assumptions Used. Ford Credit’s allowance for credit losses is based on its assumptions regarding:
• Probability of default . The expected probability of payment and time to default, which include assumptions about macroeconomic factors and recent performance.
• Loss given default. The percentage of the expected balance due at default that is not recoverable. The loss given default takes into account expected collateral value and future recoveries.
Macroeconomic factors used in Ford Credit’s models are country specific and include variables such as unemployment rates, personal bankruptcy filings, housing prices, and gross domestic product.
Sensitivity Analysis. Changes in the probability of default and loss given default assumptions would affect the allowance for credit losses. The effect of the indicated increase/decrease in the assumptions for Ford Credit’s U.S. Ford and Lincoln retail financing portfolio at December 31, 2024 is as follows (in millions):
Assumption Basis Point Change
Increase/(Decrease) in Allowance for Credit Losses
Probability of default (lifetime) +/- 100 bps $250/$(250)
Loss given default +/- 100 15/(15)
Accumulated Depreciation on Vehicles Subject to Operating Leases
Accumulated depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases reduces the value of the leased vehicles in Ford Credit’s operating lease portfolio from their original acquisition value to their expected residual value at the end of the lease term.
Ford Credit monitors residual values each month, and it reviews the adequacy of accumulated depreciation on a quarterly basis. If Ford Credit believes that the expected residual values for its vehicles have changed, it revises depreciation to ensure that net investment in operating leases (equal to the acquisition value of the vehicles less accumulated depreciation) will be adjusted to reflect Ford Credit’s revised estimate of the expected residual value at the end of the lease term. Adjustments to depreciation expense result in a change in the depreciation rates of the vehicles subject to operating leases and are recorded prospectively on a straight-line basis.
Generally, lease customers have the option to buy the leased vehicle at the end of the lease or to return the vehicle to the dealer.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Nature of Estimates Required. Each operating lease in Ford Credit’s portfolio represents a vehicle it owns that has been leased to a customer. At the time Ford Credit purchases a lease, it establishes an expected residual value for the vehicle. Ford Credit estimates the expected residual value by evaluating recent auction values, return volumes for Ford Credit’s leased vehicles, industrywide used vehicle prices, marketing incentive plans, and vehicle quality data and benchmarks to third-party data depending on availability. Similar factors are considered in the third-party data Ford Credit uses to revise its estimate of the expected residual value during the lease term.
Assumptions Used. Ford Credit’s accumulated depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases is based on assumptions regarding:
• Auction value. Ford Credit’s projection of the market value of the vehicles when sold at the end of the lease; and
• Return volume. Ford Credit’s projection of the number of vehicles that will be returned at lease-end.
See Note 12 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding accumulated depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases.
Sensitivity Analysis. For returned vehicles, Ford Credit faces a risk that the amount it obtains from the vehicle sold at auction will be less than its estimate of the expected residual value for the vehicle. The impact of the change in assumptions on future auction values and return volumes would increase or decrease accumulated supplemental depreciation and depreciation expense over the remaining terms of the operating leases; however, the impact may be tempered or exacerbated based on future auction values in relation to the purchase price specified in the lease contract. A change in the assumption for an auction value will impact Ford Credit’s estimate of accumulated supplemental depreciation if the future auction value is lower than the purchase price specified in the lease contract. The effect of the indicated increase/decrease in the assumptions for Ford Credit’s U.S. Ford and Lincoln brand operating lease portfolio at December 31, 2024 is as follows (in millions):
Assumption Basis Point
Change
Increase/(Decrease) in Projected Lifetime Depreciation
Future auction values +/- 100 bps $(50)/$50
Return volumes +/- 100 5/(5)
Adjustments to the amount of accumulated supplemental depreciation on operating leases are reflected on our balance sheets as Net investment in operating leases and on our income statements in Ford Credit interest, operating, and other expenses.
ACCOUNTING STANDARDS ISSUED BUT NOT YET ADOPTED
For a discussion of recent accounting standards, see Note 3 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
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ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
OVERVIEW
We are exposed to a variety of market and other risks, including the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, and interest rates, as well as risks to availability of funding sources, hazard events, and specific asset risks.
We monitor and manage these exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program, which includes regular reports to a central management committee, the Global Risk Management Committee (“GRMC”). The GRMC is chaired by our Chief Financial Officer, and the committee includes our Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer.
We are exposed to liquidity risk, including the possibility of having to curtail business or being unable to meet financial obligations as they come due because funding sources may be reduced or become unavailable. Our plan is to maintain funding sources to ensure liquidity through a variety of economic or business cycles. As discussed in greater detail in Item 7, our funding sources include unsecured debt issuances, sales of receivables in securitization transactions and other structured financings, equity and equity-linked issuances, and bank borrowings.
We are exposed to a variety of other risks, such as loss or damage to property, liability claims, and employee injury. We protect against these risks through the purchase of commercial insurance that is designed to protect us above our self-insured retentions against events that could generate significant losses.
Direct responsibility for the execution of our market risk management strategies resides with our Treasurer’s Office and is governed by written policies and procedures. Separation of duties is maintained between the development and authorization of derivative trades, the transaction of derivatives, and the settlement of cash flows. Regular audits are conducted to ensure that appropriate controls are in place and that they remain effective. In addition, our market risk exposures and our use of derivatives to manage these exposures are approved by the GRMC and reviewed by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.
In accordance with our corporate risk management policies, we use derivative instruments, when available, such as forward contracts, swaps, and options that economically hedge certain exposures (foreign currency, commodity, and interest rates). We do not use derivative contracts for trading, market-making, or speculative purposes. In certain instances, we forgo hedge accounting, and in certain other instances, our derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting. Either situation results in unrealized gains and losses that are recognized in income. For additional information on our derivatives, see Note 19 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
The market and counterparty risks of the Company excluding Ford Credit as well as our Ford Credit segment are discussed and quantified below.
COMPANY EXCLUDING FORD CREDIT MARKET RISK
We frequently have expenditures and receipts denominated in foreign currencies, including the following: purchases and sales of finished vehicles and production parts, debt and other payables, subsidiary dividends, and investments in foreign operations. These expenditures and receipts create exposures to changes in exchange rates. We also are exposed to changes in prices of commodities used in the production of our vehicles and changes in interest rates.
Foreign currency risk, commodity risk, and interest rate risk are measured and quantified using a model to evaluate the sensitivity of market value to instantaneous, parallel shifts in rates and/or prices.
Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign currency risk is the possibility that our financial results could be worse than planned because of changes in currency exchange rates. Accordingly, our practice is to use derivative instruments to hedge our economic exposure with respect to forecasted revenues and costs, assets, liabilities, and firm commitments denominated in certain foreign currencies consistent with our overall risk management strategy. In our hedging actions, we use derivative instruments commonly used by corporations to reduce foreign exchange risk (e.g., forward contracts). The extent to which we hedge is also impacted by materiality of the risk in the context of our overall portfolio, market liquidity, and/or our ability to achieve designated hedge accounting.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)
The net fair value of foreign exchange forward contracts (including adjustments for credit risk) as of December 31, 2024 was an asset of $410 million, compared with a liability of $319 million as of December 31, 2023. The potential change in the fair value from a 10% change in the underlying exchange rates, in U.S. dollar terms, would have been $2.9 billion at December 31, 2024, compared with $3.1 billion at December 31, 2023. The sensitivity analysis presented is hypothetical and assumes foreign exchange rate changes are instantaneous and adverse across all currencies. In reality, some of our exposures offset and foreign exchange rates move in different magnitudes and at different times, and any changes in fair value would generally be offset by changes in the underlying exposure. See Note 19 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding our foreign currency exchange contracts.
Commodity Price Risk. Commodity price risk is the possibility that our financial results could be worse than planned because of changes in the prices of commodities used in the production of motor vehicles, such as base metals (e.g., steel, copper, and aluminum), precious metals (e.g., palladium), energy (e.g., natural gas and electricity), and plastics/resins (e.g., polypropylene). As we transition to a greater mix of electric vehicles, we expect to increase our reliance on battery raw materials (e.g., lithium, cobalt, and nickel).
Our practice is to use derivative instruments to hedge the price risk with respect to forecasted purchases of certain commodities consistent with our overall risk management strategy. In our hedging actions, we use derivative instruments commonly used by corporations to reduce commodity price risk (e.g., financially settled forward contracts). The extent to which we hedge is also impacted by materiality of the risk in the context of our overall portfolio, market liquidity, and/or our ability to achieve designated hedge accounting.
The net fair value of commodity forward contracts (including adjustments for credit risk) as of December 31, 2024 was a liability of $8 million, compared with a liability of $9 million as of December 31, 2023. The potential change in the fair value from a 10% change in the underlying commodity prices would have been $189 million at December 31, 2024, compared with $203 million at December 31, 2023. The sensitivity analysis presented is hypothetical and assumes commodity price changes are instantaneous and adverse across all commodities. In reality, commodity prices move in different magnitudes and at different times, and any changes in fair value would generally be offset by changes in the underlying exposure.
In addition, our purchasing organization (with guidance from the GRMC, as appropriate) negotiates contracts for the continuous supply of raw materials. In some cases, these contracts stipulate minimum purchase amounts and specific prices, and, therefore, play a role in managing commodity price risk.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk relates to the loss we could incur in our Company cash investment portfolios due to a change in interest rates. Our interest rate sensitivity analysis on our investment portfolios includes cash and cash equivalents and net marketable securities. At December 31, 2024, we had Company cash of $28.5 billion in our investment portfolios, compared to $28.8 billion at December 31, 2023. We invest the portfolios in securities of various types and maturities, the value of which are subject to fluctuations in interest rates. The investment strategy is based on clearly defined risk and liquidity guidelines to maintain liquidity, minimize risk, and earn a reasonable return on the short-term investments. In investing the cash in our investment portfolios, safety of principal is the primary objective and risk-adjusted return is the secondary objective.
At any time, a rise in interest rates could have a material adverse impact on the fair value of our portfolios. Assuming a hypothetical increase in interest rates of one percentage point, the value of our portfolios would be reduced by $233 million, as calculated as of December 31, 2024. This compares to $222 million, as calculated as of December 31, 2023. While these are our best estimates of the impact of the specified interest rate scenario, actual results could differ from those projected. The sensitivity analysis presented assumes interest rate changes are instantaneous, parallel shifts in the yield curve. In reality, interest rate changes of this magnitude are rarely instantaneous or parallel.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)
FORD CREDIT MARKET RISK
Market risk for Ford Credit is the possibility that changes in interest and currency exchange rates will adversely affect cash flow and economic value.
Interest Rate Risk . Generally, Ford Credit’s assets and the related debt have different re-pricing periods, and consequently, respond differently to changes in interest rates.
Ford Credit’s assets consist primarily of fixed-rate retail financing and operating lease contracts and floating-rate wholesale receivables. Fixed-rate retail financing and operating lease contracts generally require customers to make equal monthly payments over the life of the contract. Wholesale receivables are originated to finance new and used vehicles held in dealers’ inventory and generally require dealers to pay a floating rate.
Debt consists primarily of short- and long-term unsecured and securitized debt. Ford Credit’s term debt instruments are principally fixed-rate and require fixed and equal interest payments over the life of the instrument and a single principal payment at maturity.
Ford Credit’s interest rate risk management objective is to reduce volatility in its cash flows and volatility in its economic value from changes in interest rates based on an established risk tolerance that may vary by market. Ford Credit uses economic value sensitivity analysis and re-pricing gap analysis to evaluate potential long-term effects of changes in interest rates. It then enters into interest rate swaps to convert portions of its floating-rate debt to fixed or its fixed-rate debt to floating to ensure that Ford Credit’s exposure falls within the established tolerances. Ford Credit also uses pre-tax cash flow sensitivity analysis to monitor the level of near-term cash flow exposure. The pre-tax cash flow sensitivity analysis measures the changes in expected cash flows associated with Ford Credit’s interest-rate-sensitive assets, liabilities, and derivative financial instruments from hypothetical changes in interest rates over a twelve-month horizon. Interest rate swaps are placed to maintain exposure within approved thresholds and the Asset-Liability Committee reviews the re-pricing mismatch monthly.
To provide a quantitative measure of the sensitivity of its pre-tax cash flow to changes in interest rates, Ford Credit uses interest rate scenarios that assume a hypothetical, instantaneous increase or decrease of one percentage point in all interest rates across all maturities (a “parallel shift”), as well as a base case that assumes that all interest rates remain constant at existing levels. In reality, interest rate changes are rarely instantaneous or parallel and rates could move more or less than the one percentage point assumed in Ford Credit’s analysis. As a result, the actual impact to pre-tax cash flow could be higher or lower than the results detailed in the table below. These interest rate scenarios are purely hypothetical and do not represent Ford Credit’s view of future interest rate movements.
Under these interest rate scenarios, Ford Credit expects more assets than debt and liabilities to re-price in the next twelve months. Other things being equal, this means that during a period of rising interest rates, the interest received on Ford Credit’s assets will increase more than the interest paid on Ford Credit’s debt, thereby initially increasing Ford Credit’s pre-tax cash flow. During a period of falling interest rates, Ford Credit would expect its pre-tax cash flow to initially decrease. Ford Credit’s pre-tax cash flow sensitivity to interest rate movement at December 31 was as follows (in millions):
Pre-Tax Cash Flow Sensitivity
2023 2024
One percentage point instantaneous increase in interest rates
$ 78 $ 107
One percentage point instantaneous decrease in interest rates
(78) (107)
While the sensitivity analysis presented is Ford Credit’s best estimate of the impacts of the specified assumed interest rate scenarios, its actual results could differ from those projected. The model Ford Credit uses to conduct this analysis is heavily dependent on assumptions. Embedded in the model are assumptions regarding the reinvestment of maturing asset principal, refinancing of maturing debt, replacement of maturing derivatives, exercise of options embedded in debt and derivatives, and predicted repayment of retail financing and operating lease contracts ahead of contractual maturity. Ford Credit’s repayment projections ahead of contractual maturity are based on historical experience. If interest rates or other factors change, Ford Credit’s actual prepayment experience could be different than projected.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)
Foreign Currency Risk. Ford Credit’s policy is to minimize exposure to changes in currency exchange rates. To meet funding objectives, Ford Credit borrows in a variety of currencies, principally U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, euros, sterling, and renminbi. Ford Credit faces exposure to currency exchange rates if a mismatch exists between the currency of receivables and the currency of the debt funding those receivables. When possible, receivables are funded with debt in the same currency, minimizing exposure to exchange rate movements. When a different currency is used, Ford Credit may use foreign currency swaps and foreign currency forwards to convert substantially all of its foreign currency debt obligations to the local country currency of the receivables. As a result of this policy, Ford Credit believes its market risk exposure, relating to changes in currency exchange rates at December 31, 2024, is insignificant.
Derivative Fair Values. The net fair value of Ford Credit’s derivative financial instruments at December 31, 2024 was a liability of $1.2 billion, compared to a liability of $1.3 billion at December 31, 2023.
COUNTERPARTY RISK
Counterparty risk relates to the loss we could incur if an obligor or counterparty defaulted on an investment or a derivative contract. We enter into master agreements with counterparties that allow netting of certain exposures in order to manage this risk. Exposures primarily relate to investments in fixed income instruments and derivative contracts used for managing interest rate, foreign currency exchange rate, and commodity price risk. We, together with Ford Credit, establish exposure limits for each counterparty to minimize risk and provide counterparty diversification.
Our approach to managing counterparty risk is forward-looking and proactive, allowing us to take risk mitigation actions before risks become losses. Exposure limits are established based on our overall risk tolerance, which is calculated from counterparty credit ratings and market-based credit default swap (“CDS”) spreads. The exposure limits are lower for smaller and lower-rated counterparties, counterparties that have relatively higher CDS spreads, and for longer dated exposures. Our exposures are monitored on a regular basis and included in periodic reports to our Treasurer.
Substantially all of our counterparty exposures are with counterparties that have an investment grade rating. Investment grade is our guideline for minimum counterparty long-term ratings.
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, our Financial Statements, the accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements, and the Financial Statement Schedule that are filed as part of this Report are listed under “Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules” and are set forth beginning on page 105 immediately following the signature pages of this Report.
ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
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ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. James D. Farley, Jr., our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), and John T. Lawler, our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), have performed an evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), as of December 31, 2024, and each has concluded that such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our periodic reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the CEO and CFO to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f). The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or because the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our CEO and CFO, we conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024. The assessment was based on criteria established in the framework Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) , issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PCAOB ID 238 ), an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its report included herein.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. There were no changes in internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B. Other Information.
During the quarter ended December 31, 2024, no director or officer (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act) of the Company adopted , modified, or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or a “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” as each term is defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K, except as follows:
Andrew Frick , President, Ford Blue and Ford Customer Service Division , adopted a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement on December 24, 2024 that is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense of Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Exchange Act. The arrangement provides for the potential sale of up to 85,896 shares of Common Stock of the Company, subject to certain conditions. The arrangement was adopted during an open trading window and has an expiration date of December 23, 2025 .
ITEM 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
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PART III.
ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers of Ford, and Corporate Governance.
The information required by Item 10 regarding our directors is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Proposal 1. Election of Directors,” “Corporate Governance – Beneficial Stock Ownership,” and “Corporate Governance – Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding our executive officers appears as Item 4A under Part I of this Report. The information required by Item 10 regarding an audit committee financial expert is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Corporate Governance – Audit Committee Financial Expert and Auditor Rotation” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding the members of our Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Proxy Summary,” “Corporate Governance – Board Committee Functions,” “Corporate Governance – Audit Committee Financial Expert and Auditor Rotation,” and “Proposal 1. Election of Directors” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding the Audit Committee’s review and discussion of the audited financial statements is incorporated by reference from information under the caption “Audit Committee Report” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding our codes of ethics is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Corporate Governance – Codes of Ethics and Insider Trading” in our Proxy Statement. In addition, we have included in Item 1 instructions for how to access our codes of ethics on our website and our Internet address. Amendments to, and waivers granted under, our Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Personnel, if any, will be posted to our website as well. The information required by Item 10 regarding our insider trading arrangements and policies is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Corporate Governance – Codes of Ethics and Insider Trading Policy” in our Proxy Statement. A copy of our insider trading policy is filed as Exhibit 19 to this Report.
ITEM 11. Executive Compensation.
The information required by Item 11 is incorporated by reference from the information under the following captions in our Proxy Statement: “Director Compensation in 2024,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Report,” “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” “Compensation of Named Executives,” “Summary Compensation Table,” “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2024,” “Outstanding Equity Awards at 2024 Fiscal Year-End,” “Option Exercises and Stock Vested in 2024,” “Pension Benefits in 2024,” “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation in 2024,” “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control,” and “Pay Ratio.”
ITEM 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The information required by Item 12 is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Equity Compensation Plan Information” and “Corporate Governance – Beneficial Stock Ownership” in our Proxy Statement.
ITEM 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The information required by Item 13 is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Corporate Governance – Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and “Corporate Governance – Independence of Directors and Relevant Facts and Circumstances” in our Proxy Statement.
ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The information required by Item 14 is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Proposal 2. Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in our Proxy Statement.
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PART IV.
ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) 1. Financial Statements – Ford Motor Company and Subsidiaries
The following are contained in this 2024 Form 10-K Report:
• Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
• Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
• Consolidated Income Statements for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
• Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
• Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2023 and 2024.
• Consolidated Statements of Equity for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
• Notes to the Financial Statements.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, the Consolidated Financial Statements, and the Notes to the Financial Statements listed above are filed as part of this Report and are set forth beginning on page 105 immediately following the signature pages of this Report.
(a) 2. Financial Statement Schedules
Designation Description
Schedule II Valuation and Qualifying Accounts for the years ended 2022, 2023, and 2024
Schedule II is filed as part of this Report and is set forth on page 177 immediately following the Notes to the Financial Statements referred to above. The other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable, the information required to be contained in them is disclosed elsewhere on our Consolidated Financial Statements, or the amounts involved are not sufficient to require submission.
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(a) 3. Exhibits
Designation Description Method of Filing
Exhibit 3-A
Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated August 2, 2000. Filed as Exhibit 3-A to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000. (a)
Exhibit 3-A-1
Certificate of Designations of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock filed on September 11, 2009. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 11, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 3-B
By-laws. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Form 8-K filed on December 9, 2022. (a)
Exhibit 4-A
Tax Benefit Preservation Plan (“TBPP”) dated September 11, 2009 between Ford Motor Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 11, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-1
Amendment No. 1 to TBPP dated September 11, 2012.
Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 12, 2012. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-2
Amendment No. 2 to TBPP dated September 9, 2015.
Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 11, 2015. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-3
Amendment No. 3 to TBPP dated September 13, 2018. Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 14, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-4
Amendment No. 4 to TBPP dated September 9, 2021. Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 10, 2021. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-5
Amendment No. 5 to TBPP dated September 12, 2024. Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 13, 2024. (a)
Exhibit 4-B
Description of Securities. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 10-A
Executive Separation Allowance Plan, as amended and restated effective as of March 14, 2024. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 14, 2024. (a)
Exhibit 10-B
Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended and restated as of January 1, 2012. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-B to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. (a)
Exhibit 10-C
2014 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-C to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. (a)
Exhibit 10-D
2024 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors. (b) Filed as Exhibit 4.9 to Registration No. 333-278917. (a)
Exhibit 10- E
Benefit Equalization Plan, as amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2022. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. (a)
Exhibit 10- F
Description of financial counseling services provided to certain executives. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-E to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10- G
Defined Benefit Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, as amended and restated effective as of March 14, 2024. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 14, 2024. (a)
Exhibit 10- G -1
Defined Contribution Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, as amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2022. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.5 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. (a)
Exhibit 10- H
Description of Director Compensation as of July 13, 2006. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-G-3 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. (a)
Exhibit 10- H -1
Amendment to Description of Director Compensation as of February 8, 2012. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-F-3 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. (a)
Exhibit 10- H -2
Amendment to Description of Director Compensation as of July 1, 2013. (b)
Filed as Exhibit 10-G-2 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. (a)
Exhibit 10- H -3
Amendment to Description of Director Compensation as of January 1, 2017. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-G-3 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. (a)
Exhibit 10- I
2008 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. (a)
Exhibit 10- J
Description of Vehicle Evaluation Program for Non-Executive Directors. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-I to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. (a)
Exhibit 10- K
Non-Employee Directors Life Insurance and Optional Retirement Plan as amended and restated as of December 31, 2010. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-I to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. (a)
Exhibit 10-L Description of Non-Employee Directors Accidental Death, Dismemberment and Permanent Total Disablement Indemnity. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-S to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1992. (a)
Exhibit 10- L -1
Description of Amendment to Basic Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-K-1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. (a)
Exhibit 10- M
Offer Letter to Peter Stern dated July 21, 2023. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-L to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. (a)
Exhibit 10- N
Offer Letter to Doug Field dated August 26, 2021. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-N to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. (a)
Exhibit 10- O
Agreement between Ford Motor Company and James D. Farley, Jr. dated August 3, 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10- P
Select Retirement Plan, as amended and restated effective as of March 14, 2024. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 14, 2024. (a)
Exhibit 10- Q
Deferred Compensation Plan, as amended and restated as of December 31, 2010. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-M to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. (a)
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Designation Description Method of Filing
Exhibit 10- Q -1
Suspension of Open Enrollment in Deferred Compensation Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-M-1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 10- R
Annual Performance Bonus Plan, as amended May 10, 2023. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. (a)
Exhibit 10- R - 1
Annual Performance Bonus Plan Metrics for 2023. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. (a)
Exhibit 10- R -2
Annual Performance Bonus Plan Metrics for 2024. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. (a)
Exhibit 10- R -3
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2021. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. (a)
Exhibit 10- R - 4
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2022. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. (a)
Exhibit 10- R - 5
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2023. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. (a)
Exhibit 10- R -6
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2024. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. (a)
Exhibit 10- R -7
Corporate Officer Compensation Recoupment Policy. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-Q-7 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. (a)
Exhibit 10- S
2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Registration Statement No. 333-226348. (a)
Exhibit 10-T
2023 Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended January 1, 2025. (b) Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 10- T -1
Form of Stock Option Terms and Conditions for 2023 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. (a)
Exhibit 10- T -2
Form of Stock Option Agreement for 2023 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to ou
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