Ford Motor Co. announced on Thursday that it will extend its employee pricing to all shoppers in the wake of widespread tariffs that were announced by President Donald Trump, including 25 percent duties on foreign-made cars that went into effect on Thursday.
However, Ford’s pricing change excludes Ford Raptor models, specialty Bronco and Mustang models, its 2025 Expedition and Navigator SUVs, and its Super Duty trucks.
“For potential electric retail customers, the employee pricing is on top of the Ford Power Promise, further extended through June 30. This includes a complimentary home charger and standard installation with a Ford electric vehicle to wake up charged and ready to go every morning,” the statement said.
The Michigan-based automaker builds 80 percent of its American-sold vehicles domestically, providing it a greater buffer from Trump’s tariffs than some competitors. However, it still faces the prospect of steep levies on imported vehicle parts.
Trump last week announced 25 percent tariffs on all auto imports and parts, which went into effect Thursday. On Wednesday, Trump announced he would broaden all tariffs to a 10 percent baseline on all imports, with higher rates for the countries that had the worst tariffs against the United States. Ford shares fell following the tariff announcement, as did those of General Motors.
While announcing the new tariffs on Wednesday, Trump said that the United States and American taxpayers “have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it’s not going to happen anymore.”
Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and members of the Trump administration have said that the new tariff regime would allow for the return of U.S. manufacturing jobs and would improve national security.
After the tariff announcement, major U.S. stock indexes saw drops on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average by Thursday afternoon dropped by more than 1,500 points, the Nasdaq was down by more than 5 percentage points, and the S&P 500 shed 4.5 percent.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen described the tariffs as a blow to the world economy and said her 27-member bloc would retaliate against the United States with its own tariffs. The Chinese communist regime also said it would retaliate.
“My advice to every country right now is do not retaliate. Sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes ... if you don’t retaliate, this is the high-water mark,” he said.
Aside from Ford’s decision, General Motors said in a statement Thursday that it would move to increase its production of light-duty trucks at its Fort Wayne, Indiana, assembly plant, saying that it will hire temporary workers for the plant, which will be part of “operational adjustments ... to support current manufacturing and business needs.”
