- Ford launches a new “From America, For America” ad campaign to highlight its U.S. manufacturing.
- As part of the campaign, Ford will offer employee pricing on most of its vehicles through June 2.
- Ford is extending its program that offers a free home charger and installation on the purchase of an EV until June 30.
- Ford said it has high inventory and is in a strong competitive position to bring in new customers ahead of tariff impact.
Ford Motor Co. wants U.S. customers to know it is the dominant American car company by pushing that message in a new ad campaign that promotes the automaker’s U.S. footprint. The campaign is also going to offer car buyers discounts across much of the Ford and Lincoln lineup.
The automaker is launching “From America, For America” on Thursday, the day President Donald Trump’s tariffs will be enacted on the auto industry. The campaign will run in traditional print media advertisements, television spots and social media, said Rob Kaffl, Ford’s director of U.S. sales.
As part of the campaign, Ford will offer its employee-pricing plan, known as the A Plan, to consumers on most of Ford 2024 and 2025 model year vehicles through June 2. Ford is also extending to June 30 the program that offers a free home charger and complimentary installation to those people who purchase or lease an all-electric vehicle.
Ford wants to drum up business and get out ahead of any impact caused by the tariffs — which Trump said would be on imported cars and imported auto parts — by attracting car buyers to Ford first.
Ford can afford to offer the discount right now because it has plenty of inventory of new vehicles at dealerships, Kaffl said.
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“We’ve got a very healthy stock,” Kaffl told the Free Press, referring to new vehicle inventory. “We’re in a very competitive position in our stock. And the auto sector, and overall public, has seen a lot of uncertainty in the market right now especially in the automotive space. So we feel by providing this message in ‘From America, For America,’ we’re providing some security.”
Here’s the deal
At the end of March, Ford had a 64-day supply of new vehicles across its dealer body, Kaffl said. But overall gross day supply, which includes the inventory at dealerships as well as vehicles that are in-transit to a dealership, is a robust 74 days. Days’ supply is a measure of the number of days it would take at the current sales rate to deplete available inventory. The auto industry typically considers 60 days to be a healthy rate.
The “From America, For America” campaign spot starts off showing a Ford dealership and then an announcer asks: “Which automaker employs the most hourly autoworkers in the country? Ford. Which automaker assembles the most vehicles in the country? Ford. That’s not a coincidence. It’s a commitment. And, now at this unprecedented moment in automotive history, who benefits from Ford’s commitment to America for over 120 years? You.”
Ford is now offering employee pricing on all its vehicles except the F-150 Raptors, 2025 Super Duty pickups, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator large SUVs, Kaffl said. It also excludes Ford’s fleet vehicles.
“You pay what we pay,” Kaffl said of the program.
The more a vehicle costs, the bigger the discount. For example on the purchase of an F-150 XLT hybrid pickup that has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $65,000, it would cost $55,000 with the A Plan, according to a Ford dealer. An Escape ST SUV that has a sticker price of $36,300, would cost about $33,000 on the A Plan. The dealer asked to not be named because he’s not authorized to share that information publicly.
Ford said that it would also extend its program that offers customers who buy or lease a Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning or E-Transit Cargo Van a free home charger and complimentary installation. The program, called the “Ford Power Promise” was supposed to end last month, but now it will run through the end of June. The automaker said this program has helped boost Ford’s EV sales.
What other automakers are doing
On Tuesday, Ford released its first quarter U.S. sales results, which were down by 1.3% to 501,291 vehicles sold compared with the year-ago period. But sales of Ford’s electrified vehicles — which includes EVs and hybrids — rose by 25.5% in the quarter to 73,623 sold. Ford said its electrified vehicles represented 15% of total sales — up 3 percentage points over the same period last year.
The campaign comes as Trump imposes the tariffs — a tax an importer pays when goods cross borders — that he said will drive more manufacturing to the United States, create jobs and bring in billions of dollars. But because the automakers and suppliers pay the tax, not the country where the goods originate, many auto industry analysts have warned the tariffs will force car prices up to offset the added import tax. It takes billions of dollars and three years to build a factory in the United States, so they could be paying that tax for awhile.
Also, experts warn, if other countries recipricate with bigger tariffs, then automakers such as Ford and General Motors might see less demand for their vehicles they sell overseas, driving down their global sales.
Some experts have predicted new vehicle prices will rise on average $5,000 to $15,000. CarGurus, a car shopping website and research firm, said in its First Quarter Intelligence report released Wednesday, that tariffs will add $3,300 to the average list price on a new car. In March, the average new vehicle list price was $49,500, the report said.
Nissan said Tuesday it will roll back the prices by $670 to $1,930 on two of its biggest sellers: 2025 Rogue and 2025 Pathfinder three-row SUVs. Both vehicles are built in Tennessee, with some high-trim Rogue SUVs imported from Japan.
Ford sees a competitive advantage
Ford has the largest manufacturing footprint in the United States of any automaker, importing just 21% of the vehicles it sells here. GM imports 46% of the vehicles it sells in the United States. Still, Ford CEO Jim Farley said Ford is not immune to tariffs.
In a memo sent to the Ford workforce on March 27, which was obtained by the Detroit Free Press, Farley wrote, “While Ford supports the president’s vision of building a stronger auto industry and manufacturing base in the United States, the situation is dynamic and the impacts of the tariffs are likely to be significant across our industry — affecting automakers, suppliers, dealers and customers.”
Kaffl said Ford will react to any impact from tariffs at the appropriate time.
“We’re confident in the number of vehicles we have on the ground today and we’ll be transparent when we make that decision (on pricing), when that comes,” Kaffl said. “But there’s a lot that needs to be answered before we can say, ‘This is the impact today.’ “
For now, Kaffl said Ford has a competitive advantage with its high inventory and large U.S. manufacturing base.
“Customers are concerned and there’s uncertainty in the marketplace right now and this is a way to help people who need a car,” Kaffl said. “That’s not to say it’s forever. We’ll be transparent as we have to make adjustments, as things change … that’s what we’re all looking at.”
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Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
