Ford has reported a loss of US$36 million (AU$55.9 million) for the second quarter of 2025, the lowest among the US ‘Big Three’ companies since the introduction of import tariffs.
Ford reported a 22 percent decline in revenue to US$2.1 billion (AU$3.26 billion) in this first reporting period, when US President Donald Trump introduced automotive tariffs.
However, Ford said it achieved record quarterly revenue during the period, which was US$50.2 billion (AU$77.6 billion), an increase of 5.5 percent year-on-year.
Ford’s commercial vehicles division, which is driven by products such as the Ford Ranger, F-150 and Transit, was the biggest contributor to the result, with a profit of US$2.3 billion (AU$3.56 billion).
Ford is set to suffer losses as it shut down its electric vehicle (EV) program, reporting a loss of $1.3 billion (AUD 2.0 billion). It had previously reported a loss of $849 million (AUD 1.3 billion) in the first quarter and a loss of $5.1 billion (AUD 7.9 billion) for the full year of 2024.
Ford’s announcement follows results from rival US company General Motors (GM), which reported a loss of $1.1 billion (AUD 1.7 billion) in the three months to June. It blamed the loss on tariffs on imported vehicles, materials and parts.
Rival Stellantis, which is based in the Netherlands and owns iconic US brands Chrysler, Jeep, Ram Trucks and Dodge, reported a loss of €2.3 billion (AUD 4.1 billion) in the first half of 2025.
Bill Ford – the great-great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford – said Ford should be least affected when the tariffs go into effect on April 2, 2025, because it has the largest manufacturing base in the United States.
US President Trump has said the tariffs are designed to boost local manufacturing, and Ford has since promoted the slogan “Ford Motor Company. From America. For America.”
During this week’s call, Ford said it expected the tariffs to cost more than it had previously expected, raising its previous forecast of US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion (AU$3.11 billion) for the full year 2025, with the total impact estimated at US$3 billion (AU$4.66 billion).
Ford took out a US$3 billion (AU$4.66 billion) line of credit on July 29, the day before the earnings call.
It has taken some countermeasures in response to the impact of the tariffs, such as offering employee pricing for all US customers, to help offset the expected increase in showroom prices and to benefit margins on vehicles not affected by the tariffs.
This move was later followed by Stellantis for its US brands.