President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported automobiles, parts, and raw materials earlier this year, a move that has somewhat benefitted Ford – given its large domestic manufacturing footprint – though The Blue Oval and its peers have also called for more predictability in that regard. Regardless, as Ford Authority reported earlier this month, the Trump administration has been mulling the idea of providing additional relief on tariffs for domestic automakers, and now, that’s precisely what’s happening.
According to the Associated Press, Trump will extend an existing short-term rebate – originally announced in April – that was scheduled to be lowered in stages before expiring in 2027. Originally installed as a way to give automakers some time to shift foreign production and supply chains to the U.S., that relief will now run through 2029, providing automakers with a 3.75 percent rebate on the sales price of domestically-assembled vehicles.
In addition to this extension on the aforementioned rebate, Trump will also offer this same bit of relief to those that build trucks and engines, too. The administration noted that these adjustments come after conversations with officials in the automotive industry, with the goal of continuing to boost domestic production while also increasing competition.
This move also comes at the same time imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks are now facing tariffs of 25 percent, which is something Ford and General Motors have been lobbying for – and Stellantis has been lobbying against. The reasoning behind this split pertains to the fact that Stellantis builds its medium-duty Ram trucks in Mexico and sells them in the U.S., while Ford builds all of those same vehicles domestically.
Ford was reportedly arguing that forgoing those proposed tariffs would give Stellantis an unfair advantage in terms of costs, given the fact that it and GM build those same trucks in the U.S. GM also reportedly argues that if Stellantis gets a break here, it would lead to other automakers asking for exemptions on tariffs, including itself, given the fact that certain Chevy and GMC pickups are built in Mexico, too.
All of the proceeds will go to a good cause.
The Fox continues to gain value in a largely stagnant market.
Precisely why the automaker never gave up on hybrids.
It puts some of Ford's competition at a big disadvantage.
Hopefully the officer driving it has a good sense of humor.
It's geared toward younger enthusiasts that prefer such things, it seems.
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So, will affected vehicle prices drop? Fat chance. They'll go up.