- Ford's CEO warns the company "[has] to import certain parts" to make its vehicles. That could send prices higher, even as the automaker extends employee pricing to consumers. Analysts have warned that car prices in the U.S. will go up by several thousand dollars due to tariffs.
Ford has been touting its American-made roots as Trump's tariffs target international automakers, but the company's CEO has warned it's still dependent on global trade to make its vehicles.
Jim Farley, appearing on CNN, said Ford will be affected when tariffs go into effect this Saturday on auto parts, which could raise consumer prices. And while the White House is encouraging companies to buy domestically made parts, that's just not possible some of the time.
"We have to import certain parts,” Farley said. “A lot of parts, like fasteners, washers, carpet … are just not available. We can’t even buy those parts here.”
And even when some parts might be availably from U.S. suppliers, the CEO said, it makes more economic sense to buy imports as doing otherwise would drive retail prices notably higher. Between 20% and 25% of the parts made to make the best-selling F-150, for instance, are imported, Farley said.
“The affordability of parts is a really important thing for America because we’ve got to keep the vehicles affordable,” he said. "Yes, we want to make them like Ford does in the U.S., but we also want to make the vehicles affordable that are built in the U.S.”
To stoke demand as tariffs impact pricing, Ford will continue to offer its employee pricing for another month, but that doesn't mean buyers still won't have some sticker shock, especially when the promotion ends.
Analysts have warned tariffs could add thousands of dollars to car prices. Even with the executive order signed Tuesday that offers tariff relief to automakers, prices are still set to increase.
