Starting Thursday, Ford will offer employee pricing discounts to any car buyer for almost every car it sells in the U.S. This includes vehicles like the Maverick, which gets some parts from outside the U.S., as well as almost every Lincoln.
Ford calls the campaign “Ford Motor Company: From America, For America,” and Ford says to all Americans, “[we’re] offering employee pricing to everyone. Consumers will pay what we pay.”
This comes exactly as the Trump administration is imposing a 25 percent tariff on all imported vehicles, as well as varying tariffs on imported car parts that go into domestically assembled vehicles. But there’s some fine print to understand.
You Have Until June 2
According to reporting at Automotive News, the scheme will be in place until June 2. Savings may be up to thousands of dollars per vehicle, though an exact template of what the discounts will mean on every Ford and every Lincoln model hasn’t been disclosed.
Automotive News quoted Robert Kaffl, director of U.S. sales and dealer relations, saying that Ford has inventory right now, and they could offer consumers “…some of that certainty to what could be an uncertain situation.”
Kaffl was alluding to the tariffs, and also to consumer sentiment that their prices are going to rise and that they’ll be bearing the cost, not foreign parts or car manufacturers, or American-based companies like Ford.
What’s In It For Ford?
Ford has made clear that they have a healthy inventory, and that they employ the most Americans of any U.S. car manufacturer. They’re also one of the biggest exporters of American-made cars, and builds 80 percent of the cars they sell in the U.S. within U.S. borders.
But because they’re also a big exporter, selling cars that are in stock and made in the U.S. shields them from reciprocal tariffs. Those are surely set to come, and will make Ford’s products uncompetitive. If they can sell cars here, they’re also cutting down on shipping and other logistical costs.
What Happens Next?
It’s not clear what happens to the cost of Ford cars and trucks after June 2. However, Ford will face the same pain all other manufacturers struggle with. Most analysts predict that the minimum damage to domestically assembled cars will be $3,000 per vehicle, and that costs for some of those cars might rise by more than $6,000.
Ford has greater exposure on its least-expensive models. The Maverick, Bronco Sport, Mustang Mach E and Lincoln MKZ are all assembled in Mexico, and some Maverick engines are made in Spain. This isn’t specific to Ford. A lot of manufacturing happens in Mexico to keep costs low, and that’s on parts as well as finishing and assembly processes on many car parts.
But this illustrates that the pain will be deepest on cheaper cars getting proportionally more expensive. A Ford Maverick jumping in price from $27,000 to $30,000 is an 11 percent increase. A $53,000 car that’s now $56,000 is only rising a relatively less harmful 5 percent.
TopSpeed’s Take
It’s not clear how much the discount will amount to. Usually, employee pricing avoids dealer fees and other charges that typically add up to between $500–$2,000, but there are several tiers of employee pricing at Ford.
Ford said customers will gain “…significant savings on a wide range of 2024 and 2025 gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and diesel Ford and Lincoln vehicles.” They also said that the savings don’t apply to Ford F-150 Raptor or Ranger Raptor, or specialty Mustang and Bronco vehicles. They’re also not discounting the 2025 Expedition and Navigator, or Super Duty trucks, all of which offer Ford significant profits.
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