Latest News Updates From Keith Naughton

Ford is planning to launch five new models priced under $40,000 by the end of the decade in a gambit to offer more affordable vehicles as the average cost of new cars tops $50,000 in the U.S.

An unexpected change in tariff provisions cost Ford about $900 million in savings it expected last year, Chief Financial Officer Sherry House told reporters on Feb. 10.

“We built our entire vehicle business as an industry between Canada, Mexico and the U.S.,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said Jan. 15 in a Bloomberg TV interview. “We have to get this revised.”

Ford said Jan. 7 it will launch Level 3 autonomy in 2028 on its Blue Cruise feature. The new version that allows drivers to look away will debut on Ford’s all-electric small pickup truck platform.

More than eight out of 10 consumers who put down a $100 reservation on a Scout have selected plug-in hybrid versions over EVs.

Ford affirmed that it still expects to earn $6 billion to $6.5 billion before interest and taxes this year, despite a second significant fire this week at the Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego, N.Y.

Ford joins Hyundai Motor on the Amazon Autos portal, which allows car buyers to browse, finance and purchase a used car by clicking on the familiar “add to cart” icon.

Ford expects a profit hit of as much as $2 billion after a devastating fire at a key supplier of aluminum for its top-selling F-150 pickup truck, overshadowing solid Q3 financial results.

The elimination of a $7,500 consumer tax credit and softening of emissions rules by the Trump administration will sharply curtail EV demand in the U.S., Jim Farley said.

The plant, which officially began production Aug. 19, was originally intended to support Ford’s own EV business.