EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 37996
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 37996_10-K_2021_0000037996-21-000012.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. Business.
Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1919. We acquired the business of a Michigan company, also known as Ford Motor Company, which had been incorporated in 1903 to produce and sell automobiles designed and engineered by Henry Ford. We are a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 186,000 employees worldwide, the Company designs, manufactures, markets, and services a full line of Ford trucks, utility vehicles, and cars - increasingly including electrified versions - and Lincoln luxury vehicles; provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (“Ford Credit”); and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification; mobility solutions, including self-driving services; and connected vehicle services.
In addition to the information about Ford and our subsidiaries contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (“2020 Form 10-K Report” or “Report”), extensive information about our Company can be found at http://corporate.ford.com, including information about our management team, brands, products, services, and corporate governance principles.
The corporate governance information on our website includes our Corporate Governance Principles, Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Personnel, Code of Ethics for the Board of Directors, Code of Corporate Conduct for all employees, and the Charters for each of the Committees of our Board of Directors. In addition, any amendments to our Code of Ethics or waivers granted to our directors and executive officers will be posted on our corporate website. All of these documents may be accessed by going to our corporate website, or may be obtained free of charge by writing to our Shareholder Relations Department, Ford Motor Company, One American Road, P.O. Box 1899, Dearborn, Michigan 48126-1899.
Our recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge at http://shareholder.ford.com. This includes recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments to those reports, and our Section 16 filings. We post each of these documents on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after it is electronically filed with the SEC. Our reports filed with the SEC also may be found on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Our Sustainability Report, which details our performance and progress toward our sustainability and corporate responsibility goals, is available at http://sustainability.ford.com.
The foregoing information regarding our website and its content is for convenience only and not deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Report nor filed with the SEC.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
OVERVIEW
Below is a description of our reportable segments and other activities.
AUTOMOTIVE SEGMENT
The Automotive segment primarily includes the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories worldwide, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute, and service the vehicles, parts, and accessories. This segment includes revenues and costs related to our electrification vehicle programs. The segment includes the following regional business units: North America, South America, Europe, China (including Taiwan), and the International Markets Group.
General
Our vehicle brands are Ford and Lincoln. In 2020, we sold approximately 4,187,000 vehicles at wholesale throughout the world. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (“Item 7”) for a discussion of our calculation of wholesale unit volumes.
Substantially all of our vehicles, parts, and accessories are sold through distributors and dealers (collectively, “dealerships”), the substantial majority of which are independently owned. At December 31, the approximate number of dealerships worldwide distributing our vehicle brands was as follows:
Brand 2019 2020
Ford 9,883 9,618
Ford-Lincoln (combined) 759 707
Lincoln 279 392
Total 10,921 10,717
We do not depend on any single customer or a few customers to the extent that the loss of such customers would have a material adverse effect on our business.
In addition to the products we sell to our dealerships for retail sale, we also sell vehicles to our dealerships for sale to fleet customers, including commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments. We also sell parts and accessories, primarily to our dealerships (which, in turn, sell these products to retail customers) and to authorized parts distributors (which, in turn, primarily sell these products to retailers). We also offer extended service contracts.
The worldwide automotive industry is affected significantly by general economic and political conditions over which we have little control. Vehicles are durable goods, and consumers and businesses have latitude in determining whether and when to replace an existing vehicle. The decision whether to purchase a vehicle may be affected significantly by slowing economic growth, geopolitical events, and other factors (including the cost of purchasing and operating cars, trucks, and utility vehicles and the availability and cost of financing and fuel). As a result, the number of cars, trucks, and utility vehicles sold may vary substantially from year to year. Further, the automotive industry is a highly competitive business that has a wide and growing variety of product and service offerings from a growing number of manufacturers.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Our wholesale unit volumes vary with the level of total industry demand and our share of that industry demand. Our wholesale unit volumes also are influenced by the level of dealer inventory. Our share is influenced by how our products are perceived by customers in comparison to those offered by other manufacturers based on many factors, including price, quality, styling, reliability, safety, fuel efficiency, functionality, and reputation. Our share also is affected by the timing and frequency of new model introductions. Our ability to satisfy changing consumer and business preferences with respect to type or size of vehicle, as well as design and performance characteristics, affects our sales and earnings significantly.
As with other manufacturers, the profitability of our business is affected by many factors, including:
•Wholesale unit volumes
•Margin of profit on each vehicle sold - which, in turn, is affected by many factors, such as:
◦Market factors - volume and mix of vehicles and options sold, and net pricing (reflecting, among other factors, incentive programs)
◦Costs of components and raw materials necessary for production of vehicles
◦Costs for customer warranty claims and additional service actions
◦Costs for safety, emissions, and fuel economy technology and equipment
•A high proportion of relatively fixed structural costs, so that small changes in wholesale unit volumes can significantly affect overall profitability
Our industry has a very competitive pricing environment, driven in part by industry excess capacity. For the past several decades, manufacturers typically have given price discounts and other marketing incentives to provide value for customers and maintain market share and production levels. The decline in value of foreign currencies in the past has contributed significantly to competitive pressures in many of our markets. The U.S. administration has sought to address this issue with currency provisions that were included in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and United States-China trade deals.
Competitive Position. The worldwide automotive industry consists of many producers, with no single dominant producer. Certain manufacturers, however, account for the major percentage of total sales within particular countries, especially their countries of origin.
Seasonality. We manage our vehicle production schedule based on a number of factors, including retail sales (i.e., units sold by our dealerships to their customers at retail) and dealer stock levels (i.e., the number of units held in inventory by our dealerships for sale to their customers). Historically, we have experienced some seasonal fluctuation in the business, with production in many markets tending to be higher in the first half of the year to meet demand in the spring and summer (typically the strongest sales months of the year). In 2020, because of production disruptions in the first half of the year due to COVID-19, production was higher in the second half of the year.
Backlog Orders. We generally produce and ship our products on average within approximately 20 days of an order becoming firm. Therefore, no significant amount of backlog orders accumulates during any period.
Raw Materials. We purchase a wide variety of raw materials from numerous suppliers around the world for use in the production of, and development of technologies in, our vehicles. These materials include base metals (e.g., steel and aluminum), precious metals (e.g., palladium), energy (e.g., natural gas), and plastics/resins (e.g., polypropylene). We believe we have adequate supplies or sources of availability of raw materials necessary to meet our needs; however, there always are risks and uncertainties with respect to the supply of raw materials that could impact availability in sufficient quantities and at cost effective prices to meet our needs. See the “Key Trends and Economic Factors Affecting Ford and the Automotive Industry” section of Item 7 for a discussion of supplier disruptions caused by a shortage of key components, as well as commodity and energy price changes, and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” (“Item 7A”) for a discussion of commodity price risks.
Intellectual Property. We own or hold licenses to use numerous patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks on a global basis. We expect to continue building this portfolio as we actively pursue innovation in every part of our business. We also own numerous trademarks and service marks that contribute to the identity and recognition of our Company and its products and services globally. While our intellectual property rights in the aggregate are important to the operation of each of our businesses, we do not believe that our business would be materially affected by the expiration of any particular intellectual property right or termination of any particular intellectual property agreement.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Warranty Coverage, Field Service Actions, and Customer Satisfaction Actions. We provide warranties on vehicles we sell. Warranties are offered for specific periods of time and/or mileage, and vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Pursuant to these warranties, we will repair, replace, or adjust all parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship during the specified warranty period. In addition to the costs associated with this warranty coverage provided on our vehicles, we also incur costs as a result of field service actions (i.e., safety recalls, emission recalls, and other product campaigns), and for customer satisfaction actions.
For additional information regarding warranty and related costs, see “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 and Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Wholesales
Wholesales consist primarily of vehicles sold to dealerships. For the majority of such sales, we recognize revenue when we ship the vehicles to our dealerships from our manufacturing facilities. See Item 7 for additional discussion of revenue recognition practices. Wholesales in each region and in certain key markets within each region during the past three years were as follows:
Wholesales (a)
(in thousands of units)
2018 2019 2020
United States 2,540 2,412 1,826
Canada 295 289 210
Mexico 69 53 34
North America 2,920 2,765 2,081
Brazil 235 218 135
Argentina 86 47 31
South America 365 295 185
United Kingdom 387 367 208
Germany 313 328 211
EU20 (b) 1,388 1,317 904
Turkey 65 47 102
Europe 1,482 1,390 1,020
China (c) 732 535 617
Australia 65 64 57
India 98 73 46
ASEAN (d) 117 102 67
Russia 51 28 14
International Markets Group 483 401 284
Total Company 5,982 5,386 4,187
__________
(a)Wholesale unit volumes include sales of medium and heavy trucks. Wholesale unit volumes also include all Ford and Lincoln badged units (whether produced by Ford or by an unconsolidated affiliate) that are sold to dealerships, units manufactured by Ford that are sold to other manufacturers, units distributed by Ford for other manufacturers, and local brand units produced by our unconsolidated Chinese joint venture Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. (“JMC”) that are sold to dealerships. Vehicles sold to daily rental car companies that are subject to a guaranteed repurchase option (i.e., rental repurchase), as well as other sales of finished vehicles for which the recognition of revenue is deferred (e.g., consignments), also are included in wholesale unit volumes. Revenue from certain vehicles in wholesale unit volumes (specifically, Ford badged vehicles produced and distributed by our unconsolidated affiliates, as well as JMC brand vehicles) are not included in our revenue.
(b)EU20 markets are United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland.
(c)China includes Taiwan.
(d)ASEAN includes Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Retail Sales, Industry Volume, and Market Share
Retail sales, industry volume, and market share in each region and in certain key markets within each region during the past three years were as follows:
Retail Sales (a) Industry Volume (b) Market Share (c)
(in millions of units) (in millions of units) (as a percentage)
2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020 2018 2019 2020
United States 2.5 2.4 2.0 17.7 17.5 14.9 14.1 % 13.8 % 13.7 %
Canada 0.3 0.3 0.2 2.0 2.0 1.6 14.7 14.6 15.1
Mexico 0.1 0.1 - 1.5 1.4 1.0 4.8 4.4 4.0
North America 2.9 2.8 2.3 21.5 21.1 17.6 13.4 13.2 13.2
Brazil 0.2 0.2 0.1 2.6 2.8 2.1 9.2 8.1 6.8
Argentina 0.1 0.1 - 0.8 0.5 0.3 12.1 11.4 9.7
South America 0.4 0.3 0.2 4.5 4.3 3.1 8.3 7.2 6.2
United Kingdom 0.4 0.4 0.2 2.8 2.7 1.9 13.7 13.0 12.9
Germany 0.3 0.3 0.2 3.8 4.0 3.3 7.9 8.3 7.4
EU20 (d) 1.4 1.3 1.0 17.7 17.9 13.7 7.6 7.4 7.1
Turkey 0.1 - 0.1 0.6 0.5 0.8 10.9 10.1 12.4
Europe 1.5 1.4 1.1 19.0 19.2 15.1 7.6 7.3 7.2
China (e) 0.8 0.6 0.6 26.7 26.1 25.2 2.9 2.2 2.4
Australia 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.2 1.1 0.9 6.0 6.0 6.5
India 0.1 0.1 0.1 4.4 3.8 2.8 2.2 2.0 1.7
ASEAN (f) 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.7 1.8 1.3 6.6 5.9 5.3
Russia 0.1 - - 1.8 1.8 1.5 2.9 1.6 0.9
International Markets Group 0.5 0.4 0.3 22.5 21.2 17.5 2.2 1.9 1.7
Global / Total Company 6.0 5.5 4.5 94.2 91.9 78.5 6.3 % 6.0 % 5.8 %
__________
(a)Retail sales represents primarily sales by dealers and is based, in part, on estimated vehicle registrations; includes medium and heavy trucks.
(b)Industry volume is an internal estimate based on publicly available data collected from various government, private, and public sources around the globe; includes medium and heavy trucks.
(c)Market share represents reported retail sales of our brands as a percent of total industry volume in the relevant market or region.
(d)EU20 markets are United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland.
(e)China includes Taiwan; China market share includes Ford brand and JMC brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliates.
(f)ASEAN includes Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
U.S. Sales by Type
The following table shows U.S. retail sales volume and U.S. wholesales segregated by truck, sport utility vehicle (“SUV”), and car sales. U.S. retail sales volume reflects transactions with (i) retail and fleet customers (as reported by dealers), (ii) government, and (iii) Ford management. U.S. wholesales reflect sales to dealers.
U.S. Retail Sales U.S. Wholesales
2019 2020 2019 2020
Trucks 1,243,136 1,102,097 1,285,859 953,165
SUVs 830,471 749,583 816,933 712,623
Cars 349,091 193,064 309,413 160,449
Total Vehicles 2,422,698 2,044,744 2,412,205 1,826,237
Item 1. Business (Continued)
MOBILITY SEGMENT
The Mobility segment primarily includes development costs for Ford’s autonomous vehicles and related businesses, Ford’s equity ownership in Argo AI (a developer of autonomous driving systems), and other mobility businesses and investments (including Spin, a micro-mobility service provider). Effective January 1, 2021, the costs and benefits related to Ford’s enterprise connectivity activities included in the Mobility segment will be reported in the Automotive segment.
FORD CREDIT SEGMENT
The Ford Credit segment is comprised of the Ford Credit business on a consolidated basis, which is primarily vehicle-related financing and leasing activities.
Ford Credit offers a wide variety of automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers throughout the world. The predominant share of Ford Credit’s business consists of financing our vehicles and supporting our dealers. Ford Credit earns its revenue primarily from payments made under retail installment sale and finance lease (retail financing) and operating lease contracts that it originates and purchases; interest rate supplements and other support payments from us and our affiliates; and payments made under dealer financing programs.
As a result of these financing activities, Ford Credit has a large portfolio of finance receivables and operating leases which it classifies into two portfolios-“consumer” and “non-consumer.” Finance receivables and operating leases in the consumer portfolio include products offered to individuals and businesses that finance the acquisition of our vehicles from dealers for personal and commercial use. Retail financing includes retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles and finance leases (comprised of sales-type and direct financing leases) for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, including leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. Finance receivables in the non-consumer portfolio include products offered to automotive dealers. Ford Credit makes wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory, also known as floorplan financing, as well as loans to dealers to finance working capital and improvements to dealership facilities, finance the purchase of dealership real estate, and finance other dealer vehicle programs. Ford Credit also purchases receivables generated by us and our affiliates, primarily related to the sale of parts and accessories to dealers and certain used vehicles from daily rental fleet companies. Ford Credit also provides financing to us for vehicles that we lease to our employees.
Ford Credit does business in the United States and Canada through business centers. Outside of the United States, Europe is Ford Credit’s largest operation. Ford Credit’s European operations are managed primarily through its United Kingdom-based subsidiary, FCE Bank plc (“FCE”). Within Europe, Ford Credit’s largest markets are the United Kingdom and Germany.
See Item 7 and Notes 10 and 12 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a detailed discussion of Ford Credit’s receivables, credit losses, allowance for credit losses, loss-to-receivables ratios, funding sources, and funding strategies. See Item 7A for a discussion of how Ford Credit manages its financial market risks.
We routinely sponsor special retail financing and lease incentives to dealers’ customers who choose to finance or lease our vehicles from Ford Credit. In order to compensate Ford Credit for the lower interest or lease payments offered to the retail customer, we pay the discounted value of the incentive directly to Ford Credit when it originates the retail finance or lease contract with the dealer’s customer. These programs increase Ford Credit’s financing volume and share. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for information about our accounting for these programs.
We have a Second Amended and Restated Relationship Agreement with Ford Credit, pursuant to which, if Ford Credit’s managed leverage for a calendar quarter were to be higher than 11.5:1 (as reported in its most recent periodic report), Ford Credit could require us to make or cause to be made a capital contribution to it in an amount sufficient to have caused such managed leverage to have been 11.5:1. No capital contributions have been made pursuant to this agreement. In a separate agreement with FCE, Ford Credit has agreed to maintain FCE’s net worth in excess of $500 million. No payments have been made pursuant to that agreement.
Ford Credit files periodic reports with the SEC that contain additional information regarding Ford Credit. The reports are available through Ford Credit’s website located at www.fordcredit.com/investor-center and can also be found on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov.
The foregoing information regarding Ford Credit’s website and its content is for convenience only and not deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Report nor filed with the SEC.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
CORPORATE OTHER
Corporate Other primarily includes corporate governance expenses, interest income (excluding interest earned on our extended service contract portfolio that is included in our Automotive segment) and gains and losses from our cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and other investments, and foreign exchange derivatives gains and losses associated with intercompany lending. Corporate governance expenses are primarily administrative, delivering benefit on behalf of the global enterprise, and are not allocated to specific Automotive business units or operating segments. These include expenses related to setting and directing global policy, providing oversight and stewardship, and promoting the Company’s interests.
Effective January 1, 2021, (i) cash and other centrally managed corporate assets reported in the Automotive segment will be realigned to Corporate Other, and (ii) certain corporate governance expenses that benefit the global enterprise reported in the Automotive segment will be reported as part of Corporate Other.
INTEREST ON DEBT
Interest on Debt consists of interest expense on Automotive and Other debt.
GOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS
Many governmental standards and regulations relating to safety, fuel economy, emissions control, noise control, vehicle recycling, substances of concern, vehicle damage, and theft prevention are applicable to new motor vehicles, engines, and equipment. In addition, manufacturing and other automotive assembly facilities are subject to stringent standards regulating air emissions, water discharges, and the handling and disposal of hazardous substances. The most significant of the standards and regulations affecting us are discussed below:
Vehicle Emissions Control
U.S. Requirements - Federal and California Tailpipe Emission Standards. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) have established motor vehicle tailpipe and evaporative emissions standards that become increasingly stringent over time. Thirteen states have adopted California’s light-duty standards, and other states may join them. Both federal and California regulations also require motor vehicles to be equipped with on-board diagnostic (“OBD”) systems that monitor emission-related systems and components. In addition, light- and medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines must be certified by EPA prior to sale in the United States and by CARB prior to sale in California and the relevant states. Canada accepts EPA certification. Compliance with emissions standards, OBD requirements, and related regulations can be challenging and can drive increased product development costs, warranty costs, and vehicle recalls.
CARB is in the process of adopting new emissions regulations applicable to model year 2024 heavy-duty engines, and EPA has announced that it intends to adopt more stringent heavy-duty standards as well. These rules are likely to include more stringent emissions standards as well as new requirements affecting durability testing, warranty, and OBD. CARB has also begun to develop new light-duty emissions standards expected to include a more stringent fleet-average emissions standard and add other new emissions limits. These new rules are expected to impose increased challenges and costs on the development of light-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines.
Compliance with automobile emissions standards depends in part on the widespread availability of high-quality and consistent automotive fuels that the vehicles were designed to use. Legislative, regulatory, and judicial developments related to fuel quality at both the national and state levels could affect vehicle manufacturers’ warranty costs as well as their ability to comply with vehicle emissions standards.
The California vehicle emissions program also includes requirements for manufacturers to produce and deliver for sale zero-emission vehicles (“ZEVs”). The current light-duty vehicle ZEV regulation, which uses a system based on credits that can be banked and carried forward, mandates substantial annual increases in the production and sale of battery-electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles through the 2025 model year. At that time, the regulation will require credits equating to 22 percent of a manufacturer’s California light-duty vehicle sales volume. California has also instituted ZEV regulations aimed at medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, beginning with the 2024 model year. These medium- and heavy-duty rules, which could entail significant costs and compliance challenges, include complex warranty and recall requirements for some vehicle configurations. Compliance with ZEV rules depends on market conditions as well as the availability of adequate infrastructure to support vehicle charging.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
European Requirements. European Union (“EU”) directives and related legislation limit the amount of regulated pollutants that may be emitted by new motor vehicles and engines sold in the EU. Regulatory stringency has increased significantly since 2014 when Stage VI emission standards were introduced. Since then, a laboratory test cycle for CO2 and emissions was implemented in 2017, followed by the introduction of on-road emission testing using portable emission analyzers (Real Driving Emission or “RDE”). These on-road emission tests are in addition to the laboratory-based tests. The divergence between the regulatory limit that is tested in laboratory conditions and the allowed values measured in RDE tests will ultimately be reduced to zero as the regulatory demands increase. The costs associated with complying with these requirements are significant, and following the EU Commission’s indication of its intent to accelerate emissions rules in its road map publication “EU Green Deal” as well as the EU sustainable mobility action plan, the challenges will continue. In addition, the Whole Vehicle Type Approval (“WVTA”) regulation has been updated to increase the stringency of in-market surveillance. Moreover, following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, we may be subject to diverging requirements in our European markets, which could increase vehicle complexity and duties.
There is an increasing trend of city access restrictions for internal combustion engine powered vehicles, particularly in European cities that do not meet air quality limits. The access rules being introduced are developed by individual cities based on their specific concerns, resulting in rapid deployment of access rules that differ greatly among cities. The speed of implementation of access rules may directly influence customer vehicle residual values and choice of next purchase, and there is a risk that these rules may result in the need for customers to retrofit their vehicles with emission after-treatment systems. In an effort to support the Paris Accord, some countries are adopting yearly increases in CO2 taxes, where such a system is in place, and publishing dates by when internal combustion powered vehicles may no longer be registered, e.g., Norway in 2025 and the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in 2030.
Other National Requirements. Many countries, in an effort to address air quality and climate change concerns, are adopting previous versions of European or United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (“UN-ECE”) mobile source emission regulations. Some countries have adopted more advanced regulations based on the most recent version of European or U.S. regulations. For example, the China Stage VI emission standards, based on European Stage VI emission standards for light duty vehicles, U.S. evaporative and refueling emissions standards, and CARB OBD II requirements, incorporate two levels of stringency for tailpipe emissions. Level one (VI(a)) was implemented in July 2020, and the more stringent level two (VI(b)) is slated for implementation in July 2023. The government has encouraged the more economically developed cities to pull-ahead implementation. The earliest implementation of VI(a) began in July 2019, with a few areas, such as Shanghai and Guangdong province, implementing VI(b). China Stage VII emission regulations are currently under consideration, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has advised that the Stage VII regulations will have more stringent limits on pollutant emissions and will establish limits for greenhouse gas (primarily CO2) tailpipe emissions.
Canadian criteria emissions regulations are largely aligned with U.S. requirements; however, the existing ZEV regulations in Quebec and those published in British Columbia in July 2020 are more stringent than those in place in California.
Elsewhere, there is a mix of regulations and processes based on U.S. and EU standards. Not all countries have adopted appropriate fuel quality standards to accompany the stringent emission standards adopted. This could lead to compliance problems, particularly if OBD or in-use surveillance requirements are implemented.
Global Developments. In recent years, EPA and CARB have increased their focus on the use of “defeat devices.” Defeat devices are elements of design (typically embedded in software) that improperly cause the emission control system to function less effectively during normal on-road driving than during an official laboratory emissions test, without justification. They are prohibited by law in many jurisdictions, and we do not use defeat devices in our vehicles.
Regulators around the world continue to scrutinize automakers’ emission testing, which has led to a number of defeat device settlements by various manufacturers. EPA is carrying out additional non-standard tests as part of its vehicle certification program. CARB has also been conducting extensive non-standard emission tests, which in some cases have resulted in certification delays for diesel vehicles. In the past, several European countries have conducted non-standard emission tests and published the results, and, in some cases, this supplemental testing has triggered investigations of manufacturers for possible defeat devices. Testing is expected to continue on an ongoing basis. In addition, plaintiffs’ attorneys are pursuing consumer class action lawsuits based on alleged excessive emissions from cars and trucks, which could, in turn, prompt further investigations by regulators.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards
U.S. Requirements - Light-Duty Vehicles. Federal law requires that light duty vehicles meet minimum corporate average fuel economy (“CAFE”) standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”). Manufacturers are subject to substantial civil penalties if they fail to meet the CAFE standard in any model year, after taking into account all available credits for the preceding five model years and expected credits for the three succeeding model years. The law requires NHTSA to promulgate and enforce separate CAFE standards applicable to each manufacturer’s fleet of domestic passenger cars, imported passenger cars, and light-duty trucks.
EPA also regulates vehicle greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions under the Clean Air Act. Because the vast majority of GHGs emitted by a vehicle are the result of fuel combustion, GHG emission standards are similar to fuel economy standards. Thus, NHTSA and EPA coordinate with each other on their fuel economy and GHG standards, respectively, to avoid potential inconsistencies.
Since the 2012 model year, EPA and NHTSA have jointly promulgated harmonized GHG and fuel economy regulations under what came to be known as the “One National Program” (“ONP”) framework. California, which had promulgated its own state-specific set of GHG regulations, agreed that compliance with the federal program would satisfy compliance with its own GHG requirements, thereby avoiding a patchwork of potentially conflicting federal and state GHG standards. ONP has required manufacturers to achieve increasingly stringent year-over-year standards.
ONP was envisioned to continue at least through the 2025 model year. The ONP rules provided for a mid-term evaluation process under which, by April 2018, EPA and NHTSA would re-evaluate the standards for model years 2022-2025 in order to ensure that they are feasible and optimal in light of intervening events. As a result of the mid-term evaluation process, the federal government issued a rule that significantly reduced the stringency of 2021-2026 fuel economy and GHG standards. The federal government also took the position that California’s vehicle GHG standards are preempted by federal law, together with other states that opted-in to California’s standards. California, which continues to assert its authority to regulate vehicle GHGs and has challenged in court the federal government’s preemption actions, took steps to withdraw from ONP and plans to return to enforcing its own state-specific GHG standard if it prevails in the litigation that is underway. The federal government’s revised fuel economy and GHG standards rule is also being challenged in court by a coalition of states and non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”).
The litigation over both standards and preemption, with uncertain outcomes, creates difficulty for purposes of Ford’s future product planning. One plausible outcome is a “bifurcated” scenario in which California, along with the 13 states that have adopted California’s GHG standards, enforce one set of rules, while a different set of rules applies in the rest of the country. Such an outcome would impose a layer of complexity on Ford’s product planning, testing, certification, and distribution activities. In an effort to avoid such an outcome and mitigate the current regulatory uncertainty, Ford reached an agreement with California on a set of terms for an alternative framework. Under this framework, Ford will meet a designated set of standards on a national basis in lieu of the California regulatory program. This framework enables Ford to continue its product planning on a nationwide basis, and it is also consistent with Ford’s environmental goals. Ford finalized its agreement with California in August 2020, and other states that opted into the California standards indicated they would respect the agreement.
While the California agreement helps mitigate the current regulatory uncertainty, it does not resolve all potential risks or litigation outcomes. The new presidential administration may re-evaluate the stringency of fuel economy and GHG standards and/or reinstate California’s authority to enforce its own GHG standards. Ford would face increased costs and complexity if the federal standards are revised to be more stringent than the California agreement. If any federal or state agency imposes and enforces fuel economy and GHG standards that are misaligned with market conditions, Ford would likely be forced to take various actions that could have substantial adverse effects on our sales volumes and results of operations. Such actions likely would include restricting offerings of selected engines and popular options; increasing market support programs for Ford’s most fuel-efficient vehicles; and ultimately curtailing the production and sale of certain vehicles, such as high-performance cars, utilities, and/or full-size light trucks in order to maintain compliance.
U.S. Requirements - Heavy-Duty Vehicles. EPA and NHTSA have jointly promulgated GHG and fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles (generally, vehicles over 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating) through the 2027 model year. In Ford’s case, the standards primarily affect heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, plus vocational vehicles such as shuttle buses and delivery trucks. As the heavy-duty standards increase in stringency, it may become more difficult to comply while continuing to offer a full lineup of heavy-duty trucks.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
European Requirements. The EU regulates passenger car and light commercial vehicle CO2 emissions using sliding scales with different CO2 targets for each manufacturer based on the respective average vehicle weight for its fleet of vehicles first registered in a calendar year, with separate targets for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. A penalty system applies to manufacturers failing to meet the individual CO2 targets. Pooling agreements between manufacturers to utilize credits are possible under certain conditions, and we have entered into such pooling agreements in order to comply with fuel economy regulations without paying a penalty and to enable other manufacturers to benefit from our positive CO2 performance. For “multi-stage vehicles” (e.g., Ford’s Transit chassis cabs), the base manufacturer (e.g., Ford) is fully responsible for the CO2 performance of the final up-fitted vehicles. The initial target levels get significantly more stringent every five years (2020, 2025, 2030), requiring significant investments in propulsion technologies and extensive fleet management forcing low CO2 emissions. Delayed launches, supply shortages, or lower demand for low CO2 emission vehicles, as well as a limited charging infrastructure, can trigger compliance risks.
The EU Commission is investigating the introduction of Real Driving CO2 and Life Cycle Assessment elements, and heavy-duty vehicles are addressed in separate regulations with analogous requirements and challenges. As discussed above, the EU Commission has announced a “Green Deal” that is likely to trigger more stringent requirements for CO2 emissions and other regulated emissions and include recycling and substance restrictions. The announcement also included a pull ahead of revision dates for the CO2 fleet regulation. The EU Commission targets net climate neutrality by 2050 and a more ambitious 2030 interim target (a 50-55% instead of 40% CO2 reduction compared to 1990).
Outside of the EU, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have introduced similar rules. Ford faces the risk of advance premium payment requirements for both passenger cars as well as for light commercial vehicles due to, for example, unexpected market fluctuations and shorter lead times impacting average fleet performance.
The United Nations developed a technical regulation for passenger car emissions and CO2. This world light duty test procedure (“WLTP”) is focused primarily on better aligning laboratory CO2 and fuel consumption figures with customer-reported figures. The introduction of WLTP in Europe started in September 2017 and requires updates to CO2 labeling, thereby impacting taxes in countries with a CO2 tax scheme as well as CO2 fleet regulations for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Costs associated with new or incremental testing for WLTP are significant.
Some European countries have implemented or are considering other initiatives for reducing CO2 vehicle emissions, including fiscal measures and CO2 labeling to address country specific targets associated with the Paris Accord. For example, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, among others, have introduced taxation based on CO2 emissions. The EU CO2 requirements are likely to trigger further measures.
Other National Requirements. The Canadian federal government regulates vehicle GHG emissions under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In October 2014, the Canadian federal government published the final changes to the regulation for light-duty vehicles, which maintain alignment with U.S. EPA vehicle GHG standards for the 2017-2025 model years. The revised U.S. EPA standards were automatically adopted in Canada by reference for the 2022-2025 model years; however, Canada is also undertaking a mid-term evaluation of the standards for the 2022 model year and beyond, the outcome of which remains uncertain and may be influenced by U.S. actions. The Canadian federal government is expected to conclude the mid-term evaluation in the first quarter of 2021. The heavy-duty vehicle and engine GHG emissions regulations for the 2021 model year and beyond were published in May 2018 and are in line with U.S. requirements, subject to any change in those requirements under the new U.S. presidential administration.
The China fuel consumption requirement uses a weight-based approach to establish targets, specifies year-over-year target reductions, and requires mandated volumes of New Energy Vehicle (“NEV”), i.e., plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, or fuel cell vehicles, credits. The requirement is for NEV credits to be at least 14%, 16%, and 18% of the annual ICE vehicle production or import fleet volume in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. China’s 2020 fuel consumption industry fleet average was set at 5.0L/100km and lowers to 4.0L/100km by 2025 based on the New European Driving Cycle (“NEDC”) system. The government is projecting further fuel consumption reductions in 2030 and is targeting 3.2L/100km. The fuel efficiency targets and NEV mandate will impact the costs of vehicle technology in the future.
As discussed below in Item 1A. Risk Factors under “Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations,” a production disruption, stop ship, lower than planned market acceptance of our vehicles, or other intervening events may cause us to modify our product plans or, in some cases, purchase credits in order to comply with fuel economy standards.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Vehicle Safety
U.S. Requirements. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (the “Safety Act”) regulates vehicles and vehicle equipment in two primary ways. First, the Safety Act prohibits the sale in the United States of any new vehicle or equipment that does not conform to applicable vehicle safety standards established by NHTSA. Meeting or exceeding many safety standards is costly and has continued to evolve as global compliance and public domain (e.g., New Car Assessment Programs (“NCAPs”), Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”)) requirements continue to evolve, are increasing in demands, and lack harmonization globally. As we expand our business priorities to include autonomous vehicles and broader mobility products and services, our financial exposure has increased. Second, the Safety Act requires that defects related to motor vehicle safety be remedied through safety recall campaigns. A manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. Should we or NHTSA determine that either a safety defect or noncompliance issue exists with respect to any of our vehicles, the cost of such recall campaigns could be substantial.
European Requirements. The EU has established vehicle safety standards and regulations and is likely to adopt additional or more stringent requirements in the future, especially in the areas of access to in-vehicle data and autonomous vehicles.
The European General Safety Regulation (“GSR”) introduced UN-ECE regulations, which will be required for the European Type Approval process. The GSR includes the mandatory introduction of multiple active and passive safety features, including cybersecurity requirements for new vehicle models in 2022 and for all registrations in 2024. EU regulators also are focusing on active safety features, such as lane departure warning systems, electronic stability control, and automatic brake assist.
Other National Requirements. Globally, governments generally have been adopting UN-ECE based regulations with minor variations to address local concerns. Any difference between North American and UN-ECE based regulations can add complexity and costs to the development of global platform vehicles, and we continue to support efforts to harmonize regulations to reduce vehicle design complexity while providing a common level of safety performance; several on-going bilateral negotiations on free trade can potentially contribute to this goal.
Safety and recall requirements in Brazil, China, India, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries also may add substantial costs and complexity to our global recall practice. Brazil has set mandatory fleet safety targets, and penalties are applied, if these levels are not maintained, while a tax reduction may be available for over-performance. In Canada, regulatory requirements are currently aligned with U.S. regulations; however, under the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Minister of Transport has broad powers to order manufacturers to submit a notice of defect or non-compliance when the Minister considers it to be in the interest of safety. In China, a new mandatory Event Data Recorder regulation that is more complex than U.S. requirements has been released, and in China, Malaysia, and South Korea, mandatory e-Call requirements are being drafted. E-Call is mandatory in the UAE for new vehicles beginning with the 2021 model year.
New Car Assessment Programs. Organizations around the world rate and compare motor vehicles in NCAPs to provide consumers and businesses with additional information about the safety of new vehicles. NCAPs use crash tests and other evaluations that are different than what is required by applicable regulations, and use stars to rate vehicle safety, with five stars awarded for the highest rating and one for the lowest. Achieving high NCAP ratings, which may vary by country or region, can add complexity and cost to vehicles. Similarly, environmental rating systems exist in various regions, e.g., Green NCAP in Europe. In China, C-NCAP has a stringent rating structure to decrease the number of five-star ratings. Further, the China Insurance Auto Safety Index (similar to IIHS) has been implemented, with higher standards for passenger and pedestrian protection and driver assistance technologies.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
People Strategy and Governance
Caring for each other through valuing diversity, embracing inclusion, celebrating success, encouraging new thinking, supporting each other through change, and winning as a team is a key element of our plan to drive long-term business success. Ford maintains an Executive People Forum consisting of the CEO and top leadership team that meets multiple times a month with a specific focus on people and organizational topics that will enable and accelerate delivery of the business plan. Key topic areas include our Enterprise People Strategy, Diversity & Inclusion, Organizational Fitness and Workforce Planning, and Leadership Development and Culture.
Our Board of Directors and Board committees provide important oversight on certain human capital matters, including items discussed at the Executive People Forum. The Compensation Committee maintains responsibility to review, discuss, and set strategic direction for various people-related business strategies, including our compensation and benefit programs, leadership succession planning, culture, diversity and inclusion, and talent development programs. The Sustainability and Innovation Committee is responsible for discussing and advising management on maintaining and improving sustainability strategies, the implementation of which create value consistent with the long-term preservation and enhancement of shareholder value and social well-being, including human rights, working conditions, and responsible sourcing. The collective recommendations to the Board and its committees are how we proactively manage our human capital and care for our employees in a manner that is consistent with our Ford values.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At Ford, we believe that creating a Culture of Belonging for all our employees is foundational to our success and morally the right thing to do. Ford offers 11 Employee Resource Groups (“ERGs”) that represent various dimensions of our employee population, including racial, ethnic, gender, religious, sexual orientation and gender identity, ability, and generational communities with chapters throughout the world, in addition to Diversity and Inclusion (“D&I”) Councils in every region. Our ERGs and D&I Councils are instrumental in providing a voice to our globally diverse workforce and to help us better understand the employee experience.
In 2020, we conducted a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) Audit in the United States with plans for a global rollout in 2021. The purpose of the audit, which included qualitative data, quantitative data, and deep ethnography, is to accelerate our efforts to improve the employee experience and cultivate a culture of belonging. As a result of this effort, we have taken several concrete steps, including initiating a monthly CEO DEI Forum with top leadership and embedding DEI into our corporate strategy and governance with clear objectives for progress established for every senior leader. Several additional actions are planned for the first half of 2021 that will demonstrate our commitment to transparency, inclusion, and the important role that our People Leaders will play in further enhancing our culture of belonging. Our diversity statistics include the following as of December 31, 2020 (based on self-reporting at the date of hire): 27.7% of our salaried employees worldwide are females (excludes certain employees in Europe in accordance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation); 25.1% of our total salaried and hourly employees in the United States are females; and 34.4% of our total salaried and hourly employees in the United States are minorities.
Talent Attraction, Growth, and Capability Assessment
In an environment where many employees are no longer bound to physical locations, where and how we source our talent is evolving. From a growth perspective, we are focusing on several key segments vital to our success (e.g., software, electrification, and data science). We have added a substantial number of employees to our salaried workforce since January 2020 to support these emerging areas of the business. From a capability perspective, we are leveraging best practices in assessments and talent management to strengthen our current capabilities and future pipeline while reinforcing a culture of belonging, empowerment, and innovation. Further, we are also creating targeted learning experiences, democratizing learning and career development opportunities across the organization, and empowering employees to design their own career paths with skill development targeted for the roles of today and the future. Finally, the extent to which our People Leaders are equipped to care for, inspire, and empower our people plays a vital role in our strategy, and we are committed to helping our leaders strengthen these capabilities with dedicated learning paths and non-traditional learning opportunities.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Employee Health and Safety
Nothing is more important than the health, safety, and well-being of our people, and we work hard to achieve world-class levels of safety year-over-year, through the application of policies and best practices. We maintain a robust safety culture to reduce workplace injuries, supported by effective communication, reporting, and external benchmarking. We hold regular talks and events on key safety issues, including reporting all injuries, hazards, and near-misses, to prevent recurrences. We also participate in multi-industry groups, within and outside the automotive sector, to share safety best practices and collaborate to address common issues.
Our Safety Record
Any loss of life or serious injury in the workplace is unacceptable and deeply regretted. We did not have any fatal incidents at any of our facilities in 2020. Another key safety indicator, our global lost-time case rate (“LTCR”), decreased from 0.39 in 2019 to 0.31 in 2020. LTCR is defined as the number of cases where one or more working days is lost due to work-related injury/illness per 200,000 hours worked.
Ford Motor Company also embarked on a complex journey to address the people and business implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, including how we support and protect our employees, the communities where we operate, and our Company assets. After idling our manufacturing facilities, our priority was to create the COVID-19 Business Resumption Plan, i.e., “The Return-To-Work Playbook.” The Return-To-Work Playbook is our corporate guideline and aligns with recommendations from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and country and local health departments. The Playbook’s core objective is to protect our employees and provide a safe work environment. The main elements of the Playbook include:
•Guidelines and requirements for completion of a daily health check survey
•Guidelines for temperature scanning prior to entering facilities
•Guidelines for appropriate use and application of Personal Protective Equipment
•Guidelines and recommendations for social distancing inside and outside of workstations
•Cleaning and disinfecting workstations and common areas
•Guidelines supporting handwashing methods and frequency
•Placement strategy for hand sanitizer stations
We will continue to be vigilant and proactive in our efforts to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employee Wellbeing Initiatives
Our global, holistic approach to wellbeing encompasses the financial, social, mental/emotional, physical, and professional needs of our employees. Foundational to our wellbeing philosophy is providing a broad array of resources and solutions to educate employees and build capability and support for meeting individual wellbeing needs and goals. Our wellbeing program is an integral part of our total rewards strategy as we work to address business and employee challenges through a multi-channel approach that provides our diverse populations and global regions flexibility and choice to meet their specific needs.
We use data driven insights gathered through surveys, focus groups and claims data to prioritize our wellbeing programs. Through our wellbeing offerings, e.g., Work from Home support and enhanced childcare and parental resources, we provide employees the resources they need to achieve their own sense of wellbeing and build an environment where employees and People Leaders care for each other as we deliver the business objectives.
Item 1. Business (Continued)
Employee Sentiment Strategy
We leverage our ask/listen/observe framework to understand employee sentiment at Ford. This approach is a holistic and consistent methodology that enables us to understand how employees are feeling in real time and act accordingly. Our measurement focuses on several areas that are key to our business: Employee Mental and Emotional Wellbeing, Health & Safety (including our COVID-19 safety protocols), Employee Experience, Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership, and Strategic Alignment. Our efforts to drive change in these areas are paying off. We surveyed our employees during 2020 after the onset of the pandemic; 91% of the respondents, which were primarily salaried employees, indicated that Ford’s response to the pandemic helped them do what is best for their health and family. A critical element of our measurement program is ensuring that data ends up in the hands of those who are best positioned to drive meaningful change. To this end, leaders at all levels have access to dashboards with data from their teams and organizations, as well as personalized next step recommendations embedded into action planning tools. Our measurement approach is also used to inform our areas of focus as an organization and to evaluate the effectiveness of talent initiatives across the enterprise.
Employment Data
The approximate number of individuals employed by us and entities that we consolidated as of December 31 was as follows (in thousands):
2019 2020
North America 99 101
South America 10 8
Europe 46 43
China (including Taiwan) 3 4
International Markets Group 15 14
Total Automotive 173 170
Ford Credit 7 6
Mobility 3 2
Corporate and Other 7 8
Total Company 190 186
The reduction in employees in 2020 is primarily a result of our global redesign efforts, partially offset by the addition of employees to increase production in certain facilities and the addition of employees in growth areas, including software, electrification, and data science.
Substantially all of the hourly employees in our Automotive operations are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. In the United States, approximately 99% of these unionized hourly employees in our Automotive segment are represented by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW” or “United Auto Workers”). At December 31, 2020, approximately 58,000 hourly employees in the United States were represented by the UAW.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.
We have listed below the material risk factors applicable to us grouped into the following categories: Operational Risks; Macroeconomic, Market, and Strategic Risks; Financial Risks; and Legal and Regulatory Risks.
Operational Risks
Ford and Ford Credit’s financial condition and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by public health issues, including epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19. We face various risks related to public health issues, including epidemics, pandemics, and other outbreaks, including the global outbreak of COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer behavior, pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. There have been extraordinary actions taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in regions throughout the world, including travel bans, quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. To the extent cases surge in any locations, stringent limitations on daily activities that may have been eased previously could be reinstated in those areas. Further, if new strains of COVID-19 develop or sufficient amounts of vaccines are not available, not widely administered for a significant period of time, or otherwise prove ineffective, the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, and, in turn, our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations could be material.
Consistent with the actions taken by governmental authorities, in late March 2020, we idled our manufacturing operations in regions around the world other than China, where manufacturing operations were suspended in January and February before beginning to resume operations in March. By May 2020, taking a phased approach and after introducing new safety protocols at our plants, we resumed manufacturing operations around the world.
The economic slowdown attributable to COVID-19 led to a global decrease in vehicle sales in markets around the world. As described in more detail below under “Industry sales volume in any of Ford’s key markets can be volatile and could decline if there is a financial crisis, recession, or significant geopolitical event,” a sustained decline in vehicle sales would have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow.
The predominant share of Ford Credit’s business consists of financing Ford and Lincoln vehicles, and the duration or resurgence of COVID-19 or similar public health issues may negatively impact the level of originations at Ford Credit. For example, Ford’s suspension of manufacturing operations, a significant decline in dealer showroom traffic, and/or a reduction of operations at dealers may lead to a significant decline in Ford Credit’s consumer and non-consumer originations. Moreover, a sustained decline in sales could have a significant adverse effect on dealer profitability and creditworthiness. Further, COVID-19 has had a significant negative impact on many businesses and unemployment rates have increased sharply from pre-COVID-19 levels. Ford Credit expects the economic uncertainty and higher unemployment to result in higher defaults in its consumer portfolio, and prolonged unemployment is expected to have a negative impact on both new and used vehicle demand.
The global economic slowdown and stay-at-home orders enacted across the United States disrupted auction activity in many locations, which adversely impacted and caused delays in realizing the resale value for off-lease and repossessed vehicles. Although auction performance has improved, future or additional restrictions could have a similar adverse impact on Ford Credit. For more information about the impact of higher credit losses and lower residual values on Ford Credit’s business, see “Ford Credit could experience higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values, or higher-than-expected return volumes for leased vehicles” below.
As described in more detail below under “Ford and Ford Credit’s access to debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in sufficient amounts could be affected by credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, or other factors,” the volatility created by COVID-19 adversely affected Ford Credit’s access to the debt and securitization markets and its cost of funding, and any volatility in the capital markets as a result of a surge in cases of COVID-19, new outbreaks, or for any other reason could have an adverse impact on Ford Credit’s access to those markets and its cost of funding.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
The full impact of COVID-19 on our financial condition and results of operations will depend on future developments, such as the ultimate duration and scope of the outbreak (including any potential future waves and the success of vaccination programs), its impact on our customers, dealers, and suppliers, how quickly normal economic conditions, operations, and the demand for our products can resume, and any permanent behavioral changes that the pandemic may cause. For example, in the event manufacturing operations are again suspended, fully ramping up our production schedule to prior levels may take longer than the prior resumption and will depend, in part, on whether our suppliers and dealers have resumed normal operations. Our automotive operations generally do not realize revenue while our manufacturing operations are suspended, but we continue to incur operating and non-operating expenses, resulting in a deterioration of our cash flow. Accordingly, any significant future disruption to our production schedule, whether as a result of our own or a supplier’s suspension of operations, could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations. Further, government-sponsored liquidity or stimulus programs in response to COVID-19 may not be available to our customers, suppliers, dealers, or us, and if available, may nevertheless be insufficient to address the impacts of COVID-19. Moreover, our supply and distribution chains may be disrupted by supplier or dealer bankruptcies or their permanent discontinuation of operations.
The COVID-19 pandemic may also exacerbate other risks disclosed in our 2020 Form 10-K Report, including, but not limited to, our competitiveness, demand or market acceptance for our products, and shifting consumer preferences.
Ford is highly dependent on its suppliers to deliver components in accordance with Ford’s production schedule, and a shortage of key components, such as semiconductors, can disrupt Ford’s production of vehicles. Our products contain components that we source globally from suppliers who, in turn, source components from their suppliers. If there is a shortage of a key component in our supply chain, and the component cannot be easily sourced from a different supplier, the shortage may disrupt our production. For example, the automotive industry is facing a significant shortage of semiconductors. With up to fifty modules on a vehicle, we and our competitors who need integrated circuits are experiencing various levels of semiconductor impact. The semiconductor supply chain is complex, and a constrained wafer capacity is occurring deep in the chain. Global semiconductor makers allocated more capacity to meet surging demand for consumer electronics during the COVID-19 pandemic as automotive OEMs experienced industry-wide plant closures. At the same time, wafer foundries that support chipmakers have not invested enough in recent years to increase capacities to the levels needed to support demand from all of their customers. Wafers have a long lead time for production, in some cases up to 30 weeks, which further exacerbates the shortage. When global automakers resumed vehicle production in 2020 - even more quickly than some expected - semiconductor supplies became further strained. A combination of these factors, including increased demand for consumer electronics, automotive shutdowns due to COVID-19, the rapid recovery of demand for vehicles, and long lead times for wafer production, is contributing to the shortage of semiconductors. A shortage of semiconductors or other key components can cause a significant disruption to our production schedule and have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Ford’s long-term competitiveness depends on the successful execution of its Plan. We previously announced our plan for the global redesign of our business, pursuant to which we are working to turn around automotive operations, compete like a challenger, and capitalize on our strengths by allocating more capital, more resources, and more talent to our strongest business and vehicle franchises. We plan to do so by becoming more customer centric, embracing technology, and adopting processes that emphasize simplicity, speed and agility, efficiency, and accountability. The restructurings involved in turning around our automotive operations have resulted in charges that have had an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations, and we expect to incur additional charges in the future. Moreover, such restructuring actions may subject us to potential claims from employees, suppliers, dealers, or governmental authorities or harm our reputation. In addition, to further improve our business and overall competitiveness, we are attempting to leverage relationships with third parties, including various alliances and joint ventures as discussed below under “Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of existing or pending strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, or new business strategies.” Further, significant changes to our long-term business model in various regions may be necessary should they prove to be unviable. If we are not successful in executing the Plan or are delayed for reasons outside of our control, we may not be able to materially lower costs in the near term, improve our competitiveness in the long term, or realize the full benefits of our global redesign actions, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Ford’s vehicles could be affected by defects that result in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns, or increased warranty costs. Government safety standards require manufacturers to remedy defects related to vehicle safety through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. NHTSA’s enforcement strategy has shifted to a significant increase in civil penalties levied and the use of consent orders requiring direct oversight by NHTSA of certain manufacturers’ safety processes, a trend that could continue. Should we or government safety regulators determine that a safety or other defect or a noncompliance exists with respect to certain of our vehicles prior to the start of production, the launch of such vehicle could be delayed until such defect is remedied. The cost of recall and customer satisfaction actions to remedy defects in vehicles that have been sold could be substantial, particularly if the actions relate to global platforms or involve defects that are identified years after production. For example, NHTSA and the automotive industry are currently engaged in a study of the safety of approximately 56 million Takata desiccated airbag inflators in the United States. Of these, approximately three and a half million of the inflators are in our vehicles. Should NHTSA determine that the inflators contain a safety defect, Ford and other manufacturers could potentially face significant incremental recall costs. Our recent experience recalling about three million Takata airbag inflators with a different design resulted in us incurring a charge of $610 million in our fourth quarter 2020 results. Further, to the extent recall and customer satisfaction actions relate to defective components we receive from suppliers, our ability to recover from the suppliers may be limited by the suppliers’ financial condition. We accrue the estimated cost of both base warranty coverages and field service actions at the time a vehicle is sold, and we reevaluate the adequacy of our accruals on a regular basis. In addition, from time to time, we issue extended warranties at our expense, the estimated cost of which is accrued at the time of issuance. For additional information regarding warranty and field service action costs, including our process for establishing our reserves, see “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 and Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements. If warranty costs are greater than anticipated as a result of increased vehicle and component complexity, the adoption of new technologies, or otherwise, such costs could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, launch delays, recall actions, and increased warranty costs could adversely affect our reputation or market acceptance of our products as discussed below under “Ford’s new and existing products and mobility services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and mobility industries.”
Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of existing or pending strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, or new business strategies. We have invested in, formed strategic alliances with, and announced or formed joint ventures with a number of companies, and we may expand those relationships or enter into similar relationships with additional companies. These initiatives typically involve enormous complexity and we may not be able to complete anticipated transactions, the anticipated benefits of these transactions may not be realized, or the benefits may be delayed. For example, we may not successfully integrate an alliance or joint venture with our operations, including the implementation of our controls, systems, procedures, and policies, or unforeseen expenses or liabilities may arise that were not discovered during due diligence prior to an investment or entry into a strategic alliance, or a misalignment of interests may develop between us and the other party. Further, to the extent we share ownership, control, or management with another party in a joint venture, our ability to influence the joint venture may be limited, and we may be unable to prevent misconduct or implement our compliance or internal control systems. In addition, implementation of a new business strategy may lead to the disruption of our existing business operations, including distracting management from current operations. Results of operations from new activities may be lower than our existing activities, and, if a strategy is unsuccessful, we may not recoup our investments in that strategy. Failure to successfully and timely realize the anticipated benefits of these transactions or strategies could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Operational systems, security systems, and vehicles could be affected by cyber incidents and other disruptions. We rely on information technology networks and systems, including in-vehicle systems and mobile devices, some of which are managed by suppliers, to process, transmit, and store electronic information that is important to the operation of our business and our vehicles. Despite security measures, we are at risk for interruptions, outages, and compromises of: (i) operational systems (including business, financial, accounting, product development, consumer receivables, data processing, or manufacturing processes); (ii) facility security systems; and/or (iii) in-vehicle systems or mobile devices, whether caused by a cyber attack, security breach, or other reasons, e.g., a natural disaster, fire, or overburdened infrastructure system. Such incidents could materially disrupt operational systems; result in loss of trade secrets or other proprietary or competitively sensitive information; compromise the privacy of personal information of consumers, employees, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; affect the performance of in-vehicle systems; and/or impact the safety of our vehicles. This risk exposure rises as we continue to develop and produce vehicles with increased connectivity. Moreover, we, our suppliers, and our dealers have been the target of cyber attacks in the past, and such attacks will continue and evolve in the future, which may cause cyber incidents to be more difficult to detect for periods of time. Our networks and in-vehicle systems, sharing similar architectures, could also be impacted by the negligence or misconduct of insiders or third parties who have access to our networks and systems. We continually employ capabilities, processes, and other security measures designed to reduce and mitigate the risk of cyber attacks; however, such preventative measures cannot provide absolute security and may not be sufficient in all circumstances or mitigate all potential risks. Moreover, a cyber incident could harm our reputation and/or subject us to regulatory actions or litigation, and a cyber incident involving us or one of our suppliers could impact production.
Ford’s production, as well as Ford’s suppliers’ production, could be disrupted by labor issues, natural or man-made disasters, financial distress, production difficulties, or other factors. A work stoppage or other limitation on production could occur at Ford’s or its suppliers’ facilities for any number of reasons, including as a result of labor issues, including disputes under existing collective bargaining agreements with labor unions or in connection with negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements, absenteeism, public health issues (e.g., COVID-19), stay-at-home orders, or in response to potential restructuring actions (e.g., plant closures); as a result of supplier financial distress or other production constraints, such as limited quantities of components, including but not limited to semiconductors, or raw materials, quality issues, or other difficulties; as a result of a natural disaster (including climate-related physical risk); or for other reasons. Many components used in our vehicles are available only from a single or limited number of suppliers and, therefore, cannot be re-sourced quickly or inexpensively to another supplier (due to long lead times, new contractual commitments that may be required by another supplier before ramping up to provide the components or materials, etc.). Such suppliers also could threaten to disrupt our production as leverage in negotiations. In addition, when we undertake a model changeover, significant downtime at one or more of our production facilities may be required, and our ability to return to full production may be delayed if we experience production difficulties at one of our facilities or a supplier’s facility. Moreover, as vehicles, components, and their integration become more complex, we may face an increased risk of a delay in production of new vehicles. Regardless of the cause, our ability to recoup lost production volume may be limited. Accordingly, a significant disruption to our production schedule could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations and may impact our strategy to comply with fuel economy standards as discussed below under “Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations.”
Ford’s ability to maintain a competitive cost structure could be affected by labor or other constraints. Substantially all of the hourly employees in our Automotive operations in the United States and Canada are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements. These agreements provide guaranteed wage and benefit levels throughout the contract term and some degree of income security, subject to certain conditions. These agreements may restrict our ability to close plants and divest businesses. A substantial number of our employees in other regions are represented by unions or government councils, and legislation or custom promoting retention of manufacturing or other employment in the state, country, or region may constrain as a practical matter our ability to sell or close manufacturing or other facilities.
Ford’s ability to attract and retain talented, diverse, and highly skilled employees is critical to its success and competitiveness. Our success depends on our ability to continue to recruit and retain talented and diverse employees who are highly skilled in engineering, software, technology (including digital capabilities and connectivity), and marketing and sales, among other areas. Competition for such employees is intense, and the loss of existing employees or our inability to recruit new employees, particularly with the introduction of new technologies, could have a substantial adverse effect on our business.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Macroeconomic, Market, and Strategic Risks
Ford’s new and existing products and mobility services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and mobility industries. Although we conduct extensive market research before launching new or refreshed vehicles and introducing new services, many factors both within and outside our control affect the success of new or existing products and services in the marketplace, and we may not be able to accurately predict trends or the success of new products or services in the market. It takes years to design and develop a new vehicle or change an existing vehicle. Because customers’ preferences may change quickly, our new and existing products may not generate sales in sufficient quantities and at costs low enough to be profitable. Offering vehicles and services that customers want and value can mitigate the risks of increasing price competition and declining demand, but products and services that are perceived to be less desirable (whether in terms of price, quality, styling, safety, overall value, fuel efficiency, or other attributes) can exacerbate these risks. For example, if we are unable to differentiate our products from those of our competitors or sufficiently tailor our products to customers in markets like China, there could be insufficient demand for our products, which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
With increased consumer interconnectedness through the internet, social media, and other media, mere allegations relating to quality, safety, fuel efficiency, corporate social responsibility, or other key attributes can negatively impact our reputation or market acceptance of our products or services, even where such allegations prove to be inaccurate or unfounded. Further, our ability to successfully grow through investments in the areas of mobility and electrification depends on many factors, including advancements in technology, regulatory changes, and other factors that are difficult to predict, that may significantly affect the future of autonomous vehicles and mobility services. The automotive and mobility businesses are very competitive and are undergoing rapid changes. Traditional competitors are expanding their offerings, and new types of competitors (particularly in our areas of strength, e.g., pick-up trucks and utilities) that may possess superior technology, may have business models with certain aspects that are more efficient, and are not subject to the same level of fixed costs as us, are entering the market. This level of competition increases the importance that we are able to anticipate, develop, and deliver products and services that customers desire on a timely basis, in quantities in line with demand, and at costs low enough to be profitable.
We have announced our intent to continue making multi-billion dollar investments in electrification and mobility. Our plans include offering electrified versions of many of our vehicles, including the. If the market for electrified vehicles does not develop at the rate we expect, even if the regulatory framework encourages a rapid adoption of electrified vehicles, or if consumers prefer our competitors’ vehicles, there could be an adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, as discussed below under “Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations,” lower than planned market acceptance of our vehicles may impact our strategy to comply with fuel economy standards. Moreover, new offerings, including those related to autonomous vehicles, may present technological challenges that could be costly to implement and overcome and may subject us to customer claims if they do not operate as anticipated. In addition, since new technologies are subject to market acceptance, a malfunction involving any manufacturer’s autonomous vehicle may negatively impact the perception of autonomous vehicles and erode customer trust.
Ford’s results are dependent on sales of larger, more profitable vehicles, particularly in the United States. A shift in consumer preferences away from larger, more profitable vehicles (including trucks and utilities), whether because of spiking fuel prices, a decline in the construction industry, government actions or incentives, or other reasons, could result in an immediate and substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Moreover, our ability to develop and sell these vehicles may be limited for the reasons discussed below under “Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations.”
With a global footprint, Ford’s results could be adversely affected by economic, geopolitical, protectionist trade policies, or other events, including tariffs. With the increasing interconnectedness of the global economy, a financial crisis, economic downturn or recession, natural disaster, geopolitical crisis, or other significant event in one area of the world can have an immediate and material adverse impact on markets around the world. Changes in international trade policy can also have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. For example, steps taken by the U.S. government to apply or consider applying tariffs on automobiles, parts, and other products and materials have the potential to disrupt existing supply chains, impose additional costs on our business, affect the demand for our products, and make us less competitive. Further, other countries attempting to retaliate by imposing tariffs would increase the cost for us to import our vehicles into such countries. In addition, changes to and withdrawals from existing trade agreements and the entry into new trade agreements between governments may impact our results of operations.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
China, in particular, presents unique risks to automakers due to its unique competitive and regulatory landscape. For example, we have established joint ventures in China, and, as discussed above under “Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of existing or pending strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, or new business strategies,” we do not have the ability to control or operate those joint ventures for our sole benefit. Changes in the Chinese economy, and the automotive market in particular, are driving significant changes to our business model for operating in China. While the change in the U.S. administration is expected to reduce volatility in U.S.-China relations, early signals from the incoming administration indicate a continuity in China policy that may impact our business model for operating in China.
We have operations in various markets with volatile economic or political environments and are pursuing growth opportunities in a number of newly developed and emerging markets. These investments may expose us to heightened risks of economic, geopolitical, or other events, including governmental takeover (i.e., nationalization) of our manufacturing facilities or intellectual property, restrictive exchange or import controls, disruption of operations as a result of systemic political or economic instability, outbreak of war or expansion of hostilities, and acts of terrorism, each of which could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Further, the U.S. government, other governments, and international organizations could impose additional sanctions that could restrict us from doing business directly or indirectly in or with certain countries or parties, which could include affiliates.
Industry sales volume in any of Ford’s key markets can be volatile and could decline if there is a financial crisis, recession, or significant geopolitical event. Because we, like other manufacturers, have a high proportion of relatively fixed structural costs, relatively small changes in industry sales volume can have a substantial effect on our cash flow and results of operations. Industry vehicle sales are affected by overall economic and market conditions. If industry vehicle sales were to decline to levels significantly below our planning assumption for key markets including the United States, Europe, or China, the decline could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow. For a discussion of economic trends, see Item 7.
Ford may face increased price competition or a reduction in demand for its products resulting from industry excess capacity, currency fluctuations, competitive actions, or other factors. The global automotive industry is intensely competitive, with manufacturing capacity generally far exceeding current demand (the recent capacity constraints as a result of the impacts of COVID-19 being a temporary exception). Industry overcapacity has resulted in many manufacturers offering marketing incentives on vehicles in an attempt to maintain and grow market share; these incentives historically have included a combination of subsidized financing or leasing programs, price rebates, and other incentives. As a result, we are not necessarily able to set our prices to offset higher marketing incentives, commodity or other cost increases, tariffs, or the impact of adverse currency fluctuations, including cost advantages foreign competitors may have because of their weaker home market currencies, which may, in turn, enable those competitors to offer their products at lower prices. Continuation of or increased excess capacity, particularly for trucks and utilities, could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Fluctuations in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and market value of Ford or Ford Credit’s investments can have a significant effect on results. We are exposed to a variety of market risks, including the effects of changes in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates. We monitor and manage these exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program, which recognizes the unpredictability of markets and seeks to reduce potentially adverse effects on our business. Changes in commodity prices (from tariffs, as discussed above under “With a global footprint, Ford’s results could be adversely affected by economic, geopolitical, protectionist trade policies, or other events, including tariffs,” or otherwise), currency exchange rates, and interest rates cannot always be predicted, hedged, or offset with price increases to eliminate earnings volatility. As a result, significant changes in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, or interest rates could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. See Item 7 and Item 7A for additional discussion of currency, commodity price, and interest rate risks. In addition, our results are impacted by fluctuations in the market value of our investments.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Financial Risks
Ford and Ford Credit’s access to debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in sufficient amounts could be affected by credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, or other factors. Ford and Ford Credit’s ability to obtain unsecured funding at a reasonable cost is dependent on their credit ratings or their perceived creditworthiness. Further, Ford Credit’s ability to obtain securitized funding under its committed asset-backed liquidity programs and certain other asset-backed securitization transactions is subject to having a sufficient amount of assets eligible for these programs, as well as Ford Credit’s ability to obtain appropriate credit ratings and, for certain committed programs, derivatives to manage the interest rate risk. Over time, and particularly in the event of credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, or other factors, Ford Credit may reduce the amount of receivables it purchases or originates because of funding constraints. As a result of LIBOR reform, the potential discontinuance of LIBOR is one such risk that could cause market volatility or disruption. It is difficult to predict the effect of these changes, other reforms, or the adoption of alternative reference rates, but the discontinuance of LIBOR could adversely affect Ford Credit’s access to the debt, securitization, or derivative markets and its cost of funding and hedging. In addition, Ford Credit may reduce the amount of receivables it purchases or originates if there is a significant decline in the demand for the types of securities it offers or Ford Credit is unable to obtain derivatives to manage the interest rate risk associated with its securitization transactions. A significant reduction in the amount of receivables Ford Credit purchases or originates would significantly reduce its ongoing results of operations and could adversely affect its ability to support the sale of Ford vehicles.
Ford’s receipt of government incentives could be subject to reduction, termination, or clawback. We receive economic benefits from national, state, and local governments in various regions of the world in the form of incentives designed to encourage manufacturers to establish, maintain, or increase investment, workforce, or production. These incentives may take various forms, including grants, loan subsidies, or tax abatements or credits. The impact of these incentives can be significant in a particular market during a reporting period. A decrease in, expiration without renewal of, or other cessation or clawback of government incentives for any of our business units, as a result of administrative decision or otherwise, could have a substantial adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Until 2021, most of our manufacturing facilities in South America were located in Brazil, where the state or federal governments historically offered significant incentives to manufacturers to encourage capital investment, increase manufacturing production, and create jobs. As a result, the performance of our South American operations had been impacted favorably by government incentives to a substantial extent. The federal government in Brazil has levied assessments against us concerning the federal incentives we previously received, and certain states have challenged the grant to us of tax incentives by the State of Bahia. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for discussion of our accounting for government incentives, and “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” for a discussion of tax proceedings in Brazil and the potential requirement for us to post collateral.
Ford Credit could experience higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values, or higher-than-expected return volumes for leased vehicles. Credit risk is the possibility of loss from a customer’s or dealer’s failure to make payments according to contract terms. Credit risk (which is heavily dependent upon economic factors including unemployment, consumer debt service burden, personal income growth, dealer profitability, and used car prices) has a significant impact on Ford Credit’s business. The level of credit losses Ford Credit may experience could exceed its expectations and adversely affect its financial condition or results of operations. In addition, Ford Credit projects expected residual values (including residual value support payments from Ford) and return volumes for the vehicles it leases. Actual proceeds realized by Ford Credit upon the sale of returned leased vehicles at lease termination may be lower than the amount projected, which would reduce Ford Credit’s return on the lease transaction. Among the factors that can affect the value of returned lease vehicles are the volume and mix of vehicles returned, economic conditions, marketing programs, and quality or perceived quality, safety, fuel efficiency, or reliability of the vehicles, or changes in propulsion technology and related legislative changes. Actual return volumes may be influenced by these factors, as well as by contractual lease-end values relative to auction values. Each of these factors, alone or in combination, has the potential to adversely affect Ford Credit’s results of operations if actual results were to differ significantly from Ford Credit’s projections. See “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 for additional discussion.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Economic and demographic experience for pension and other postretirement benefit plans (e.g., discount rates or investment returns) could be worse than Ford has assumed. The measurement of our obligations, costs, and liabilities associated with benefits pursuant to our pension and other postretirement benefit plans requires that we estimate the present value of projected future payments to all participants. We use many assumptions in calculating these estimates, including assumptions related to discount rates, investment returns on designated plan assets, and demographic experience (e.g., mortality and retirement rates). We generally remeasure these estimates at each year end and recognize any gains or losses associated with changes to our plan assets and liabilities in the year incurred. To the extent actual results are less favorable than our assumptions, we may recognize a remeasurement loss in our results, which could be substantial. For additional information regarding our assumptions, see “Critical Accounting Estimates” in Item 7 and Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Pension and other postretirement liabilities could adversely affect Ford’s liquidity and financial condition. We have defined benefit retirement plans in the United States that cover many of our hourly and salaried employees. We also provide pension benefits to non-U.S. employees and retirees, primarily in Europe. In addition, we sponsor plans to provide other postretirement benefits (“OPEB”) for retired employees (primarily health care and life insurance benefits). See Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information about these plans. These benefit plans impose significant liabilities on us and could require us to make additional cash contributions, which could impair our liquidity. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to meet any pension or OPEB obligations, we could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, suspend dividend payments, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
Ford could experience unusual or significant litigation, governmental investigations, or adverse publicity arising out of alleged defects in products, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise. We spend substantial resources ensuring that we comply with governmental safety regulations, mobile and stationary source emissions regulations, and other standards, but we cannot ensure that employees or other individuals affiliated with us will not violate such laws or regulations. In addition, as discussed below under “Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations,” regulatory standards and interpretations may change on short notice and impact our compliance status. Moreover, compliance with governmental standards does not necessarily prevent individual or class action lawsuits, which can entail significant cost and risk. In certain circumstances, courts may permit tort claims even where our vehicles comply with federal and/or other applicable law. Furthermore, simply responding to actual or threatened litigation or government investigations of our compliance with regulatory standards, whether related to our products or business or commercial relationships, requires significant expenditures of time and other resources. Litigation also is inherently uncertain, and we could experience significant adverse results, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, adverse publicity surrounding an allegation may cause significant reputational harm that could have a significant adverse effect on our sales.
Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations. The automotive industry is subject to regulations worldwide that govern product characteristics and that differ by global region, country, and sometimes within national boundaries. Further, additional and new regulations continue to be proposed to address concerns regarding the environment (including concerns about global climate change and its impact), vehicle safety, and energy independence, and the regulatory landscape can change on short notice. In the United States, legal and policy debates are continuing, with a primary focus on reducing GHG emissions and increasing vehicle electrification. The Trump administration rolled back aggressive Obama administration GHG standards and blocked California’s authority to adopt its own regulations as well as other states’ authority to opt in to California’s standards. States, environmental groups, and others are challenging both of those Trump administration actions in court. The Trump administration’s actions also are subject to reconsideration and revision by the Biden administration. California has an ambitious plan to reduce overall GHG emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Court rulings and actions by federal, California, and other state regulators create regulatory uncertainty and the potential for applicable regulatory standards to change quickly. In addition, many governments regulate local product content and/or impose import requirements with the aim of creating jobs, protecting domestic producers, and influencing the balance of payments.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
We are continuing to make changes to our product cycle plan to improve the fuel economy of our petroleum-powered vehicles and to offer more propulsion choices, such as electrified vehicles, with lower GHG emissions. There are limits on our ability to achieve fuel economy improvements over a given time frame, however, primarily relating to the cost and effectiveness of available technologies, consumer acceptance of new technologies and changes in vehicle mix (as described in more detail above under “Ford’s new and existing products and mobility services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and mobility industries”), willingness of consumers to absorb the additional costs of new technologies, the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of certain technologies for use in particular vehicles, the widespread availability (or lack thereof) of supporting infrastructure for new technologies, and the human, engineering, and financial resources necessary to deploy new technologies across a wide range of products and powertrains in a short time. If fuel prices remain relatively low and market conditions do not drive consumers to purchase electric vehicles and other highly fuel-efficient vehicles in large numbers, it may be difficult to meet applicable environmental standards without compromising results. Moreover, a production disruption, stop ship, lower than planned market acceptance of our vehicles, or other intervening events may cause us to modify our product plans, or, in some cases, purchase credits, in order to comply with fuel economy standards, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations and/or cause reputational harm.
Increased scrutiny of automaker emission testing by regulators around the world has led to new regulations, more stringent enforcement programs, requests for field actions, demands for reporting on the field performance of emissions components and higher scrutiny of field data, and/or delays in regulatory approvals. The cost to comply with existing government regulations (in addition to the cost of any field service actions that may result from regulatory actions) is substantial and additional regulations, changes in regulatory interpretations, or changes in consumer preferences that affect vehicle mix could have a substantial adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, a number of governments, as well as NGOs, publicly assess vehicles to their own protocols. The protocols could change, and any negative perception regarding the performance of our vehicles subjected to such tests could reduce future sales. Court decisions arising out of consumer and investor litigation could give rise to de facto changes in the interpretation of existing emission laws and regulations, thereby imposing new burdens on manufacturers. For more discussion of the impact of standards on our global business, see the “Governmental Standards” discussion in “Item 1. Business” above.
We and other companies continue to develop autonomous vehicle technologies, and the U.S. and foreign governments are continuing to develop the regulatory framework that will govern autonomous vehicles. The evolution of the regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles, and the pace of the development of such regulatory framework, may subject us to increased costs and uncertainty, and may ultimately impact our ability to deliver autonomous vehicles and related services that customers want.
Ford and Ford Credit could be affected by the continued development of more stringent privacy, data use, and data protection laws and regulations as well as consumers’ heightened expectations to safeguard their personal information. We are subject to laws, rules, guidelines from privacy regulators, and regulations in the United States and other countries (such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act) relating to the collection, use, cross-border data transfer, and security of personal information of consumers, employees, or others, including laws that may require us to notify regulators and affected individuals of a data security incident. Existing and newly developed laws and regulations may contain broad definitions of personal information, are subject to change and uncertain interpretations by courts and regulators, and may be inconsistent from state to state or country to country. Accordingly, complying with such laws and regulations may lead to a decline in consumer engagement or cause us to incur substantial costs to modify our operations or business practices. Moreover, regulatory actions seeking to impose significant financial penalties for noncompliance and/or legal actions (including pursuant to laws providing for private rights of action by consumers) could be brought against us in the event of a data compromise, misuse of consumer information, or perceived or actual non-compliance with data protection or privacy requirements. Further, any unauthorized release of personal information could harm our reputation, disrupt our business, cause us to expend significant resources, and lead to a loss of consumer confidence resulting in an adverse impact on our business and/or consumers deciding to withhold or withdraw consent for our collection or use of data.
Item 1A. Risk Factors (Continued)
Ford Credit could be subject to new or increased credit regulations, consumer protection regulations, or other regulations. As a finance company, Ford Credit is highly regulated by governmental authorities in the locations in which it operates, which can impose significant additional costs and/or restrictions on its business. In the United States, for example, Ford Credit’s operations are subject to regulation and supervision under various federal, state, and local laws, including the federal Truth-in-Lending Act, Consumer Leasing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The Dodd-Frank Act directs federal agencies to adopt rules to regulate the finance industry and the capital markets and gives the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) broad rule-making and enforcement authority for a wide range of consumer financial protection laws that regulate consumer finance businesses, such as Ford Credit’s automotive financing business. Exercise of these powers by the CFPB may increase the costs of, impose additional restrictions on, or otherwise adversely affect companies in the automotive finance business. The CFPB has authority to supervise and examine the largest nonbank automotive finance companies, such as Ford Credit, for compliance with consumer financial protection laws.
Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject Ford Credit to regulatory enforcement actions, including consent orders or similar orders where Ford Credit may be required to revise practices, remunerate customers, or pay fines. An enforcement action against Ford Credit could harm Ford Credit’s reputation or lead to further litigation.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. Properties.
Our principal properties include manufacturing and assembly facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, sales or administrative offices, and engineering centers.
We own substantially all of our U.S. manufacturing and assembly facilities. Our facilities are situated in various sections of the country and include assembly plants, engine plants, casting plants, metal stamping plants, transmission plants, and other component plants. Most of our distribution centers are leased (we own approximately 35% of the total square footage, and lease the balance). The majority of the warehouses that we operate are leased, although many of our manufacturing and assembly facilities contain some warehousing space. Substantially all of our sales offices are leased space. Approximately 93% of the total square footage of our engineering centers and our supplementary research and development space is owned by us.
In addition, we maintain and operate manufacturing plants, assembly facilities, parts distribution centers, and engineering centers outside of the United States. We own substantially all of our non-U.S. manufacturing plants, assembly facilities, and engineering centers. The majority of our parts distribution centers outside of the United States are either leased or provided by vendors under service contracts.
We and the entities that we consolidated as of December 31, 2020 use eight regional engineering, research, and development centers, and 54 manufacturing and assembly plants, which includes plants that are operated by us or our consolidated joint ventures that support our Automotive segment.
The significant consolidated joint ventures and the number of plants each owns are as follows:
•Ford Lio Ho Motor Company Ltd. (“FLH”) - a joint venture in Taiwan among Ford (70% partner), the Lio Ho Group (25% partner), and individual shareholders (5% ownership in aggregate) that assembles a variety of Ford vehicles sourced from Ford. In addition to domestic assembly, FLH imports Ford brand built-up vehicles from Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United States. The joint venture operates one plant in Taiwan.
•Ford Vietnam Limited - a joint venture between Ford (75% partner) and Diesel Song Cong One Member Limited Liability Company (a subsidiary of the Vietnam Engine and Agricultural Machinery Corporation, which in turn is majority owned (87.43%) by the State of Vietnam represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade) (25% partner). Ford Vietnam Limited assembles and distributes a variety of Ford passenger and commercial vehicle models. The joint venture operates one plant in Vietnam.
In addition to the plants that we operate directly or that are operated by our consolidated joint ventures, additional plants that support our Automotive segment are operated by unconsolidated joint ventures of which we are a partner. The most significant of our Automotive and Mobility segment unconsolidated joint ventures are as follows:
•Argo AI, LLC - Argo AI is a self-driving technology platform company with offices in Pittsburgh, PA, Palo Alto, CA, Allen Park, MI, Cranbury, NJ, and Munich, Germany. Ford and Volkswagen each hold 42% of the ownership interests in Argo AI, with the remaining interests consisting of incentive units and founders’ equity.
•AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (“AAT”) - a 50/50 joint venture between Ford and Mazda that owns and operates a manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand. AAT produces Ford and Mazda products for domestic and export sales.
•Changan Ford Automobile Corporation, Ltd. (“CAF”) - a 50/50 joint venture between Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. (“Changan”). CAF operates five assembly plants, an engine plant, and a transmission plant in China where it produces and distributes a variety of Ford passenger vehicle models.
•Ford Otomotiv Sanayi Anonim Sirketi (“Ford Otosan”) - a joint venture in Turkey among Ford (41% partner), the Koc Group of Turkey (41% partner), and public investors (18%) that is the sole supplier to us of the Transit, Transit Custom, and Transit Courier commercial vehicles for Europe and is our sole distributor of Ford vehicles in Turkey. Ford Otosan also manufactures Ford heavy trucks for markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The joint venture owns three plants, a parts distribution depot, and a research and development center in Turkey.
Item 2. Properties (Continued)
•Ford Sollers Netherlands B.V. (“Ford Sollers”) - a joint venture between Ford (49% shareholder) and Sollers PJSC (“Sollers”) (51% shareholder). The joint venture is primarily engaged in manufacturing light commercial vehicles for sale in Russia, and has an exclusive right to manufacture, assemble, and distribute light commercial Ford vehicles in Russia through the licensing of certain trademarks and intellectual property rights. The joint venture operates one manufacturing facility in Russia.
•Getrag Ford Transmissions GmbH (“GFT”) - a 50/50 joint venture with Magna PT International GmbH (formerly Getrag International GmbH), a German company owned by Magna Powertrain GmbH. GFT operates plants in Halewood, England; Cologne, Germany; and Bordeaux, France and produces, among other things, manual transmissions for our Europe business unit.
•JMC - a publicly-traded company in China with Ford (32% shareholder) and Nanchang Jiangling Investment Co., Ltd. (41% shareholder) as its controlling shareholders. Nanchang Jiangling Investment Co., Ltd. is a 50/50 joint venture between Changan and Jiangling Motors Company Group. The public investors in JMC own 27% of its total outstanding shares. JMC assembles Ford Transit, a series of Ford SUVs, Ford engines, and non-Ford vehicles and engines for distribution in China and in other export markets. JMC operates two assembly plants and one engine plant in Nanchang. JMC also operates a plant in Taiyuan that assembles heavy duty trucks and engines.
The facilities described above are, in the opinion of management, suitable and adequate for the manufacture and assembly of our and our joint ventures’ products.
The furniture, equipment, and other physical property owned by our Ford Credit operations are not material in relation to the operations’ total assets.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings.
The litigation process is subject to many uncertainties, and the outcome of individual matters is not predictable with assurance. See Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a discussion of loss contingencies. Following is a discussion of our significant pending legal proceedings:
PRODUCT LIABILITY MATTERS
We are a defendant in numerous actions in state and federal courts within and outside of the United States alleging damages from injuries resulting from (or aggravated by) alleged defects in our vehicles. In many actions, no monetary amount of damages is specified or the specific amount alleged is the jurisdictional minimum. Our experience with litigation alleging a specific amount of damages suggests that such amounts, on average, bear little relation to the actual amount of damages, if any, that we will pay in resolving such matters.
In addition to pending actions, we assess the likelihood of incidents that likely have occurred but not yet been reported to us. We also take into consideration specific matters that have been raised as claims but have not yet proceeded to litigation. Individual product liability matters which, if resolved unfavorably to the Company, likely would involve a significant cost would be described herein. Currently there are no such matters to report.
ASBESTOS MATTERS
Asbestos was used in some brakes, clutches, and other automotive components from the early 1900s. Along with other vehicle manufacturers, we have been the target of asbestos litigation and, as a result, are a defendant in various actions for injuries claimed to have resulted from alleged exposure to Ford parts and other products containing asbestos. Plaintiffs in these personal injury cases allege various health problems as a result of asbestos exposure, either from component parts found in older vehicles, insulation or other asbestos products in our facilities, or asbestos aboard our former maritime fleet. We believe that we are targeted more aggressively in asbestos suits because many previously targeted companies have filed for bankruptcy or emerged from bankruptcy relieved of liability for such claims.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings (Continued)
Most of the asbestos litigation we face involves individuals who claim to have worked on the brakes of our vehicles. We are prepared to defend these cases and believe that the scientific evidence confirms our long-standing position that there is no increased risk of asbestos-related disease as a result of exposure to the type of asbestos formerly used in the brakes on our vehicles. The extent of our financial exposure to asbestos litigation remains very difficult to estimate and could include both compensatory and punitive damage awards. The majority of our asbestos cases do not specify a dollar amount for damages; in many of the other cases the dollar amount specified is the jurisdictional minimum, and the vast majority of these cases involve multiple defendants, sometimes more than one hundred. Many of these cases also involve multiple plaintiffs, and often we are unable to tell from the pleadings which plaintiffs are making claims against us (as opposed to other defendants). Annual payout and defense costs may become significant in the future. Our accrual for asbestos matters includes probable losses for both asserted and unasserted claims.
CONSUMER MATTERS
We provide warranties on the vehicles we sell. Warranties are offered for specific periods of time and/or mileage and vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Pursuant to these warranties, we will repair, replace, or adjust all parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship during the specified warranty period. We are a defendant in numerous actions in state and federal courts alleging damages based on state and federal consumer protection laws and breach of warranty obligations. Remedies under these statutes may include vehicle repurchase, civil penalties, and plaintiff’s attorney fees. In some cases, plaintiffs also include an allegation of fraud. Remedies for a fraud claim may include contract rescission, vehicle repurchase, and punitive damages.
The cost of these matters is included in our warranty costs. We accrue obligations for warranty costs at the time of sale using a patterned estimation model that includes historical information regarding the nature, frequency, and average cost of claims for each vehicle line by model year. We reevaluate the adequacy of our accruals on a regular basis.
We are currently a defendant in a significant number of litigation matters relating to the performance of vehicles, including those equipped with DPS6 transmissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
We have received notices under various federal and state environmental laws that we (along with others) are or may be a potentially responsible party for the costs associated with remediating numerous hazardous substance storage, recycling, or disposal sites in many states and, in some instances, for natural resource damages. We also may have been a generator of hazardous substances at a number of other sites. The amount of any such costs or damages for which we may be held responsible could be significant. At this time, we have no legal proceedings arising under any federal, state, or local provisions that have been enacted or adopted regulating the discharge of materials into the environment or primarily for the purpose of protecting the environment, in which (i) a governmental authority is a party, and (ii) we believe there is the possibility of monetary sanctions (exclusive of interest and costs) in excess of $1,000,000.
CLASS ACTIONS
In light of the fact that very few of the purported class actions filed against us in the past have ever been certified by the courts as class actions, in general we list those actions that (i) have been certified as a class action by a court of competent jurisdiction (and any additional purported class actions that raise allegations substantially similar to an existing and certified class), and (ii) likely would involve a significant cost if resolved unfavorably to the Company. At this time, we have no such class actions filed against us.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings (Continued)
OTHER MATTERS
Brazilian Tax Matters. One Brazilian state (São Paulo) and the Brazilian federal tax authority currently have outstanding substantial tax assessments against Ford Motor Company Brasil Ltda. (“Ford Brazil”) related to state and federal tax incentives Ford Brazil received for its operations in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The state assessments are part of a broader conflict among various states in Brazil. The federal legislature enacted laws designed to encourage the states to end that conflict, and in 2017 the states reached an agreement on a framework for resolution. Ford Brazil continues to pursue a resolution under the framework and expects the amount of any remaining assessments by the states to be resolved under that framework. The federal assessments are outside the scope of the legislation.
All of the assessments have been appealed to the relevant administrative court of each jurisdiction. In the State of Minas Gerais, one case that had been pending at the administrative level was dismissed on April 1, 2020, and on July 13, 2020, the other two cases that were on appeal to the judicial court were dismissed. Our appeals with the State of São Paulo and the federal tax authority remain at the administrative level. To proceed with an appeal within the judicial court system, an appellant may be required to post collateral. To date, we have not been required to post any collateral. If we are required to post collateral, which could be in excess of $1 billion, we expect it to be in the form of fixed assets, surety bonds, and/or letters of credit, but we may be required to post cash collateral. Although the ultimate resolution of these matters may take many years, we consider our overall risk of loss to be remote.
European Competition Law Matter. On October 5, 2018, FCE Bank plc (“FCE”) received a notice from the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) concerning an alleged violation of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The ICA alleged that FCE and other parties engaged in anti-competitive practices in relation to the automotive finance market in Italy. On January 9, 2019, FCE received a decision from the ICA, which included an assessment of a fine against FCE in the amount of €42 million. On March 8, 2019, FCE appealed the decision and the fine to the Italian administrative court, and on November 24, 2020, the Italian administrative court ruled in favor of FCE. On December 23, 2020, the ICA filed an appeal of the Italian administrative court’s decision to the Italian Council of State.
Emissions Certification. Beginning in 2018 and continuing into 2020, the Company investigated a potential concern involving its U.S. emissions certification process. The matter focused on issues related to road load estimations, including analytical modeling and coastdown testing. The potential concern did not involve the use of defeat devices (see Item 1, Governmental Standards for a definition of defeat devices). We voluntarily disclosed this matter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) on February 18, 2019 and February 21, 2019, respectively. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) opened a criminal investigation into the matter. In addition, we notified a number of other state and federal agencies. We cooperated fully with these government agencies. We received notifications from CARB and DOJ that these agencies have closed their inquiries into the matter referenced above and do not intend to take any further action. Reviews opened by EPA and Environment and Climate Change Canada remain open.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
ITEM 4A. Executive Officers of Ford.
Our executive officers are as follows, along with each executive officer’s position and age at February 1, 2021:
Name
Position
Position
Held Since Age
William Clay Ford, Jr. (a) Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board September 2006 63
James D. Farley, Jr. (b) President and Chief Executive Officer October 2020 58
John Lawler Chief Financial Officer October 2020 54
Hau Thai-Tang Chief Product Platform and Operations Officer October 2020 54
Kiersten Robinson Chief People and Employee Experience Officer October 2020 50
Anning Chen President and Chief Executive Officer, Ford of China December 2018 59
Kumar Galhotra President, Americas and International Markets Group April 2020 56
Stuart Rowley President, Ford of Europe April 2019 53
John F. Mellen General Counsel August 2020 65
Cathy O’Callaghan Controller June 2018 52
__________
(a)Also a Director, Chair of the Office of the Chairman and Chief Executive, Chair of the Finance Committee, and a member of the Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors.
(b)Also a Director and member of the Office of the Chairman and Chief Executive.
Except as noted below, each of the officers listed above has been employed by Ford or its subsidiaries in one or more capacities during the past five years. Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer, Ford of China, from 2010 to 2018, Anning Chen held several leadership roles in Chery Automobile LTD, China including: Chief Executive Officer; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Vice President of Products and Engineering. He also held the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, China; and Chairman of the Board, Qoros Automotive, China.
Under our by-laws, executive officers are elected by the Board of Directors at an annual meeting of the Board held for this purpose or by a resolution to fill a vacancy. Each officer is elected to hold office until a successor is chosen or as otherwise provided in the by-laws.
PART II.

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market for Registrant’s Stock
Our Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States under the symbol F. As of January 29, 2021, stockholders of record of Ford included approximately 110,702 holders of Common Stock and 3 holders of Class B Stock. We believe that the number of beneficial owners is substantially greater than the number of record holders because a large portion of our Common Stock is held in “street name” by brokers.
Stock Performance Graph
The information contained in this Stock Performance Graph section shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.
The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return on our Common Stock with the total return on the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Automobiles & Parts Titans 30 Index for the five year period ended December 31, 2020. It shows the growth of a $100 investment on December 31, 2015, including the reinvestment of all dividends.
Base Period Years Ending
Company/Index 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Ford Motor Company
100 92 100 66 85 82
S&P 500
100 112 136 130 171 203
Dow Jones Automobiles & Parts Titans 30
100 98 118 93 106 160
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities (Continued)
Issuer Purchases of Securities
We completed no share repurchases during the fourth quarter of 2020.
Dividends
The table below shows the dividends we paid per share of Common and Class B Stock for each quarterly period in 2019 and 2020:
2019 2020
First
Quarter Second
Quarter Third
Quarter Fourth
Quarter First
Quarter Second
Quarter Third
Quarter Fourth
Quarter
Dividends per share of Ford Common and Class B Stock
$ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00
To ensure we maintained sufficient cash reserves during the COVID-19 pandemic, suspension of the regular quarterly dividend was announced on March 19, 2020. The declaration and payment of future dividends is at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, available cash, and current and anticipated cash needs.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data.
The following table sets forth selected financial data for each of the last five years (dollar amounts in millions, except for per share amounts):
SUMMARY OF INCOME/(LOSS) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Total revenues $ 151,800 $ 156,776 $ 160,338 $ 155,900 $ 127,144
Income/(Loss) before income taxes $ 6,784 $ 8,159 $ 4,345 $ (640) $ (1,116)
Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes 2,184 402 650 (724) 160
Net income/(loss) 4,600 7,757 3,695 84 (1,276)
Less: Income/(Loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 11 26 18 37 3
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford Motor Company $ 4,589 $ 7,731 $ 3,677 $ 47 $ (1,279)
Earnings/(Loss) Per Share Attributable to Ford Motor Company Common and Class B Stock
Average number of shares of Ford Common and Class B Stock outstanding (in millions)
3,973 3,975 3,974 3,972 3,973
Basic income/(loss) $ 1.16 $ 1.94 $ 0.93 $ 0.01 $ (0.32)
Diluted income/(loss) 1.15 1.93 0.92 0.01 (0.32)
Cash dividends declared 0.85 0.65 0.73 0.60 0.15
BALANCE SHEET DATA AT YEAR END
Total assets $ 238,510 $ 258,496 $ 256,540 $ 258,537 $ 267,261
Automotive debt $ 15,907 $ 15,931 $ 13,547 $ 14,678 $ 23,536
Ford Credit debt 126,464 137,757 140,066 140,029 137,677
Other debt 599 599 600 600 471
Total equity $ 29,746 $ 35,606 $ 35,966 $ 33,230 $ 30,811

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Key Trends and Economic Factors Affecting Ford and the Automotive Industry
COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer behavior, pandemic fears and market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. There have been extraordinary actions taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in regions throughout the world, including travel bans, quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. Although restrictions have been eased in many locations, some areas that had previously eased restrictions have reverted to more stringent limitations on daily activities. Further, if new strains of COVID-19 develop or sufficient amounts of vaccines are not available, not widely administered for a significant period of time, or otherwise prove ineffective, the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, and, in turn, on Ford, could be material.
Consistent with the actions taken by governmental authorities, in late March 2020, we idled our manufacturing operations in regions around the world other than China, where manufacturing operations were suspended in January and February before beginning to resume operations in March. A successful phased restart of our manufacturing plants, supply network, and other dependent functions occurred in the second quarter of 2020.
The remote work arrangements that we implemented in 2020 remain in place in most locations. Our remote work arrangements have been designed to allow for continued operation of non-production business-critical functions, including financial reporting systems and internal control. Our controls and procedures have incorporated remote work arrangements using appropriate digital tools.
When we returned to work, we established new protocols to help protect the health and safety of our workforce. Those measures remain in place today, including a daily, online health self-certification, a no-touch temperature scan upon entering our facilities, a policy requiring the use of face masks in our facilities, and measures to provide additional personal protective equipment, including face shields, when employees’ jobs do not allow them to socially distance. We have also enhanced our cleaning protocols and adjusted our operating patterns and breaks to reduce potential employee interaction where possible.
We continue to produce medical masks for our employees and dealers. To date, we have produced more than 50 million medical-grade face masks, and we are more than halfway to reaching our goal of donating 100 million masks to communities in need across the United States.
The full impact of COVID-19 on future results depends on future developments, such as the ultimate duration and scope of the outbreak (including any potential future waves and the success of vaccination programs) and its impact on our customers, dealers, and suppliers. Despite the successful restart of our manufacturing operations in 2020, we continue to experience higher than normal levels of absenteeism at our manufacturing facilities and intermittent COVID-19-related disruptions in our supply chain. Moreover, new restrictions could have an adverse effect on production, supply chains, distribution, and demand for vehicles. For additional information on the impact and potential impact of COVID-19 on us, please see Item 1A. Risk Factors on page 15.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Supplier Disruptions. The automotive industry has a complex supply network with each manufacturers’ products containing components sourced from suppliers who, in turn, source components from their suppliers. When there is a shortage of a key component in our supply chain, and the component cannot be easily sourced from a different supplier, the shortage may disrupt our production. In 2020, although we resumed production at our plants around the world following the COVID-19-related suspension, we continued to experience disruptions due to suppliers who had production difficulties. In 2021, the automotive industry is facing a significant shortage of semiconductors. With up to fifty modules on a vehicle, we and our competitors who need integrated circuits are experiencing various levels of semiconductor impact. The semiconductor supply chain is complex, and a constrained wafer capacity is occurring deep in the chain. Global semiconductor makers allocated more capacity to meet surging demand for consumer electronics during the COVID-19 pandemic as automotive OEMs experienced industry-wide plant closures. At the same time, wafer foundries that support chipmakers have not invested enough in recent years to increase capacities to the levels needed to support demand from all of their customers. Wafers have a long lead time for production, in some cases up to 30 weeks, which further exacerbates the shortage. When global automakers resumed vehicle production in 2020 - even more quickly than some expected - semiconductor supplies became further strained. A combination of these factors, including increased demand for consumer electronics, automotive shutdowns due to COVID-19, the rapid recovery of demand for vehicles, and long lead times for wafer production, is contributing to the shortage of semiconductors. We have already experienced production disruptions at certain locations as a result of the semiconductor shortage. For additional information on the impact of the semiconductor shortage, see the Outlook section on page 67.
Global Redesign. We previously announced our plan for the global redesign of our business, pursuant to which we are working to turn around automotive operations, compete like a challenger, and capitalize on our strengths by allocating more capital, more resources, and more talent to our strongest business and vehicle franchises. Pursuant to the plan, we expect to incur about $11 billion of EBIT charges and about $7 billion of cash effects related to our global redesign. During the 2018 through 2021 period, we expect to have incurred about $10 billion of EBIT charges and about $5 billion of cash effects related to our global redesign, and sold or closed ten manufacturing sites.
In December 2020, Ford Motor Company Brasil Ltda. (“Ford Brazil”), our subsidiary in Brazil, committed to a plan to exit manufacturing operations in Brazil, which will result in the closure of facilities in Camaçari, Taubaté, and Troller in 2021 as South America moves to an asset-light business model. Production in Camaçari and Taubaté to support new vehicle sales ceased in January 2021, with a limited amount of parts production continuing for a few months to support inventories for aftermarket sales. The Troller plant will cease operations in the fourth quarter of 2021. In connection with this announcement, the Company currently expects to record pre-tax special item charges of about $4.1 billion, including $2.4 billion in 2020 and about $1.7 billion in 2021. The charges will include about $1.6 billion of non-cash charges related to writing-off certain tax receivables and for accelerated depreciation and amortization. The remaining charges of about $2.5 billion will be paid in cash primarily in 2021 and are attributable to separation, termination, settlement, and other payments.
Currency Exchange Rate Volatility. The U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its policy interest rate twice in March 2020, by a total of one and one half percentage points, in response to the market risks emanating from the global pandemic. This returned the rate to its recent historical low of zero to one quarter of a percentage point and was combined with asset purchases and other emergency funding mechanisms to maintain the flow of credit throughout the economy. Central banks in other developed markets took similarly aggressive actions to maintain market functioning in the face of an unprecedented, synchronized global shock. The related shifts in capital flows have contributed to increased volatility for both developed and emerging market currencies globally. Emerging markets also face differing inflation backdrops and, in some cases, exposure to commodity prices and political instability, contributing to unpredictable movements in the value of their exchange rates. In addition to direct impacts on the financial flows of global automotive companies, currency movements can also impact pricing of vehicles exported to overseas markets, most notably in the case of the Japanese yen and Korean won. In most markets, exchange rates are market-determined, and all are impacted by many different macroeconomic and policy factors, and thus likely to remain volatile. However, in some markets, exchange rates are heavily influenced or controlled by governments.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Excess Capacity. According to IHS Automotive, an automotive research firm, the estimated automotive industry global production capacity for light vehicles of about 123 million units exceeded global production by about 49 million units in 2020. Even though global production capacity was reduced by about 7 million units in 2020 compared with 2019, excess capacity rose by nearly 8 million units, including increases in North America, Europe, and South America. In North America and Europe, two regions where a significant share of industry revenue is earned, excess capacity as a percent of production in 2020 increased to 58% and 70%, respectively, though a significant portion of these increases are expected to be temporary due to demand and supply disruptions in 2020 related to the global pandemic. In China, the auto industry witnessed excess capacity at a lower rate compared with the prior year, at 50% in 2020, as capacity was more rapidly taken out of commission. According to production capacity data projected by IHS Automotive, global excess capacity conditions could decline materially, to 40 million units in 2021, and average about 35 million units in the following five years from 2022 to 2026.
Pricing Pressure. Excess capacity, with recent capacity constraints as a result of the impacts of COVID-19 being a temporary exception, coupled with a proliferation of new products being introduced in key segments, will keep pressure on manufacturers’ ability to set prices. In North America, the industry restructuring of the past few years has allowed manufacturers to better match production with demand, although Japanese and Korean manufacturers also have capacity located outside of the region directed to North America. In the future, Chinese and Indian manufacturers are expected to enter U.S. and European markets, further intensifying competition. Over the long term, intense competition and excess capacity will continue to put downward pressure on inflation-adjusted prices for similarly-contented vehicles in the United States and contribute to a challenging pricing environment for the automotive industry. In Europe, the excess capacity situation has been exacerbated by the nominal reductions in existing capacity, such that negative pricing pressure is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Commodity and Energy Price Changes. Changes in market expectations for global demand, notably weaker growth in China, along with geopolitical tensions have generated volatility in energy prices, though they remain at a relatively low level compared with historical performance. Oil prices are expected to remain volatile, and on a lower long-term trend than in prior commodity cycles. Prices for other commodities have also been volatile, as fluctuating global demand and differences in sectoral performance due to the pandemic have generated divergence in price movements across different commodities.
Vehicle Profitability. Our financial results depend on the profitability of the vehicles we sell, which may vary significantly by vehicle line. In general, larger vehicles tend to command higher prices and be more profitable than smaller vehicles, both across and within vehicle segments. For example, in North America, our larger, more profitable vehicles had an average contribution margin that was 125% of our total average contribution margin across all vehicles, whereas our smaller vehicles had significantly lower contribution margins. In addition, government regulations aimed at reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency (e.g., ZEV mandates and low emission zones), and other factors that accelerate the transition to electrified vehicles, may increase the cost of vehicles by more than the perceived benefit to consumers and dampen margins.
Trade Policy. To the extent governments in various regions erect or intensify barriers to imports, or implement currency policy that advantages local exporters selling into the global marketplace, there can be a significant negative impact on manufacturers based in other markets. While we believe the long-term trend will support the growth of free trade, we have noted with concern recent developments in a number of regions. In Asia Pacific, a weak yen significantly reduces the cost of exports into the United States, Europe, and other global markets by Japanese manufacturers, and, over a period of time, contribute to other countries pursuing weak currency policies by intervening in the exchange rate markets. This is particularly likely in other Asian countries, such as South Korea. We believe the primary focus of the Biden administration will be addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and moving ahead with economic stimulus. We will continue to monitor and address developing issues.
Other Economic Factors. Interest rates, notably mature market government bond yields, and inflation have remained lower than expected. At the same time, government deficits and debt remain at high levels in many major markets. The eventual implications of higher government deficits and debt, with potentially higher long-term interest rates, may drive a higher cost of capital over our planning period. Higher interest rates and/or taxes to address the higher deficits also may impede real growth in gross domestic product and, therefore, vehicle sales over our planning period.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Regulatory Matters. Many governmental standards and regulations relating to safety, fuel economy, and emissions control, among others, are applicable to the automotive industry, and we spend substantial resources ensuring that we comply with such regulations. Government safety standards require manufacturers to remedy defects related to vehicle safety through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. The cost of recall and customer satisfaction actions to remedy defects in vehicles that have been sold could be substantial, particularly if the actions relate to global platforms or involve defects that are identified years after production. For example, on January 21, 2021, we announced we will be conducting a field service action to replace Takata airbag inflators in certain model year 2006 through 2012 vehicles, the costs of which is estimated to be $610 million and is reflected in our fourth quarter 2020 results. In addition, NHTSA and the automotive industry are currently engaged in a study of the safety of approximately 56 million Takata desiccated airbag inflators in the United States. Of these, approximately three and a half million of the inflators are in our vehicles. Should NHTSA determine that the inflators contain a safety defect, Ford and other manufacturers could potentially face significant incremental recall costs.
Revenue
Our Automotive segment revenue is generated primarily by sales of vehicles, parts, and accessories. Revenue is recorded when control is transferred to our customers (generally, our dealers and distributors). For the majority of sales, this occurs when products are shipped from our manufacturing facilities. This is not the case, however, with respect to vehicles produced for sale to daily rental car companies with an obligation to repurchase the vehicle for a guaranteed amount, exercisable at the option of the customer. These contracts are accounted for as operating leases, with lease revenue and profits recognized over the term of the lease. Proceeds from the sale of vehicles at auction are recognized in revenue upon transfer of control of the vehicle to the buyer.
Most of the vehicles sold by us to our dealers and distributors are financed at wholesale by Ford Credit. Upon Ford Credit originating the wholesale receivable related to a dealer’s purchase of a vehicle, Ford Credit pays cash to the relevant Automotive legal entity in payment of the dealer’s obligation for the purchase price of the vehicle. The dealer then pays the wholesale finance receivable to Ford Credit when it sells the vehicle to a retail customer.
Our Ford Credit segment revenue is generated primarily from interest on finance receivables, net of certain deferred origination costs that are included as a reduction of financing revenue, and such revenue is recognized over the term of the receivable using the interest method. Also, revenue from operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Income is generated to the extent revenues exceed expenses, most of which are interest, depreciation, and operating expenses.
Transactions between our Automotive and Ford Credit segments occur in the ordinary course of business. For example, we offer special retail financing and lease incentives to dealers’ customers who choose to finance or lease our vehicles from Ford Credit. The cost for these incentives is included in our estimate of variable consideration at the date the related vehicle sales to our dealers are recorded. In order to compensate Ford Credit for the lower interest or lease payments offered to the retail customer, we pay the discounted value of the incentive directly to Ford Credit when it originates the retail finance or lease contract with the dealer’s customer. Ford Credit recognizes the incentive amount over the life of retail finance contracts as an element of financing revenue and over the life of lease contracts as a reduction to depreciation. See Note 1 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a more detailed discussion of transactions between our Automotive and Ford Credit segments.
Costs and Expenses
Our income statement classifies our Company excluding Ford Credit total costs and expenses into two categories: (i) cost of sales, and (ii) selling, administrative, and other expenses. We include within cost of sales those costs related to the development, production, and distribution of our vehicles, parts, accessories, and services. Specifically, we include in cost of sales each of the following: material costs (including commodity costs); freight costs; warranty, including product recall costs; labor and other costs related to the development and production of our vehicles, parts, accessories, and services; depreciation and amortization; and other associated costs. We include within selling, administrative, and other expenses labor and other costs not directly related to the development and production of our vehicles, parts, accessories, and services, including such expenses as advertising and sales promotion costs.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Certain of our costs, such as material costs, generally vary directly with changes in volume and mix of production. In our industry, production volume often varies significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. Quarterly production volumes experience seasonal shifts throughout the year (including peak retail sales seasons and the impact on production of model changeover and new product launches). Annual production volumes are heavily impacted by external economic factors, including the pace of economic growth and factors such as the availability of consumer credit and cost of fuel.
As a result, we analyze the profit impact of certain cost changes holding constant present-year volume and mix and currency exchange, in order to evaluate our cost trends absent the impact of varying production and currency exchange levels. We analyze these cost changes in the following categories:
•Contribution Costs - these costs typically vary with production volume. These costs include material (including commodity), warranty, and freight and duty costs.
•Structural Costs - these costs typically do not have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. These costs include manufacturing, engineering, spending-related, advertising and sales promotion, administrative and selling, and pension and OPEB costs.
While contribution costs generally vary directly in proportion to production volume, elements within our structural costs category are impacted to differing degrees by changes in production volume. We also have varying degrees of discretion when it comes to controlling the different elements within our structural costs. For example, depreciation and amortization expense largely is associated with prior capital spending decisions. On the other hand, while labor costs do not vary directly with production volume, manufacturing labor costs may be impacted by changes in volume, for example when we increase overtime, add a production shift, or add personnel to support volume increases. Other structural costs, such as advertising or engineering costs, do not necessarily have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. Our structural costs generally are within our discretion, although to varying degrees, and can be adjusted over time in response to external factors.
We consider certain structural costs to be a direct investment in future growth and revenue. For example, structural costs are necessary to grow our business and improve profitability, invest in new products and technologies, respond to increasing industry sales volume, and grow our market share.
Cost of sales and Selling, administrative, and other expenses for full year 2020 were $122.9 billion. Our Automotive segment’s material and commodity costs make up the largest portion of these costs and expenses, followed by structural costs. Although material costs are our largest absolute cost, our margins can be affected significantly by changes in any category of costs.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2020
The net loss attributable to Ford Motor Company was $1,279 million in 2020. Company adjusted EBIT was $2,779 million.
Net income/(loss) includes certain items (“special items”) that are excluded from Company adjusted EBIT. These items are discussed in more detail in Note 26 of the Notes to the Financial Statements. We report special items separately to allow investors analyzing our results to identify certain infrequent significant items that they may wish to exclude when considering the trend of ongoing operating results. Our pre-tax and tax special items were as follows (in millions):
2019 2020
Global Redesign
Europe excl. Russia $ (1,246) $ (727)
India (804) (23)
South America (566) (2,486)
Russia (357) 18
China (101) (56)
Separations and Other (not included above) (107) (94)
Subtotal Global Redesign $ (3,181) $ (3,368)
Other Items
Gain on transaction with Argo AI and VW $ - $ 3,454
Takata field service action - (610)
Other incl. Focus cancellation, Transit Connect customs ruling,
North America hourly buyouts, and Chariot (273) (226)
Subtotal Other Items $ (273) $ 2,618
Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss)
Pension and OPEB remeasurement $ (2,500) $ (1,435)
Pension settlements and curtailments (45) (61)
Subtotal Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss) $ (2,545) $ (1,496)
Total EBIT Special Items $ (5,999) $ (2,246)
Cash effect of Global Redesign (incl. separations) $ (911) $ (503)
Provision for/(Benefit from) tax special items (a) $ (1,323) $ 670
__________
(a)Includes related tax effect on special items and tax special items.
We recorded $2.2 billion of pre-tax special item charges in 2020, primarily reflecting Global Redesign actions in South America and Europe, mark-to-market adjustments for our global pension and OPEB plans, and the field service action for Takata airbag inflators, partially offset by the gain on our investment in Argo AI as a result of the transaction with Argo AI and Volkswagen in the second quarter of 2020.
In Note 26 of the Notes to the Financial Statements, special items are reflected as a separate reconciling item, as opposed to being allocated among the Automotive, Mobility, and Ford Credit segments. This reflects the fact that management excludes these items from its review of operating segment results for purposes of measuring segment profitability and allocating resources.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
COMPANY KEY METRICS
The table below shows our full year 2020 key metrics for the Company compared to a year ago.
2019 2020 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Cash Flows from Operating Activities ($B) $ 17.6 $ 24.3 $ 6.6
Revenue ($M) 155,900 127,144 (18) %
Net Income/(Loss) ($M) 47 (1,279) $ (1,326)
Net Income/(Loss) Margin (%) 0.0% (1.0) % (1.0) ppts
EPS (Diluted) $ 0.01 $ (0.32) $ (0.33)
Non-GAAP Financial Measures (a)
Company Adj. Free Cash Flow ($B) $ 2.8 $ 0.7 $ (2.1)
Company Adj. EBIT ($M) 6,379 2,779 (3,600)
Company Adj. EBIT Margin (%) 4.1% 2.2% (1.9) ppts
Adjusted EPS (Diluted) $ 1.19 $ 0.41 $ (0.78)
Adjusted ROIC (Trailing Four Qtrs) 7.8% 1.0% (6.8) ppts
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
For full year 2020, revenue was down 18 percent to $127.1 billion.
In 2020, our diluted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock was a loss of $0.32 and our diluted adjusted earnings per share was $0.41.
Net income/(loss) margin was negative 1.0 percent in 2020, down from 0.0 percent a year ago. Company adjusted EBIT margin was 2.2 percent in 2020, down from 4.1 percent a year ago.
The table below shows our full year 2020 net income/(loss) attributable to Ford and Company adjusted EBIT by segment (in millions).
2019 2020 H / (L)
Automotive $ 4,926 $ 1,633 $ (3,293)
Mobility (1,186) (1,274) (88)
Ford Credit 2,998 2,608 (390)
Corporate Other (359) (188) 171
Company Adjusted EBIT (a) 6,379 2,779 (3,600)
Interest on Debt (1,020) (1,649) 629
Special Items (5,999) (2,246) (3,753)
Taxes / Noncontrolling Interests 687 (163) 850
Net Income/(Loss) $ 47 $ (1,279) $ (1,326)
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
The year-over-year declines of $1.3 billion in net income/(loss) and $3.6 billion in Company adjusted EBIT in 2020 were driven by decreases in Automotive EBIT and Ford Credit EBT, primarily reflecting the impact of COVID-19. Our net loss in 2020 includes the effect of special items, including Global Redesign actions in South America and Europe, mark-to-market adjustments for our global pension and OPEB plans, and the field service action for Takata airbag inflators, partially offset by the gain on our investment in Argo AI.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Automotive Segment
The table below shows our full year 2020 Automotive segment EBIT by business unit (in millions).
2019 2020 H / (L)
North America $ 6,612 $ 3,625 $ (2,987)
South America (704) (491) 213
Europe 123 (834) (957)
China (including Taiwan) (771) (501) 270
International Markets Group (334) (166) 168
Automotive Segment $ 4,926 $ 1,633 $ (3,293)
The tables below and on the following pages provide full year 2020 key metrics and the change in full year 2020 EBIT compared with full year 2019 by causal factor for our Automotive segment and its regional business units. For a description of these causal factors, see Definitions and Information Regarding Automotive Causal Factors.
2019 2020 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 6.0 % 5.8 % (0.2) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) 5,386 4,187 (1,199)
Revenue ($M) $ 143,599 $ 115,885 $ (27,714)
EBIT ($M) 4,926 1,633 (3,293)
EBIT Margin (%) 3.4 % 1.4 % (2.0) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ 4,926
Volume / Mix (9,417)
Net Pricing 4,985
Cost 904
Exchange (312)
Other 547
2020 Full Year EBIT $ 1,633
In 2020, wholesales in our Automotive segment declined 22 percent from a year ago, reflecting a decrease in each business unit other than China. Full year 2020 Automotive revenue decreased 19 percent from a year ago.
Our full year 2020 Automotive segment EBIT decreased $3.3 billion from a year ago with an EBIT margin of 1.4 percent. Higher net pricing and favorable mix were more than offset by the impact of COVID-related lower industry volume and the changeover to the all-new. Structural costs were significantly lower, primarily reflecting the impact of our suspension of production earlier in the year due to COVID-19.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
North America
2019 2020 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 13.2 % 13.2 % - ppts
Wholesale Units (000) 2,765 2,081 (684)
Revenue ($M) $ 98,053 $ 80,035 $ (18,018)
EBIT ($M) 6,612 3,625 (2,987)
EBIT Margin (%) 6.7 % 4.5 % (2.2) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ 6,612
Volume / Mix (6,776)
Net Pricing 3,041
Cost 366
Exchange (64)
Other 446
2020 Full Year EBIT $ 3,625
In North America, 2020 wholesales declined 25 percent from a year ago, driven by COVID-related lower industry volume and the changeover to the all-new. Full year 2020 revenue decreased 18 percent year over year, driven by lower volume, partially offset by higher net pricing and favorable series and option mix.
North America’s 2020 EBIT decreased $3 billion from a year ago with an EBIT margin of 4.5 percent. The lower EBIT was driven by lower volume, higher material cost, and higher warranty expense. Higher net pricing, favorable mix, and lower structural costs were partial offsets.
South America
2019 2020 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 7.2% 6.2% (1.0) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) 295 185 (111)
Revenue ($M) $ 3,893 $ 2,463 $ (1,430)
EBIT ($M) (704) (491) 213
EBIT Margin (%) (18.1) % (19.9) % (1.8) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ (704)
Volume / Mix (143)
Net Pricing 513
Cost 89
Exchange (232)
Other (14)
2020 Full Year EBIT $ (491)
In South America, 2020 wholesales declined 38 percent from a year ago, driven by COVID-related lower industry volume. Full year 2020 revenue declined 37 percent year over year, driven by lower volume and weaker currencies, partially offset by higher net pricing and favorable vehicle mix.
South America’s 2020 EBIT loss improved $213 million from a year ago with an EBIT margin of negative 19.9%. The EBIT improvement was driven by higher net pricing and cost reductions.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Europe
2019 2020 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 7.3% 7.2% (0.1) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 1,390 1,020 (370)
Revenue ($M) $ 28,150 $ 22,644 $ (5,506)
EBIT ($M) 123 (834) (957)
EBIT Margin (%) 0.4% (3.7) % (4.1) ppts
__________
(a)Includes Ford brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliate in Turkey (about 34,000 units in 2019 and 72,000 units in 2020); revenue does not include these sales.
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ 123
Volume / Mix (1,973)
Net Pricing 1,354
Cost (190)
Exchange 74
Other (222)
2020 Full Year EBIT $ (834)
In Europe, 2020 wholesales declined 27 percent from a year ago, driven by COVID-19 related lower industry volume. Full year 2020 revenue declined 20 percent year over year, driven by lower volume, partially offset by higher net pricing and favorable series and option mix.
Europe’s 2020 EBIT decreased $957 million from a year ago with an EBIT margin of negative 3.7 percent. The lower EBIT was more than explained by COVID-19 related lower industry volume and the Kuga PHEV recall in the third quarter of 2020.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
China (Including Taiwan)
2019 2020 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 2.2% 2.4% 0.2 ppts
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 535 617 83
Revenue ($M) $ 3,615 $ 3,202 $ (413)
EBIT ($M) (771) (501) 270
EBIT Margin (%) (21.3) % (15.6) % 5.7 ppts
China Unconsolidated Affiliates
Wholesale Units (000) 462 564 102
Ford Equity Income/(Loss) ($M) $ (161) $ 49 $ 210
__________
(a)Includes Ford brand and JMC brand vehicles produced and sold in China by our unconsolidated affiliates. Revenue does not include these sales.
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ (771)
Volume / Mix (137)
Net Pricing (15)
Cost 193
Exchange (113)
Other 342
2020 Full Year EBIT $ (501)
In China, 2020 wholesales increased 16 percent from a year ago, driven by higher joint venture volumes. Full year 2020 consolidated revenue declined 11 percent year over year, driven by lower volume, partially offset by higher component sales to our joint ventures in China and favorable series and option mix.
China’s 2020 EBIT loss improved $270 million from a year ago with an EBIT margin of negative 15.6 percent. The improved EBIT was driven by higher joint venture profits and royalties and lower structural costs.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
International Markets Group
2019 2020 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 1.9% 1.7% (0.2) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 401 284 (117)
Revenue ($M) $ 9,888 $ 7,541 $ (2,347)
EBIT ($M) (334) (166) 168
EBIT Margin (%) (3.4) % (2.2) % 1.2 ppts
_________
(a)Includes Ford brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliate in Russia (about 28,000 units in 2019 and 14,000 units in 2020). Revenue after Q2 2019 does not include these sales.
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ (334)
Volume / Mix (388)
Net Pricing 91
Cost 446
Exchange 22
Other (3)
2020 Full Year EBIT $ (166)
In our International Markets Group, 2020 wholesales declined 29 percent from a year ago, driven by COVID-related lower industry volume. Full year 2020 revenue declined 24 percent year over year, driven by lower volume and weaker currencies, partially offset by higher net pricing and favorable series and option mix.
Our International Market Group’s 2020 EBIT loss improved $168 million from a year ago with an EBIT margin of negative 2.2 percent. The improved EBIT was driven by cost reductions, higher net pricing, and favorable mix, partially offset by lower volume.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Definitions and Information Regarding Automotive Causal Factors
In general, we measure year-over-year change in Automotive segment EBIT using the causal factors listed below, with net pricing and cost variances calculated at present-year volume and mix and exchange:
•Market Factors (exclude the impact of unconsolidated affiliate wholesale units):
◦Volume and Mix - primarily measures EBIT variance from changes in wholesale unit volumes (at prior-year average contribution margin per unit) driven by changes in industry volume, market share, and dealer stocks, as well as the EBIT variance resulting from changes in product mix, including mix among vehicle lines and mix of trim levels and options within a vehicle line
◦Net Pricing - primarily measures EBIT variance driven by changes in wholesale unit prices to dealers and marketing incentive programs such as rebate programs, low-rate financing offers, special lease offers, and stock adjustments on dealer inventory
•Cost:
◦Contribution Costs - primarily measures EBIT variance driven by per-unit changes in cost categories that typically vary with volume, such as material costs (including commodity and component costs), warranty expense, and freight and duty costs
◦Structural Costs - primarily measures EBIT variance driven by absolute change in cost categories that typically do not have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. Structural costs include the following cost categories:
▪Manufacturing, Including Volume-Related - consists primarily of costs for hourly and salaried manufacturing personnel, plant overhead (such as utilities and taxes), and new product launch expense. These costs could be affected by volume for operating pattern actions such as overtime, line-speed, and shift schedules
▪Engineering - consists primarily of costs for engineering personnel, prototype materials, testing, and outside engineering services
▪Spending-Related - consists primarily of depreciation and amortization of our manufacturing and engineering assets, but also includes asset retirements and operating leases
▪Advertising and Sales Promotions - includes costs for advertising, marketing programs, brand promotions, customer mailings and promotional events, and auto shows
▪Administrative and Selling - includes primarily costs for salaried personnel and purchased services related to our staff activities and selling functions, as well as associated information technology costs
▪Pension and OPEB - consists primarily of past service pension costs and other postretirement employee benefit costs
•Exchange - primarily measures EBIT variance driven by one or more of the following: (i) transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currencies of the relevant entities, (ii) effects of converting functional currency income to U.S. dollars, (iii) effects of remeasuring monetary assets and liabilities of the relevant entities in currencies other than their functional currency, or (iv) results of our foreign currency hedging
•Other - includes a variety of items, such as parts and services earnings, royalties, government incentives, and compensation-related changes
In addition, definitions and calculations used in this report include:
•Wholesales and Revenue - wholesale unit volumes include all Ford and Lincoln badged units (whether produced by Ford or by an unconsolidated affiliate) that are sold to dealerships, units manufactured by Ford that are sold to other manufacturers, units distributed by Ford for other manufacturers, and local brand units produced by our China joint venture, Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ltd. (“JMC”), that are sold to dealerships. Vehicles sold to daily rental car companies that are subject to a guaranteed repurchase option (i.e., rental repurchase), as well as other sales of finished vehicles for which the recognition of revenue is deferred (e.g., consignments), also are included in wholesale unit volumes. Revenue from certain vehicles in wholesale unit volumes (specifically, Ford badged vehicles produced and distributed by our unconsolidated affiliates, as well as JMC brand vehicles) are not included in our revenue
•Industry Volume and Market Share - based, in part, on estimated vehicle registrations; includes medium and heavy duty trucks
•SAAR - seasonally adjusted annual rate
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Mobility Segment
The Mobility segment primarily includes development costs for Ford’s autonomous vehicles and related businesses, Ford’s equity ownership in Argo AI (a developer of autonomous driving systems), and other mobility businesses and investments (including Spin, a micro-mobility service provider).
In our Mobility segment, our 2020 EBIT decreased $88 million from a year ago. The $1.3 billion EBIT loss reflects our strategic investments in 2020 as we continued to expand our capabilities in autonomous vehicles and mobility businesses.
Ford Credit Segment
The tables below provide full year 2020 key metrics and the change in full year 2020 EBT compared with full year 2019 by causal factor for the Ford Credit segment. For a description of these causal factors, see Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors.
2019 2020 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Total Net Receivables ($B) $ 142 $ 132 (7) %
Loss-to-Receivables (bps) (a) 52 36 (16)
Auction Values (b) $ 19,305 $ 19,950 3%
EBT ($M) 2,998 2,608 $ (390)
ROE (%) 15% 14% (1) ppt
Other Balance Sheet Metrics
Debt ($B) $ 140 $ 138 (1) %
Net Liquidity ($B) 33 35 (6) %
Financial Statement Leverage (to 1) 9.8 9.8 -
__________
(a)U.S. retail financing only.
(b)U.S. 36-month off-lease auction values at full year 2020 mix.
2019 2020 H / (L)
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Managed Receivables ($B) (a) $ 152 $ 141 (7) %
Managed Leverage (to 1) (b) 8.9 8.3 (0.6)
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
(b)See Liquidity and Capital Resources - Ford Credit Segment section for reconciliation to GAAP.
Change in EBT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2019 Full Year EBT $ 2,998
Volume / Mix (173)
Financing Margin 20
Credit Loss (539)
Lease Residual 304
Exchange (9)
Other 7
2020 Full Year EBT $ 2,608
Ford Credit’s loss metrics reflected healthy and stable consumer credit conditions, and auction values for off-lease vehicles were 3 percent higher than a year ago. We are planning for full year 2021 auction values to be lower than 2020. Receivables at December 31, 2020 were lower year over year.
Ford Credit’s 2020 EBT decreased $390 million from a year ago, primarily driven by an increase to the credit loss reserve due to COVID-19 and unfavorable volume and mix due to lower receivables, partially offset by favorable lease residual performance due to improved auction values.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors.
In general, we measure year-over-year changes in Ford Credit’s EBT using the causal factors listed below:
•Volume and Mix:
◦Volume primarily measures changes in net financing margin driven by changes in average managed receivables at prior period financing margin yield (defined below in financing margin) at prior period exchange rates. Volume changes are primarily driven by the volume of new and used vehicles sold and leased, the extent to which Ford Credit purchases retail financing and operating lease contracts, the extent to which Ford Credit provides wholesale financing, the sales price of the vehicles financed, the level of dealer inventories, Ford-sponsored special financing programs available exclusively through Ford Credit, and the availability of cost-effective funding
◦Mix primarily measures changes in net financing margin driven by period-over-period changes in the composition of Ford Credit’s average managed receivables by product within each region
•Financing Margin:
◦Financing margin variance is the period-to-period change in financing margin yield multiplied by the present period average managed receivables at prior period exchange rates. This calculation is performed at the product and country level and then aggregated. Financing margin yield equals revenue, less interest expense and scheduled depreciation for the period, divided by average managed receivables for the same period
◦Financing margin changes are driven by changes in revenue and interest expense. Changes in revenue are primarily driven by the level of market interest rates, cost assumptions in pricing, mix of business, and competitive environment. Changes in interest expense are primarily driven by the level of market interest rates, borrowing spreads, and asset-liability management
•Credit Loss:
◦Credit loss is the change in the provision for credit losses at prior period exchange rates. For analysis purposes, management splits the provision for credit losses into net charge-offs and the change in the allowance for credit losses
◦Net charge-off changes are primarily driven by the number of repossessions, severity per repossession, and recoveries. Changes in the allowance for credit losses are primarily driven by changes in historical trends in credit losses and recoveries, changes in the composition and size of Ford Credit’s present portfolio, changes in trends in historical used vehicle values, and changes in forward looking macroeconomic conditions. For additional information, refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates - Allowance for Credit Losses” section of Item 7 of Part II of our 2020 Form 10-K Report
•Lease Residual:
◦Lease residual measures changes to residual performance at prior period exchange rates. For analysis purposes, management splits residual performance primarily into residual gains and losses, and the change in accumulated supplemental depreciation
◦Residual gain and loss changes are primarily driven by the number of vehicles returned to Ford Credit and sold, and the difference between the auction value and the depreciated value (which includes both base and accumulated supplemental depreciation) of the vehicles sold. Changes in accumulated supplemental depreciation are primarily driven by changes in Ford Credit’s estimate of the expected auction value at the end of the lease term, and changes in Ford Credit’s estimate of the number of vehicles that will be returned to it and sold. For additional information, refer to the “Critical Accounting Estimates - Accumulated Depreciation on Vehicles Subject to Operating Leases” section of Item 7 of Part II of our 2020 Form 10-K Report
•Exchange:
◦Reflects changes in EBT driven by the effects of converting functional currency income to U.S. dollars
•Other:
◦Primarily includes operating expenses, other revenue, insurance expenses, and other income at prior period exchange rates
◦Changes in operating expenses are primarily driven by salaried personnel costs, facilities costs, and costs associated with the origination and servicing of customer contracts
◦In general, other income changes are primarily driven by changes in earnings related to market valuation adjustments to derivatives (primarily related to movements in interest rates) and other miscellaneous items
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
In addition, the following definitions and calculations apply to Ford Credit when used in this Report:
•Cash (as shown in the Funding and Liquidity and Leverage sections) - Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, excluding amounts related to insurance activities
•Debt (as shown in the Key Metrics and Leverage tables) - Debt on Ford Credit’s balance sheets. Includes debt issued in securitizations and payable only out of collections on the underlying securitized assets and related enhancements. Ford Credit holds the right to receive the excess cash flows not needed to pay the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions
•Earnings Before Taxes (EBT) - Reflects Ford Credit’s income before income taxes
•Return on Equity (ROE) (as shown in the Key Metrics table) - Reflects return on equity calculated by annualizing net income for the period and dividing by monthly average equity for the period
•Securitization and Restricted Cash (as shown in the Liquidity table) - Securitization cash held for the benefit of the securitization investors (for example, a reserve fund). Restricted cash primarily includes cash held to meet certain local governmental and regulatory reserve requirements and cash held under the terms of certain contractual agreements
•Securitizations (as shown in the Public Term Funding Plan table) - Public securitization transactions, Rule 144A offerings sponsored by Ford Credit, and widely distributed offerings by Ford Credit Canada
•Term Asset-Backed Securities (as shown in the Funding Structure table) - Obligations issued in securitization transactions that are payable only out of collections on the underlying securitized assets and related enhancements
•Total Net Receivables (as shown in the Key Metrics and Ford Credit Net Receivables Reconciliation To Managed Receivables tables) - Includes finance receivables (retail financing and wholesale) sold for legal purposes and net investment in operating leases included in securitization transactions that do not satisfy the requirements for accounting sale treatment. These receivables and operating leases are reported on Ford Credit’s balance sheet and are available only for payment of the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions; they are not available to pay the other obligations of Ford Credit or the claims of Ford Credit’s other creditors
Corporate Other
Corporate Other primarily includes corporate governance expenses, interest income (excluding interest earned on our extended service contract portfolio that is included in our Automotive segment) and gains and losses from our cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and other investments, and foreign exchange derivatives gains and losses associated with intercompany lending. Corporate governance expenses are primarily administrative, delivering benefit on behalf of the global enterprise, and are not allocated to specific Automotive business units or operating segments. These include expenses related to setting and directing global policy, providing oversight and stewardship, and promoting the Company’s interests. For full year 2020, Corporate Other had a $188 million loss, compared with a $359 million loss in 2019. The year-over-year improvement was driven by mark-to-market gains on our investments, partially offset by lower interest income.
Interest on Debt
Interest on Debt consists of interest expense on Automotive and Other debt. Our full year 2020 interest expense on Automotive and Other debt was $1,649 million, $629 million higher than in 2019, more than explained by higher U.S. debt interest expense.
Taxes
Our Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes for full year 2020 was a $160 million provision, resulting in an effective tax rate of negative 14.3%. This includes expenses to establish $1.3 billion of valuation allowances primarily against U.S. tax credits recorded as deferred tax assets.
Our full year 2020 adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes special items, was negative 45.1%.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2019
Net income attributable to Ford Motor Company was $47 million in 2019. Company adjusted EBIT was $6,379 million.
Net income includes certain items (“special items”) that are excluded from Company adjusted EBIT. These items are discussed in more detail in Note 26 of the Notes to the Financial Statements. We report special items separately to allow investors analyzing our results to identify certain infrequent significant items that they may wish to exclude when considering the trend of ongoing operating results. Our pre-tax and tax special items were as follows (in millions):
2018 2019
Global Redesign
Europe excl. Russia $ (309) $ (1,246)
India - (804)
South America (65) (566)
Russia - (357)
China - (101)
Separations and Other (not included above) (163) (107)
Subtotal Global Redesign $ (537) $ (3,181)
Other Items
Focus cancellation $ (16) $ (72)
Other, including Transit Connect customs ruling and Chariot (40) (201)
Subtotal Other Items $ (56) $ (273)
Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss)
Pension and OPEB remeasurement $ (851) $ (2,500)
Pension curtailment 15 (45)
Subtotal Pension and OPEB Gain/(Loss) $ (836) $ (2,545)
Total EBIT Special Items $ (1,429) $ (5,999)
Cash effect of Global Redesign (incl. separations) $ (196) $ (911)
Provision for/(Benefit from) tax special items (a) $ 88 $ (1,323)
__________
(a)Includes related tax effect on special items and tax special items.
We recorded $6 billion of special item charges in 2019. Actions related to our Global Redesign accounted for $3.2 billion of the special items, including European restructuring, with cash effects of $911 million. Special item charges also included $2.5 billion for pension and OPEB remeasurement losses. The remeasurement loss did not have an impact on our cash in 2019.
In Note 26 of the Notes to the Financial Statements, special items are reflected as a separate reconciling item, as opposed to being allocated among the Automotive, Mobility, and Ford Credit segments. This reflects the fact that management excludes these items from its review of operating segment results for purposes of measuring segment profitability and allocating resources.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
COMPANY KEY METRICS
The table below shows our full year 2019 key metrics for the Company compared with full year 2018.
2018 2019 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Cash Flows from Operating Activities ($B) $ 15.0 $ 17.6 $ 2.6
Revenue ($M) 160,338 155,900 (3) %
Net Income ($M) 3,677 47 $ (3,630)
Net Income Margin (%) 2.3% 0.0% (2.3) ppts
EPS (Diluted) $ 0.92 $ 0.01 $ (0.91)
Non-GAAP Financial Measures (a)
Company Adj. Free Cash Flow ($B) $ 2.8 $ 2.8 $ -
Company Adj. EBIT ($M) 7,002 6,379 (623)
Company Adj. EBIT Margin (%) 4.4% 4.1% (0.3) ppts
Adjusted EPS (Diluted) $ 1.30 $ 1.19 $ (0.11)
Adjusted ROIC (Trailing Four Qtrs) 7.1% 7.8% 0.7 ppts
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
For full year 2019, revenue was down 3 percent, or 1 percent excluding the impact of exchange, to $155.9 billion.
In 2019, our diluted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock was $0.01 and our diluted adjusted earnings per share was $1.19.
Net income margin was 0.0 percent in 2019, down from 2.3 percent in 2018. Company adjusted EBIT margin was 4.1 percent in 2019, down from 4.4 percent in 2018.
The table below shows our full year 2019 net income attributable to Ford and Company adjusted EBIT by segment (in millions).
2018 2019 H / (L)
Automotive $ 5,422 $ 4,926 $ (496)
Mobility (674) (1,186) (512)
Ford Credit 2,627 2,998 371
Corporate Other (373) (359) 14
Company Adjusted EBIT (a) 7,002 6,379 (623)
Interest on Debt (1,228) (1,020) 208
Special Items (1,429) (5,999) (4,570)
Taxes / Noncontrolling Interests (668) 687 1,355
Net Income/(Loss) $ 3,677 $ 47 $ (3,630)
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
The $3.6 billion year-over-year decline in net income in 2019 is more than explained by the $6 billion of special item charges discussed in more detail above under “Results of Operations - 2019.”
Company adjusted EBIT decreased about 9 percent in 2019 compared with 2018, driven by higher investments in Mobility and lower Automotive EBIT, offset partially by improved Ford Credit EBT.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Automotive Segment
The table below shows our full year 2019 Automotive segment EBIT by business unit (in millions).
2018 2019 H / (L)
North America $ 7,607 $ 6,612 $ (995)
South America (678) (704) (26)
Europe (210) 123 333
China (including Taiwan) (1,545) (771) 774
International Markets Group 248 (334) (582)
Automotive Segment $ 5,422 $ 4,926 $ (496)
The tables below and on the following pages provide full year 2019 key metrics and the change in full year 2019 EBIT compared with full year 2018 by causal factor for our Automotive segment and its regional business units. For a description of these causal factors, see Definitions and Information Regarding Automotive Causal Factors.
2018 2019 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 6.3 % 6.0 % (0.3) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) 5,982 5,386 (596)
Revenue ($M) $ 148,294 $ 143,599 $ (4,695)
EBIT ($M) 5,422 4,926 (496)
EBIT Margin (%) 3.7 % 3.4 % (0.3) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBIT $ 5,422
Volume / Mix (720)
Net Pricing 3,093
Cost (1,552)
Exchange (904)
Other (413)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ 4,926
In 2019, wholesales in our Automotive segment declined 596,000 units year-over-year, reflecting decreases in each business unit, while Automotive revenue was down 3.2 percent from 2018.
Our full year 2019 Automotive segment EBIT was $4.9 billion, down $496 million from 2018, and EBIT margin was 3.4 percent. Favorable mix was more than offset by the impact of lower volume, including the effects of new product launches. We had higher net pricing across most business units. Costs were higher, driven by higher material and warranty costs, while structural costs, excluding pension and OPEB, were lower, primarily as a result of improved fitness and global redesign actions. Exchange was unfavorable, and other adverse impacts included UAW contract ratification costs.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
North America
2018 2019 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 13.4 % 13.2 % (0.2) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) 2,920 2,765 (155)
Revenue ($M) $ 96,617 $ 98,053 $ 1,436
EBIT ($M) 7,607 6,612 (995)
EBIT Margin (%) 7.9 % 6.7 % (1.2) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBIT $ 7,607
Volume / Mix (241)
Net Pricing 1,910
Cost (1,865)
Exchange (174)
Other (625)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ 6,612
In North America, 2019 wholesales declined 5 percent from 2018, driven by the impact of major product launches. Full year 2019 revenue increased 1 percent year over year, driven by improved mix and higher net pricing, offset partially by lower volume.
North America’s 2019 EBIT decreased 13 percent from 2018 with an EBIT margin of 6.7 percent, driven by UAW contract-related bonuses, higher warranty expenses, and lower wholesales. Higher net pricing and favorable mix were partial offsets.
South America
2018 2019 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 8.3% 7.2% (1.1) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) 365 295 (70)
Revenue ($M) $ 5,288 $ 3,893 $ (1,395)
EBIT ($M) (678) (704) (26)
EBIT Margin (%) (12.8)% (18.1)% (5.2) ppts
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBIT $ (678)
Volume / Mix (180)
Net Pricing 626
Cost (350)
Exchange (175)
Other 53
2019 Full Year EBIT $ (704)
In South America, 2019 wholesales declined 19 percent from 2018, driven by the discontinuation of heavy trucks, Fiesta, and Focus. Full year 2019 revenue declined 26 percent year over year, driven by lower volume and adverse exchange.
South America’s 2019 EBIT loss of $704 million was 4 percent higher than in 2018, driven by lower wholesales.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Europe
2018 2019 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 7.6% 7.3% (0.3) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 1,482 1,390 (92)
Revenue ($M) $ 30,195 $ 28,150 $ (2,045)
EBIT ($M) (210) 123 333
EBIT Margin (%) (0.7)% 0.4% 1.1 ppts
_________
(a)Includes Ford brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliate in Turkey (about 44,000 units in 2018 and 34,000 units in 2019); revenue does not include these sales.
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBIT $ (210)
Volume / Mix (42)
Net Pricing 350
Cost 100
Exchange (325)
Other 250
2019 Full Year EBIT $ 123
In Europe, 2019 wholesales declined 6 percent from 2018, driven by lower share from planned actions to drive gross margin and improve EBIT. Full year 2019 revenue declined 7 percent year over year, driven by adverse exchange and planned lower share from our business redesign.
Europe’s 2019 EBIT improved $333 million year over year, driven by higher net pricing and lower structural costs.
China (Including Taiwan)
2018 2019 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 2.9% 2.2% (0.7) ppts
Wholesale Units (000) (a) 732 535 (197)
Revenue ($M) $ 4,619 $ 3,615 $ (1,004)
EBIT ($M) (1,545) (771) 774
EBIT Margin (%) (33.4)% (21.3)% 12.1 ppts
China Unconsolidated Affiliates
Wholesale Units (000) 651 462 (189)
Ford Equity Income/(Loss) ($M) $ (110) $ (161) $ (51)
__________
(a)Wholesale units include Ford brand and JMC brand vehicles produced and sold in China by our unconsolidated affiliates; revenue does not include these sales.
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBIT $ (1,545)
Volume / Mix 7
Net Pricing 61
Cost 612
Exchange 143
Other (49)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ (771)
In China, 2019 wholesales declined 27 percent from 2018, driven by lower joint venture volumes. Full year 2019 consolidated revenue declined 22 percent year over year, driven primarily by lower component sales to our joint ventures in China and lower volume.
China’s 2019 EBIT loss narrowed by 50 percent year over year, driven by lower structural costs, favorable exchange, lower tariffs, and higher net pricing.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
International Markets Group
2018 2019 H / (L)
Key Metrics
Market Share (%) 2.2% 1.9% (0.3) ppts
Wholesale Units* (000) 483 401 (82)
Revenue ($M) $ 11,575 $ 9,888 $ (1,687)
EBIT ($M) 248 (334) (582)
EBIT Margin (%) 2.1% (3.4) % (5.5) ppts
_________
(a)Includes Ford brand vehicles produced and sold by our unconsolidated affiliate in Russia (about 51,000 units in 2018 and 28,000 units in 2019). Revenue after Q2 2019 does not include these sales.
Change in EBIT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBIT $ 248
Volume / Mix (264)
Net Pricing 147
Cost (49)
Exchange (373)
Other (43)
2019 Full Year EBIT $ (334)
In our International Markets Group, 2019 wholesales declined 17 percent from 2018, driven by lower share and industry. Full year 2019 revenue declined 15 percent year over year, driven by lower volume and adverse exchange.
Our International Markets Group’s 2019 EBIT was $582 million lower than in 2018, with a $334 million loss driven by adverse exchange and lower volume and mix, driven by lower industry volume. The adverse exchange was driven by the Australian dollar, South African rand, and Thai baht.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Mobility Segment
In our Mobility segment, our 2019 EBIT loss was $1.2 billion, a $512 million higher loss than in 2018. Our strategic investments in Mobility in 2019 increased by more than 75 percent year over year as we continued to expand our capabilities in mobility and autonomous vehicles.
Ford Credit Segment
The tables below provide full year 2019 key metrics and the change in full year 2019 EBT compared with full year 2018 by causal factor for the Ford Credit segment.
2018 2019 H / (L)
GAAP Financial Measures
Total Net Receivables ($B) $ 146 $ 142 (3) %
Loss-to-Receivables (bps) (a) 55 52 (3)
Auction Values (b) $ 19,770 $ 19,305 (2) %
EBT ($M) 2,627 2,998 $ 371
ROE (%) 14% 15% 1 ppt
Other Balance Sheet Metrics
Debt ($B) $ 140 $ 140 -%
Net Liquidity ($B) 27 33 22%
Financial Statement Leverage (to 1) 9.4 9.8 0.4
__________
(a)U.S. retail financing only.
(b)U.S. 36-month off-lease auction values at full year 2020 mix.
2018 2019 H / (L)
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Managed Receivables ($B) (a) $ 155 $ 152 (2) %
Managed Leverage (to 1) (b) 8.8 8.9 0.1
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
(b)See Liquidity and Capital Resources - Ford Credit Segment section for reconciliation to GAAP.
Change in EBT by Causal Factor (in millions)
2018 Full Year EBT $ 2,627
Volume / Mix (38)
Financing Margin (86)
Credit Loss 127
Lease Residual 249
Exchange (71)
Other 190
2019 Full Year EBT $ 2,998
Ford Credit’s loss metrics in 2019 reflected healthy and stable consumer credit conditions, and auction values for off-lease vehicles were slightly better than expected. Receivables at December 31, 2019 were lower year over year.
Ford Credit delivered $3 billion of EBT in 2019, a 14 percent increase from 2018, driven by favorable lease residual, credit loss, and derivatives performance.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Corporate Other
For full year 2019, Corporate Other had a $359 million loss, compared with a $373 million loss in 2018. The year-over-year improvement was driven by fair market value adjustments, partially offset by higher interest expense on income taxes.
Interest on Debt
Our full year 2019 interest expense on Automotive and Other debt was $1,020 million, which was $208 million lower than in 2018, more than explained by lower foreign debt interest expense, reflecting our repayment of higher-cost affiliate debt and the extinguishment of Ford Sollers debt.
Taxes
Our Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes for full year 2019 was a $724 million benefit, resulting in an effective tax rate of 113%. This includes a one-time benefit arising from restructuring in our European operations.
Our full year 2019 adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes special items, was 11.2%.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
COVID-19 has created significant volatility in the global economy, led to reduced economic activity, and adversely affected our operations in the first half of 2020. Moreover, our suspension of production earlier this year put pressure on our Automotive liquidity. By May 2020, we restarted manufacturing operations in a phased manner at locations around the world. Throughout, we were proactive in our response and demonstrated discipline in the management of our balance sheet. We continued to maintain strong liquidity to ensure financial flexibility in these uncertain times by, among other things, drawing, extending the maturity of, and subsequently repaying our corporate and supplemental revolving credit facilities and issuing $8 billion of unsecured debt. As discussed in more detail below, we ended 2020 with $46.9 billion of liquidity and $30.8 billion of cash, both significantly higher than year-end 2019.
We consider our key balance sheet metrics to be: (i) Company cash, which includes cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash, excluding Ford Credit’s cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash; and (ii) Company liquidity, which includes Company cash, less restricted cash, and total available committed credit lines, excluding Ford Credit’s total available committed credit lines.
Company excluding Ford Credit
December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020
Balance Sheet ($B)
Company Cash $ 22.3 $ 30.8
Liquidity 35.4 46.9
Debt $ (15.3) $ (24.0)
Cash Net of Debt 7.0 6.8
Pension Funded Status ($B)
Funded Plans $ (0.4) $ 0.3
Unfunded Plans (6.4) (7.0)
Total Global Pension $ (6.8) $ (6.7)
Total Funded Status OPEB $ (6.1) $ (6.6)
Liquidity. One of our key priorities is to maintain a strong balance sheet, while at the same time having resources available to invest in and grow our business. At December 31, 2020, we had Company cash of $30.8 billion, an increase of $8.5 billion compared with December 31, 2019, primarily due to our unsecured debt issuance in the second quarter of 2020, with about 90% of Company cash held by consolidated entities domiciled in the United States. To be prepared for an economic downturn, we target an ongoing Company cash balance at or above $20 billion plus significant additional liquidity above our Company cash target. We expect to have periods when we will be above or below this amount due to: (i) future cash flow expectations, such as for investments in future opportunities, capital investments, debt maturities, pension contributions, or restructuring requirements, (ii) short-term timing differences, and (iii) changes in the global economic environment.
Our Company cash investments primarily include U.S. Department of Treasury obligations, federal agency securities, bank time deposits with investment-grade institutions, investment-grade corporate securities, investment-grade commercial paper, and debt obligations of a select group of non-U.S. governments, non-U.S. governmental agencies, and supranational institutions. The average maturity of these investments is approximately one year and adjusted based on market conditions and liquidity needs. We monitor our Company cash levels and average maturity on a daily basis.
At December 31, 2020, we had $46.9 billion of Company liquidity, an increase of $11.5 billion from December 31, 2019, primarily explained by our higher cash balance.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Changes in Company Cash. In managing our business, we classify changes in Company cash into operating and non-operating items. Operating items include: Company adjusted EBIT excluding Ford Credit EBT, capital spending, depreciation and tooling amortization, changes in working capital, Ford Credit distributions, and all other and timing differences. Non-operating items include: Global Redesign (including separation payments), changes in Automotive and Other debt, contributions to funded pension plans, shareholder distributions, and other items (including acquisitions and divestitures and other transactions with Ford Credit).
With respect to “Changes in working capital,” in general we carry relatively low Automotive segment trade receivables compared with our trade payables because the majority of our Automotive wholesales are financed (primarily by Ford Credit) immediately upon the sale of vehicles to dealers, which generally occurs shortly after being produced. In contrast, our Automotive trade payables are based primarily on industry-standard production supplier payment terms of generally about 45 days. As a result, our cash flow tends to improve as wholesale volumes increase, but can deteriorate when wholesale volumes sharply decrease. The suspension of production at most of our assembly plants earlier in the year and lower industry volumes due to COVID-19 resulted in a deterioration of our cash flow in the second quarter of 2020, while the subsequent resumption of manufacturing operations and return to pre-COVID-19 production levels at most of our assembly plants resulted in an improvement of our cash flow in the third quarter of 2020. Even in normal economic conditions, however, these working capital balances generally are subject to seasonal changes that can impact cash flow. For example, we typically experience cash flow timing differences associated with inventories and payables due to our annual summer and December shutdown periods when production, and therefore inventories and wholesale volumes, are usually at their lowest levels, while payables continue to come due and be paid. The net impact of this typically results in cash outflows from changes in our working capital balances during these shutdown periods.
A financial institution offers a supply chain finance (“SCF”) program that enables our suppliers, at their sole discretion, to sell their Ford receivables (i.e., our payment obligations to the suppliers) to the financial institution on a non-recourse basis in order to be paid earlier than our payment terms provide. Our suppliers’ voluntary inclusion of invoices in the SCF program has no bearing on our payment terms, the amounts we pay, or our liquidity. We have no economic interest in a supplier’s decision to participate in the SCF program, and we have no direct financial relationship with the SCF financial institution. Moreover, we do not provide any guarantees in connection with the SCF program. As of December 31, 2020, the outstanding amount of Ford receivables that suppliers elected to sell to the SCF financial institution was $178 million. The amount settled through the SCF program during 2020 was $530 million.
Changes in Company cash excluding Ford Credit are summarized below (in billions):
December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020
Company Excluding Ford Credit
Company Adjusted EBIT excluding Ford Credit (a) $ 4.4 $ 3.4 $ 0.2
Capital spending $ (7.7) $ (7.6) $ (5.7)
Depreciation and tooling amortization 5.4 5.5 5.3
Net spending $ (2.4) $ (2.1) $ (0.4)
Receivables $ 0.1 $ (0.1) $ 0.4
Inventory (0.8) 0.1 0.3
Trade Payables (0.2) (0.6) 1.3
Changes in working capital $ (0.9) $ (0.6) $ 2.0
Ford Credit distributions 2.7 2.9 2.4
All other and timing differences (1.1) (0.8) (3.5)
Company adjusted free cash flow (a) $ 2.8 $ 2.8 $ 0.7
Global Redesign (including separations) (0.2) (0.9) (0.5)
Changes in debt (1.8) 1.1 8.4
Funded pension contributions (0.4) (0.7) (0.6)
Shareholder distributions (3.1) (2.6) (0.6)
All other (including acquisitions and divestitures) (0.7) (0.3) 1.1
Change in cash $ (3.4) $ (0.8) $ 8.5
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Our full year 2020 Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities was up $6.6 billion year over year, more than explained by higher Ford Credit operating cash flows. Company adjusted free cash flow was down $2.1 billion year-over-year, more than explained by lower adjusted EBIT driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Capital spending was $5.7 billion in 2020, $1.9 billion lower than a year ago. The year-over-year reduction reflects unavoidable delays due to the global pandemic, austerity measures implemented in response to the business environment, and continued efficiencies. Capital spending to support product development, growth, and infrastructure is expected to be in the range of $6.0 billion to $6.5 billion in 2021.
Full year 2020 working capital was $2.0 billion positive, explained by higher trade payables and lower receivables and inventory than in 2019.
Full year 2020 all other and timing differences were negative $3.5 billion, reflecting assorted timing differences between accrual-based EBIT and the associated cash flows (e.g., marketing incentive and warranty payments to dealers), interest payments on Automotive and Other debt, and cash taxes.
Shareholder distributions were $595 million in 2020, all of which were attributable to our regular quarterly dividend in the first quarter.
We previously announced our plan for the global redesign of our business, pursuant to which we are working to turn around automotive operations, compete like a challenger, and capitalize on our strengths by allocating more capital, more resources, and more talent to our strongest business and vehicle franchises. Beginning with the actions we took in 2018, we expect our global redesign to have a potential cash effect of about $7 billion. The cash effect related to our global redesign activities was $1.6 billion through December 31, 2020 and is expected to be about $5 billion through December 31, 2021.
As discussed in the “Key Trends and Economic Factors Affecting Ford and the Automotive Industry” section above, Ford Brazil’s decision to exit manufacturing operations is expected to result in charges of about $2.5 billion that will be paid in cash primarily in 2021. In addition, Ford offers a purchase program in South America pursuant to which members of the program make payments over 84 months to purchase certain Ford vehicles. Each month, two vehicles are allocated to members of each group. For groups that planned to purchase Ford vehicles that will no longer be available due to Ford Brazil exiting manufacturing (e.g., Ford Ka), Ford will reimburse, or offer an alternative product, to the members who have paid into the program and have not received a vehicle. The cash impact in 2021 is expected to be between $0.2 billion and $0.3 billion.
Available Credit Lines. Total Company committed credit lines, excluding Ford Credit, at December 31, 2020 were $18.6 billion, consisting of $13.5 billion of our corporate credit facility, $2 billion of our supplemental revolving credit facility, $1.5 billion of our delayed draw term loan facility, and $1.6 billion of local credit facilities. In the first quarter of 2020, we submitted borrowing notices to our lenders for the full amounts of both our corporate credit facility and our supplemental revolving credit facility, and by the third quarter of 2020, we repaid the full amounts outstanding under each facility. At December 31, 2020, the utilized portion of the corporate credit facility was $27 million, representing amounts utilized for letters of credit, and no portion of the supplemental revolving credit facility was utilized. The $1.5 billion delayed draw term loan facility was drawn in full in 2019 and remains outstanding. In addition, $0.7 billion of committed Company credit lines, excluding Ford Credit, was available under local credit facilities for our affiliates as of December 31, 2020.
Lenders under our corporate credit facility have $0.4 billion of commitments maturing on April 30, 2022, $3 billion of commitments maturing on July 27, 2023, and $10.1 billion of commitments maturing on April 30, 2024. Lenders under our supplemental revolving credit facility have $0.2 billion of commitments maturing on April 30, 2022 and $1.8 billion of commitments maturing on July 27, 2023.
The corporate credit facility is unsecured and free of material adverse change conditions to borrowing, restrictive financial covenants (for example, interest or fixed-charge coverage ratio, debt-to-equity ratio, and minimum net worth requirements), and credit rating triggers that could limit our ability to obtain funding or trigger early repayment. The corporate credit facility contains a liquidity covenant that requires us to maintain a minimum of $4 billion in aggregate of domestic cash, cash equivalents, and loaned and marketable securities and/or availability under the facility. Further, the terms of the corporate and supplemental revolving credit facilities prohibit share repurchases (with limited exceptions) while any portion of either facility is outstanding and the payment of dividends on our common or Class B stock while more than 50% of the aggregate amount of commitments under the two facilities is utilized. The terms and conditions of the delayed draw term loan (other than the restrictions on share repurchases and dividends) and the supplemental revolving credit facility are consistent with our corporate credit facility.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Each of the corporate credit facility, supplemental revolving credit facility, delayed draw term loan, and our Loan Arrangement and Reimbursement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (the “DOE”) include a covenant that requires us to provide guarantees from certain of our subsidiaries in the event that our senior, unsecured, long-term debt does not maintain at least two investment grade ratings from Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P. The following subsidiaries have provided unsecured guarantees to the lenders under the credit facilities and to the DOE: Ford Component Sales, LLC; Ford European Holdings LLC; Ford Global Technologies, LLC; Ford Holdings LLC (the parent company of Ford Credit); Ford International Capital LLC; Ford Mexico Holdings LLC; Ford Motor Service Company; Ford Smart Mobility LLC; and Ford Trading Company, LLC.
During 2020, Ford Motor Company Limited, our operating subsidiary in the United Kingdom (“Ford of Britain”), entered into, and drew in full, a £625 million term loan credit facility with a syndicate of banks to support Ford of Britain’s general export activities. Accordingly, U.K. Export Finance (“UKEF”) provided a £500 million guarantee of the credit facility under its Export Development Guarantee scheme, which supports high value commercial lending to U.K. exporters. We have also guaranteed Ford of Britain’s obligations under the credit facility to the lenders. As of December 31, 2020, the full £625 million remained outstanding. This five-year, non-amortizing loan matures on June 30, 2025.
Debt. As shown in Note 19 of the Notes to the Financial Statements, at December 31, 2020, Company debt excluding Ford Credit was $24 billion, including Automotive debt of $23.5 billion. These December 31, 2020 balances were $8.7 billion and $8.9 billion, respectively, higher than at December 31, 2019, primarily reflecting our $8 billion unsecured debt issuance in April 2020.
DOE Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturer (“ATVM”) Incentive Program. See Note 19 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for information regarding the ATVM loan.
Leverage. We manage Company debt (excluding Ford Credit) levels with a leverage framework that targets investment grade credit ratings through a normal business cycle; however, during these uncertain times, we have increased our debt balance and prioritized actions that preserve or improve our cash balance. The leverage framework includes a ratio of total company debt (excluding Ford Credit), underfunded pension liabilities, operating leases, and other adjustments, divided by Company adjusted EBIT (excluding Ford Credit EBT), and further adjusted to exclude depreciation and tooling amortization (excluding Ford Credit).
Ford Credit’s leverage is calculated as a separate business as described in the Liquidity - Ford Credit Segment section of Item 7. Ford Credit is self-funding and its debt, which is used to fund its operations, is separate from our Automotive and Other debt.
Ford Credit Segment
Ford Credit ended 2020 with $35.4 billion of liquidity. During the year, Ford Credit completed $27 billion of public term funding.
Key elements of Ford Credit’s funding strategy include:
•Maintain strong liquidity; continue to renew and expand committed ABS capacity
•Prudently access public markets
•Flexibility to increase ABS mix as needed; preserving assets and committed capacity
•Target managed leverage of 8:1 to 9:1
•Maintain self-liquidating balance sheet
Ford Credit’s liquidity profile continues to be diverse, robust, and focused on maintaining liquidity levels that meet its business and funding requirements. Ford Credit regularly stress tests its balance sheet and liquidity to ensure that it can continue to meet its financial obligations through economic cycles.
Funding Sources. Ford Credit’s funding sources include primarily unsecured debt and securitization transactions (including other structured financings). Ford Credit issues both short-term and long-term debt that is held by both institutional and retail investors, with long-term debt having an original maturity of more than 12 months. Ford Credit sponsors a number of securitization programs that can be structured to provide both short-term and long-term funding through institutional investors and other financial institutions in the United States and international capital markets.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Credit obtains short-term unsecured funding from the sale of demand notes under its Ford Interest Advantage program and through the retail deposit programs at FCE Bank plc (“FCE”) and Ford Bank GmbH (“Ford Bank”). At December 31, 2020, the principal amount outstanding of Ford Interest Advantage notes, which may be redeemed at any time at the option of the holders thereof without restriction, and FCE and Ford Bank deposits was $6 billion. Ford Credit maintains multiple sources of readily available liquidity to fund the payment of its unsecured short-term debt obligations.
The following table shows funding for Ford Credit’s managed receivables (in billions):
December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020
Funding Structure
Term Debt (incl. Bank Borrowings) $ 70 $ 73 $ 77
Term Asset-Backed Securities 60 57 55
Commercial Paper 4 4 -
Ford Interest Advantage / Deposits 6 7 6
Other 10 9 7
Equity 15 14 14
Adjustments for Cash (10) (12) (18)
Total Managed Receivables (a) $ 155 $ 152 $ 141
Securitized Funding as Percent of Managed Receivables 39 % 38 % 39 %
__________
(a)See Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations section for reconciliation to GAAP.
Managed receivables were $141 billion at December 31, 2020 and were funded primarily with term debt and term asset-backed securities. Securitized funding as a percent of managed receivables was 39%. The calendarization of the funding plan will result in quarterly fluctuations of the securitized funding percentage.
Public Term Funding Plan. The following table shows Ford Credit’s issuances for full year 2018, 2019, and 2020, and planned issuances for full year 2021, excluding short-term funding programs (in billions):
Actual 2019
Actual 2020
Actual 2021
Forecast
Unsecured $ 13 $ 17 $ 14 $ 7 - 11
Securitizations (a) 14 14 13 11 - 14
Total public $ 27 $ 31 $ 27 $ 18 - 25
__________
(a)See Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors section.
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
In 2020, Ford Credit completed $27 billion of public term funding. For 2021, Ford Credit projects full year public term funding in the range of $18 billion to $25 billion. Through February 3, 2021, Ford Credit has completed $1 billion of public term issuances.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Liquidity. The following table shows Ford Credit’s liquidity sources and utilization (in billions):
December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020
Liquidity Sources (a)
Cash $ 10.2 $ 11.7 $ 18.5
Committed asset-backed facilities 35.4 36.6 38.1
Other unsecured credit facilities 3.0 3.0 2.5
Ford corporate credit facility allocation 3.0 3.0 -
Total liquidity sources $ 51.6 $ 54.3 $ 59.1
Utilization of Liquidity (a)
Securitization cash and restricted cash $ (3.1) $ (3.6) $ (3.9)
Committed asset-backed facilities (20.7) (17.3) (16.7)
Other unsecured credit facilities (0.7) (0.8) (0.5)
Ford corporate credit facility allocation - - -
Total utilization of liquidity $ (24.5) $ (21.7) $ (21.1)
Gross liquidity $ 27.1 $ 32.6 $ 38.0
Asset-backed capacity in excess of eligible receivables and other adjustments 0.1 0.4 (2.6)
Net liquidity available for use $ 27.2 $ 33.0 $ 35.4
__________
(a)See Definitions and Information Regarding Ford Credit Causal Factors section.
Ford Credit’s net liquidity available for use will fluctuate quarterly based on factors including near-term debt maturities, receivable growth, and timing of funding transactions. At December 31, 2020, Ford Credit’s net liquidity available for use was $35.4 billion, $2.4 billion higher than year-end 2019. Ford Credit’s sources of liquidity include cash, committed asset-backed facilities, and unsecured credit facilities. At December 31, 2020, Ford Credit’s liquidity sources totaled $59.1 billion, up $4.8 billion from year-end 2019.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Balance Sheet Liquidity Profile. Ford Credit defines its balance sheet liquidity profile as the cumulative maturities, including the impact of expected prepayments and allowance for credit losses, of its finance receivables, investment in operating leases, and cash, less the cumulative debt maturities over upcoming annual periods. Ford Credit’s balance sheet is inherently liquid because of the short-term nature of its finance receivables, investment in operating leases, and cash. Ford Credit ensures its cumulative debt maturities have a longer tenor than its cumulative asset maturities. This positive maturity profile is intended to provide Ford Credit with additional liquidity after all of its assets have been funded and is in addition to its liquidity stress test.
The following table shows Ford Credit’s cumulative maturities for assets and total debt for the periods presented and unsecured long-term debt maturities in the individual periods presented (in billions):
2021 2022 2023 2024 and Beyond
Balance Sheet Liquidity Profile
Assets (a) $ 80 $ 111 $ 135 $ 157
Total debt (b) 60 86 103 136
Memo: Unsecured long-term debt maturities 17 14 11 29
__________
(a)Includes gross finance receivables less the allowance for credit losses (including certain finance receivables that are reclassified in consolidation to Trade and other receivables), investment in operating leases net of accumulated depreciation, cash and cash equivalents, and marketable securities (excluding amounts related to insurance activities). Amounts shown include the impact of expected prepayments.
(b)Excludes unamortized debt (discount)/premium, unamortized issuance costs, and fair value adjustments.
Maturities of investment in operating leases consist primarily of the portion of rental payments attributable to depreciation over the remaining life of the lease and the expected residual value at lease termination. Maturities of finance receivables and investment in operating leases in the table above include expected prepayments for Ford Credit’s retail installment sale contracts and investment in operating leases. The table above also reflects adjustments to debt maturities to match the asset-backed debt maturities with the underlying asset maturities.
All wholesale securitization transactions and wholesale receivables are shown maturing in the next 12 months, even if the maturities extend beyond 2021. The retail securitization transactions under certain committed asset-backed facilities are assumed to amortize immediately rather than amortizing after the expiration of the commitment period. As of December 31, 2020, Ford Credit had $157 billion of assets, $81 billion of which were unencumbered.
Funding and Liquidity Risks. Ford Credit’s funding plan is subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control, including disruption in the capital markets (such as from the impact of COVID-19) that could impact both unsecured debt and asset-backed securities and the effects of regulatory changes on the financial markets.
Despite Ford Credit’s diverse sources of funding and liquidity, its ability to maintain liquidity may be affected by, among others, the following factors (not necessarily listed in order of importance or probability of occurrence):
•Prolonged disruption of the debt and securitization markets;
•Global capital market volatility;
•Credit ratings assigned to Ford and Ford Credit;
•Market capacity for Ford- and Ford Credit-sponsored investments;
•General demand for the type of securities Ford Credit offers;
•Ford Credit’s ability to continue funding through asset-backed financing structures;
•Performance of the underlying assets within Ford Credit’s asset-backed financing structures;
•Inability to obtain hedging instruments;
•Accounting and regulatory changes (including LIBOR); and
•Ford Credit’s ability to maintain credit facilities and committed asset-backed facilities.
Stress Tests. Ford Credit regularly conducts stress testing on its funding and liquidity sources to ensure it can continue to meet financial obligations and support the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles during firm-specific and market-wide stress events. Stress tests are intended to quantify the potential impact of various adverse scenarios on the balance sheet and liquidity. These scenarios include assumptions on access to unsecured and secured debt markets, runoff of short-term funding, and ability to renew expiring liquidity commitments and are measured over various time periods, including 30 days, 90 days, and longer term. Ford Credit’s stress test does not assume any additional funding, liquidity, or capital support from Ford. Ford Credit routinely develops contingency funding plans as part of its liquidity stress testing.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Leverage. Ford Credit uses leverage, or the debt-to-equity ratio, to make various business decisions, including evaluating and establishing pricing for finance receivable and operating lease financing, and assessing its capital structure.
The table below shows the calculation of Ford Credit’s financial statement leverage and managed leverage (in billions):
December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020
Leverage Calculation
Debt $ 140.1 $ 140.0 $ 137.7
Adjustments for cash (10.2) (11.7) (18.5)
Adjustments for derivative accounting (a) 0.2 (0.5) (1.5)
Total adjusted debt $ 130.1 $ 127.8 $ 117.7
Equity (b) $ 15.0 $ 14.3 $ 14.0
Adjustments for derivative accounting (a) (0.2) - 0.1
Total adjusted equity $ 14.8 $ 14.3 $ 14.1
Financial statement leverage (to 1) (GAAP) 9.4 9.8 9.8
Managed leverage (to 1) (Non-GAAP) 8.8 8.9 8.3
__________
(a)Related primarily to market valuation adjustments to derivatives due to movements in interest rates. Adjustments to debt are related to hedging activity and adjustments to equity are related to retained earnings.
(b)Total shareholder’s interest reported on Ford Credit’s balance sheets.
Ford Credit plans its managed leverage by considering market conditions and the risk characteristics of its business. At December 31, 2019 and 2020, Ford Credit’s financial statement leverage was 9.8:1 and 9.8:1, respectively, and managed leverage was 8.9:1 and 8.3:1, respectively. Managed leverage decreased relative to financial statement leverage primarily due to the higher cash balance at year-end 2020. Ford Credit targets managed leverage in the range of 8:1 to 9:1.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Total Company
Pension Plan Contributions and Strategy. Our strategy is to reduce the risk of our funded defined benefit pension plans, including minimizing the volatility of the value of our pension assets relative to pension liabilities and the need for unplanned use of capital resources to fund the plans. The strategy reduces balance sheet, cash flow, and income exposures and, in turn, reduces our risk profile. Going forward, we expect to:
•Limit our pension contributions to offset ongoing service cost or meet regulatory requirements, if any;
•Maintain target asset allocation of about 80% fixed income investments and 20% growth assets, which better matches plan assets to the characteristics of the liabilities, thereby reducing our net exposure; and
•Evaluate strategic actions to reduce pension liabilities, such as plan design changes, curtailments, or settlements
2019 2020 2020
B / (W)
Pension Funded Status ($B)
U.S. Plans $ (1.4) $ (0.7) $ 0.7
Non-U.S. Plans (5.4) (6.0) (0.6)
Total Global Pension $ (6.8) $ (6.7) $ 0.1
Year-End Discount Rate (Weighted Average)
U.S. Plans 3.32 % 2.56 % (0.76) ppts
Non-U.S. Plans 1.74 % 1.23 % (0.51) ppts
Actual Asset Returns
U.S. Plans 20.43 % 16.44 % (3.99) ppts
Non-U.S. Plans 10.72 % 10.96 % 0.24 ppts
Pension - Funded Plans Only ($B)
Funded Status $ (0.4) $ 0.3 $ 0.7
Contributions for Funded Plans 0.7 0.6 0.1
Worldwide, our defined benefit pension plans were underfunded by $6.7 billion at December 31, 2020, an improvement of $100 million from December 31, 2019, primarily as a result of asset returns in excess of our assumptions, partially offset by lower discount rates. Of the $6.7 billion underfunded status at year-end 2020, $7.0 billion is associated with our unfunded plans. These are “pay as you go,” with benefits paid from Company cash. These unfunded plans primarily include certain plans in Germany, and U.S. defined benefit plans for senior management.
The fixed income mix was 80% in our U.S. plans and 82% in our non-U.S. plans at year-end 2020.
In 2020, we contributed $570 million to our global funded pension plans, a decrease of $160 million compared with 2019. During 2021, we expect to contribute between $600 million and $800 million of cash to our global funded pension plans. We also expect to make about $390 million of benefit payments to participants in unfunded plans. Based on current assumptions and regulations, we do not expect to have a legal requirement to fund our major U.S. plans in 2021. Our global funded plans remain fully funded in aggregate, demonstrating the effectiveness of our de-risking strategy and our commitment to a strong balance sheet.
For a detailed discussion of our pension plans, see Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”). We analyze total Company performance using an adjusted ROIC financial metric based on an after-tax rolling four quarter average. The following table contains the calculation of our ROIC for the years shown (in billions):
December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020
Adjusted Net Operating Profit After Cash Tax
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford $ 3.7 $ - $ (1.3)
Add: Noncontrolling interest - - -
Less: Income tax (0.7) 0.7 (0.2)
Add: Cash tax (0.8) (0.6) (0.4)
Less: Interest on debt (1.2) (1.0) (1.6)
Less: Total pension / OPEB income / (cost) (0.4) (2.6) (1.0)
Add: Pension / OPEB service costs (1.2) (1.0) (1.1)
Net operating profit after cash tax $ 4.0 $ 1.4 $ 0.1
Less: Special items (excl. pension / OPEB) pre-tax (0.6) (3.5) (0.7)
Adjusted net operating profit after cash tax $ 4.6 $ 4.8 $ 0.7
Invested Capital
Equity $ 36.0 $ 33.2 $ 30.8
Redeemable noncontrolling interest 0.1 - -
Debt (excl. Ford Credit) 14.1 15.3 24.0
Net pension and OPEB liability 11.9 12.9 13.3
Invested capital (end of period) $ 62.1 $ 61.4 $ 68.1
Average invested capital $ 64.0 $ 61.7 $ 70.7
ROIC (a) 6.2 % 2.2 % 0.1 %
Adjusted ROIC (Non-GAAP) (b) 7.1 % 7.8 % 1.0 %
__________
(a)Calculated as the sum of net operating profit after cash tax from the last four quarters, divided by the average invested capital over the last four quarters.
(b)Calculated as the sum of adjusted net operating profit after cash tax from the last four quarters, divided by the average invested capital over the last four quarters.
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
CREDIT RATINGS
Our short-term and long-term debt is rated by four credit rating agencies designated as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: DBRS, Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P.
In several markets, locally recognized rating agencies also rate us. A credit rating reflects an assessment by the rating agency of the credit risk associated with a corporate entity or particular securities issued by that entity. Rating agencies’ ratings of us are based on information provided by us and other sources. Credit ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell, or hold securities and are subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating agency may have different criteria for evaluating company risk and, therefore, ratings should be evaluated independently for each rating agency.
There have been no rating actions taken by these NRSROs since the filing of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.
The following table summarizes certain of the credit ratings and outlook presently assigned by these four NRSROs:
NRSRO RATINGS
Ford Ford Credit NRSROs
Issuer
Default /
Corporate /
Issuer Rating Long-Term Senior Unsecured Outlook / Trend Long-Term Senior Unsecured Short-Term
Unsecured Outlook / Trend Minimum Long-Term Investment Grade Rating
DBRS BB (high) BB (high) Negative BB (high) R-4 Negative BBB (low)
Fitch BB+ BB+ Negative BB+ B Negative BBB-
Moody’s N/A Ba2 Negative Ba2 NP Negative Baa3
S&P BB+ BB+ Negative BB+ B Negative BBB-
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
OUTLOOK
We provided 2021 Company guidance in our earnings release furnished on Form 8-K dated February 4, 2021. The guidance is based on our expectations as of February 4, 2021, and (i) excludes the impact of the semi-conductor shortage (see below for a discussion of the shortage); (ii) includes a non-cash gain of about $900 million in the first quarter of 2021 on our investment in Rivian; and (iii) assumes no material change in the current economic environment, including foreign exchange and tariffs. Our actual results could differ materially from our guidance due to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including those set forth in “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I.
2021 Guidance
Total Company
Adjusted EBIT (a) $8.0 - $9.0 billion
Adjusted Free Cash Flow (a) $3.5 - $4.5 billion
Capital spending $6.0 - $6.5 billion
Pension contributions $0.6 - $0.8 billion
Global Redesign EBIT charges $2.2 - $2.7 billion
Global Redesign cash effects $3.0 - $3.5 billion
Ford Credit
EBT Improved compared to 2020
Ford Credit auction values (b) Lower
__________
(a)When we provide guidance for Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, we do not provide guidance for the most comparable GAAP measures because, as described in more detail below in “Non-GAAP Measures That Supplement GAAP Measures,” they include items that are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty.
(b)On average compared with full year 2020 at constant mix.
The global semiconductor shortage is creating uncertainty across multiple industries, including the automotive industry, and will influence our operating results this year. The situation is fluid and we believe it is premature to quantify the full year impact on our adjusted EBIT and adjusted free cash flow. At present, though, current estimates from suppliers support a scenario where we could lose 10% to 20% of our planned first quarter production. If that scenario is extended through the first half of the year, the impact could adversely affect our full year adjusted EBIT by between $1.0 billion and $2.5 billion, net of reasonable cost recoveries and some production make-up in the second half of the year. Full year EBIT and cash effects due to the shortage would be about equal, with quarterly cash implications more volatile given the mechanics of our working capital.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included or incorporated by reference herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, forecasts, and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including, without limitation:
•Ford and Ford Credit’s financial condition and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by public health issues, including epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19;
•Ford is highly dependent on its suppliers to deliver components in accordance with Ford’s production schedule, and a shortage of key components, such as semiconductors, can disrupt Ford’s production of vehicles;
•Ford’s long-term competitiveness depends on the successful execution of its Plan;
•Ford’s vehicles could be affected by defects that result in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns, or increased warranty costs;
•Ford may not realize the anticipated benefits of existing or pending strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, divestitures, or new business strategies;
•Operational systems, security systems, and vehicles could be affected by cyber incidents and other disruptions;
•Ford’s production, as well as Ford’s suppliers’ production, could be disrupted by labor issues, natural or man-made disasters, financial distress, production difficulties, or other factors;
•Ford’s ability to maintain a competitive cost structure could be affected by labor or other constraints;
•Ford’s ability to attract and retain talented, diverse, and highly skilled employees is critical to its success and competitiveness;
•Ford’s new and existing products and mobility services are subject to market acceptance and face significant competition from existing and new entrants in the automotive and mobility industries;
•Ford’s results are dependent on sales of larger, more profitable vehicles, particularly in the United States;
•With a global footprint, Ford’s results could be adversely affected by economic, geopolitical, protectionist trade policies, or other events, including tariffs;
•Industry sales volume in any of Ford’s key markets can be volatile and could decline if there is a financial crisis, recession, or significant geopolitical event;
•Ford may face increased price competition or a reduction in demand for its products resulting from industry excess capacity, currency fluctuations, competitive actions, or other factors;
•Fluctuations in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, and market value of Ford or Ford Credit’s investments can have a significant effect on results;
•Ford and Ford Credit’s access to debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in sufficient amounts could be affected by credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, or other factors;
•Ford’s receipt of government incentives could be subject to reduction, termination, or clawback;
•Ford Credit could experience higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values, or higher-than-expected return volumes for leased vehicles;
•Economic and demographic experience for pension and other postretirement benefit plans (e.g., discount rates or investment returns) could be worse than Ford has assumed;
•Pension and other postretirement liabilities could adversely affect Ford’s liquidity and financial condition;
•Ford could experience unusual or significant litigation, governmental investigations, or adverse publicity arising out of alleged defects in products, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise;
•Ford may need to substantially modify its product plans to comply with safety, emissions, fuel economy, autonomous vehicle, and other regulations;
•Ford and Ford Credit could be affected by the continued development of more stringent privacy, data use, and data protection laws and regulations as well as consumers’ heightened expectations to safeguard their personal information; and
•Ford Credit could be subject to new or increased credit regulations, consumer protection regulations, or other regulations.
We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast, or assumption made in preparing forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projection will be realized. It is to be expected that there may be differences between projected and actual results. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For additional discussion, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” above.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES THAT SUPPLEMENT GAAP MEASURES
We use both generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and non-GAAP financial measures for operational and financial decision making, and to assess Company and segment business performance. The non-GAAP measures listed below are intended to be considered by users as supplemental information to their equivalent GAAP measures, to aid investors in better understanding our financial results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful perspective on underlying business results and trends, and a means to assess our period-over-period results. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies due to possible differences in method and in items or events being adjusted.
•Company Adjusted EBIT (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Net Income/(Loss) Attributable to Ford) - Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) excludes interest on debt (excl. Ford Credit Debt), taxes, and pre-tax special items. This non-GAAP measure is useful to management and investors because it allows users to evaluate our operating results aligned with industry reporting. Our management ordinarily excludes special items from its review of the results of the operating segments for purposes of measuring segment profitability and allocating resources. Our categories of pre-tax special items and the applicable significance guideline for each item (which may consist of a group of items related to a single event or action) are as follows:
Pre-Tax Special Item Significance Guideline
∘ Pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses ∘ No minimum
∘ Personnel expenses, dealer-related costs, and facility-related charges stemming from our efforts to match production capacity and cost structure to market demand and changing model mix
∘ Generally $100 million or more
∘ Other items that we do not necessarily consider to be indicative of earnings from ongoing operating activities ∘ $500 million or more for individual field service actions; generally $100 million or more for other items
When we provide guidance for adjusted EBIT, we do not provide guidance on a net income basis because the GAAP measure will include potentially significant special items that have not yet occurred and are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty prior to year-end, including pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses.
•Company Adjusted EBIT Margin (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Company Net Income/(Loss) Margin) - Company Adjusted EBIT margin is Company adjusted EBIT divided by Company revenue. This non-GAAP measure is useful to management and investors because it allows users to evaluate our operating results aligned with industry reporting.
•Adjusted Earnings/(Loss) Per Share (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Earnings/(Loss) Per Share) - Measure of Company’s diluted net earnings/(loss) per share adjusted for impact of pre-tax special items (described above), tax special items, and restructuring impacts in noncontrolling interests. The measure provides investors with useful information to evaluate performance of our business excluding items not indicative of the underlying run rate of our business. When we provide guidance for adjusted earnings/(loss) per share, we do not provide guidance on an earnings/(loss) per share basis because the GAAP measure will include potentially significant special items that have not yet occurred and are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty prior to year-end, including pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses.
•Adjusted Effective Tax Rate (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Effective Tax Rate) - Measure of Company’s tax rate excluding pre-tax special items (described above) and tax special items. The measure provides an ongoing effective rate which investors find useful for historical comparisons and for forecasting. When we provide guidance for adjusted effective tax rate, we do not provide guidance on an effective tax rate basis because the GAAP measure will include potentially significant special items that have not yet occurred and are difficult to predict with reasonable certainty prior to year-end, including pension and OPEB remeasurement gains and losses.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
•Company Adjusted Free Cash Flow (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Net Cash Provided By/(Used In) Operating Activities) - Measure of Company’s operating cash flow excluding Ford Credit’s operating cash flows. The measure contains elements management considers operating activities, including Automotive and Mobility capital spending, Ford Credit distributions to its parent, and settlement of derivatives. The measure excludes cash outflows for funded pension contributions, global redesign (including separations), and other items that are considered operating cash flows under U.S. GAAP. This measure is useful to management and investors because it is consistent with management’s assessment of the Company’s operating cash flow performance. When we provide guidance for Company adjusted free cash flow, we do not provide guidance for net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities because the GAAP measure will include items that are difficult to quantify or predict with reasonable certainty, including cash flows related to the Company's exposures to foreign currency exchange rates and certain commodity prices (separate from any related hedges), Ford Credit's operating cash flows, and cash flows related to special items, including separation payments, each of which individually or in the aggregate could have a significant impact to our net cash provided by/(used in) our operating activities.
•Adjusted ROIC - Calculated as the sum of adjusted net operating profit after cash tax from the last four quarters, divided by the average invested capital over the last four quarters. Adjusted Return on Invested Capital (“Adjusted ROIC”) provides management and investors with useful information to evaluate the Company’s after-cash tax operating return on its invested capital for the period presented. Adjusted net operating profit after cash tax measures operating results less special items, interest on debt (excl. Ford Credit Debt), and certain pension/OPEB costs. Average invested capital is the sum of average balance sheet equity, debt (excl. Ford Credit Debt), and net pension/OPEB liability.
•Ford Credit Managed Receivables (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Net Finance Receivables plus Net Investment in Operating Leases) - Measure of Ford Credit’s total net receivables, excluding unearned interest supplements and residual support, allowance for credit losses, and other (primarily accumulated supplemental depreciation). The measure is useful to management and investors as it closely approximates the customer’s outstanding balance on the receivables, which is the basis for earning revenue.
•Ford Credit Managed Leverage (Most Comparable GAAP Measure: Financial Statement Leverage) - Ford Credit’s debt-to-equity ratio adjusted (i) to exclude cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities (other than amounts related to insurance activities), and (ii) for derivative accounting. The measure is useful to investors because it reflects the way Ford Credit manages its business. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities are deducted because they generally correspond to excess debt beyond the amount required to support operations and on-balance sheet securitization transactions. Derivative accounting adjustments are made to asset, debt, and equity positions to reflect the impact of interest rate instruments used with Ford Credit’s term-debt issuances and securitization transactions. Ford Credit generally repays its debt obligations as they mature, so the interim effects of changes in market interest rates are excluded in the calculation of managed leverage.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURE RECONCILIATIONS
The following tables show our Non-GAAP financial measure reconciliations. The GAAP reconciliation for Ford Credit Managed Leverage can be found in the Ford Credit Segment section of “Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
Net Income/(Loss) Reconciliation to Adjusted EBIT ($M)
2018 2019 2020
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford (GAAP) $ 3,677 $ 47 $ (1,279)
Income/(Loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests 18 37 3
Net income/(loss) $ 3,695 $ 84 $ (1,276)
Less: (Provision for)/Benefit from income taxes (650) 724 (160)
Income/(Loss) before income taxes $ 4,345 $ (640) $ (1,116)
Less: Special items pre-tax (1,429) (5,999) (2,246)
Income/(Loss) before special items pre-tax $ 5,774 $ 5,359 $ 1,130
Less: Interest on debt (1,228) (1,020) (1,649)
Adjusted EBIT (Non-GAAP) $ 7,002 $ 6,379 $ 2,779
Memo:
Revenue ($B) $ 160.3 $ 155.9 $ 127.1
Net income/(loss) margin (%) 2.3% 0.0% (1.0) %
Adjusted EBIT margin (%) 4.4% 4.1% 2.2%
Earnings/(Loss) per Share Reconciliation to Adjusted Earnings/(Loss) per Share
2018 2019 2020
Diluted After-Tax Results ($M)
Diluted after-tax results (GAAP) $ 3,677 $ 47 $ (1,279)
Less: Impact of pre-tax and tax special items (1,517) (4,676) (2,916)
Less: Noncontrolling interests impact of Russia restructuring - (35) -
Adjusted net income - Diluted (Non-GAAP) $ 5,194 $ 4,758 $ 1,637
Basic and Diluted Shares (M)
Basic shares (average shares outstanding) 3,974 3,972 3,973
Net dilutive options, unvested restricted stock units, and restricted stock 24 32 29
Diluted shares 3,998 4,004 4,002
Earnings/(Loss) per share - diluted (GAAP) (a) $ 0.92 $ 0.01 $ (0.32)
Less: Net impact of adjustments (0.38) (1.18) (0.73)
Adjusted earnings per share - diluted (Non-GAAP) $ 1.30 $ 1.19 $ 0.41
_________
(a)The 2020 calculation excludes the 29 million shares of net dilutive options, unvested restricted stock units, and restricted stock due to their antidilutive effect.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Effective Tax Rate Reconciliation to Adjusted Effective Tax Rate
2018 2019 2020
Pre-Tax Results ($M)
Income/(Loss) before income taxes (GAAP) $ 4,345 $ (640) $ (1,116)
Less: Impact of special items (1,429) (5,999) (2,246)
Adjusted earnings before taxes (Non-GAAP) $ 5,774 $ 5,359 $ 1,130
Taxes ($M)
(Provision for)/Benefit from income taxes (GAAP) $ (650) $ 724 $ (160)
Less: Impact of special items (a) (88) 1,323 (670)
Adjusted (provision for)/benefit from income taxes (Non-GAAP) $ (562) $ (599) $ 510
Tax Rate (%)
Effective tax rate (GAAP) 15.0% 113.1% (14.3) %
Adjusted effective tax rate (Non-GAAP) 9.7% 11.2% (45.1) %
_________
(a)2020 includes $(1.3) billion related to the establishment of valuation allowances against primarily U.S. tax credits.
Net Cash Provided by/(Used in) Operating Activities Reconciliation to Company Adjusted Free Cash Flow ($M)
2018 2019 2020
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities (GAAP) $ 15,022 $ 17,639 $ 24,269
Less: Items not included in Company Adjusted Free Cash Flows
Ford Credit operating cash flows $ 8,171 $ 11,531 $ 20,717
Funded pension contributions (437) (730) (570)
Global Redesign (including separations) (196) (911) (503)
Ford Credit tax payments/(refunds) under tax sharing agreement - 391 1,352
Other, net 82 (1) (837)
Add: Items included in Company Adjusted Free Cash Flows
Automotive and Mobility capital spending (7,737) (7,580) (5,702)
Ford Credit distributions 2,723 2,900 2,415
Settlement of derivatives 132 107 (171)
Pivotal conversion to a marketable security 263 - -
Company adjusted free cash flow (Non-GAAP) $ 2,781 $ 2,785 $ 652
__________
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Ford Credit Net Receivables Reconciliation to Managed Receivables ($B)
2018 2019 2020
Ford Credit finance receivables, net (GAAP) (a) $ 109.9 $ 107.4 $ 97.7
Net investments in operating leases (GAAP) (a) 27.4 27.6 26.6
Consolidating adjustments (b) 8.9 7.0 7.4
Total net receivables $ 146.2 $ 142.0 $ 131.7
Held-for-sale receivables (GAAP) - 1.5 -
Ford Credit unearned interest supplements and residual support 6.8 6.7 6.5
Allowance for credit losses 0.6 0.5 1.3
Other, primarily accumulated supplemental depreciation 1.2 1.0 1.0
Total managed receivables (Non-GAAP) $ 154.9 $ 151.7 $ 140.5
__________
(a)Includes finance receivables (retail and wholesale) sold for legal purposes and net investment in operating leases included in securitization transactions that do not satisfy the requirements for accounting sale treatment. These receivables and operating leases are reported on Ford Credit’s balance sheets and are available only for payment of the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions; they are not available to pay the other obligations of Ford Credit or the claims of Ford Credit’s other creditors.
(b)Primarily includes Automotive segment receivables purchased by Ford Credit which are classified to Trade and other receivables on our consolidated balance sheets. Also includes eliminations of intersegment transactions.
Note: Numbers may not sum due to rounding.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
2020 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
The tables below provide supplemental consolidating financial information and other financial information. Company excluding Ford Credit includes our Automotive and Mobility reportable segments, Corporate Other, Interest on Debt, and Special Items. Eliminations, where presented, primarily represent eliminations of intersegment transactions and deferred tax netting.
Selected Cash Flow Information. The following tables provide supplemental cash flow information (in millions):
For the Year Ended December 31, 2020
Cash flows from operating activities Company excluding Ford Credit Ford Credit Eliminations Consolidated
Net income/(loss) $ (3,200) $ 1,924 $ - $ (1,276)
Depreciation and tooling amortization 5,482 3,269 - 8,751
Other amortization 95 (1,389) - (1,294)
Held-for-sale impairment charges 23 - - 23
Brazil manufacturing exit non-cash charges (excluding accelerated depreciation of $145) 1,159 - - 1,159
Provision for credit and insurance losses 19 910 - 929
Pension and OPEB expense/(income) 1,027 - - 1,027
Equity investment dividends received in excess of (earnings)/losses 136 (6) - 130
Foreign currency adjustments (354) (66) - (420)
Net (gain)/loss on changes in investments in affiliates (3,474) 28 - (3,446)
Stock compensation 193 6 - 199
Provision for deferred income taxes (648) 379 - (269)
Decrease/(Increase) in finance receivables (wholesale and other) - 12,104 - 12,104
Decrease/(Increase) in intersegment receivables/payables 578 (578) - -
Decrease/(Increase) in accounts receivable and other assets (65) 2 - (63)
Decrease/(Increase) in inventory 148 - - 148
Increase/(Decrease) in accounts payable and accrued and other liabilities
6,790 19 - 6,809
Other (165) (77) - (242)
Interest supplements and residual value support to Ford Credit
(4,192) 4,192 - -
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities $ 3,552 $ 20,717 $ - $ 24,269
Cash flows from investing activities
Capital spending $ (5,702) $ (40) $ - $ (5,742)
Acquisitions of finance receivables and operating leases - (55,901) - (55,901)
Collections of finance receivables and operating leases - 48,746 - 48,746
Proceeds from sale of business - 1,340 - 1,340
Purchases of marketable securities and other investments (28,648) (10,976) - (39,624)
Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments 22,959 9,436 - 32,395
Settlements of derivatives (171) (152) - (323)
Other 494 - - 494
Investing activity (to)/from other segments 2,415 110 (2,525) -
Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities $ (8,653) $ (7,437) $ (2,525) $ (18,615)
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash payments for dividends and dividend equivalents $ (596) $ - $ - $ (596)
Purchases of common stock - - - -
Net changes in short-term debt 204 (2,495) - (2,291)
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 24,157 41,743 - 65,900
Principal payments on long-term debt (15,956) (44,558) - (60,514)
Other (78) (106) - (184)
Financing activity to/(from) other segments (110) (2,415) 2,525 -
Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities $ 7,621 $ (7,831) $ 2,525 $ 2,315
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash $ (54) $ 279 $ - $ 225
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selected Income Statement Information. The following table provides supplemental income statement information (in millions):
For the Year Ended December 31, 2020
Company excluding Ford Credit
Automotive Mobility Other (a) Subtotal Ford Credit Consolidated
Revenues $ 115,885 $ 56 $ - $ 115,941 $ 11,203 $ 127,144
Total costs and expenses 117,122 1,329 4,494 122,945 8,607 131,552
Operating income/(loss) (1,237) (1,273) (4,494) (7,004) 2,596 (4,408)
Interest expense on Automotive debt - - 1,603 1,603 - 1,603
Interest expense on Other debt - - 46 46 - 46
Other income/(loss), net 2,570 131 2,206 4,907 (8) 4,899
Equity in net income/(loss) of affiliated companies 300 (132) (146) 22 20 42
Income/(Loss) before income taxes 1,633 (1,274) (4,083) (3,724) 2,608 (1,116)
Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes (448) (306) 230 (524) 684 160
Net income/(loss) 2,081 (968) (4,313) (3,200) 1,924 (1,276)
Less: Income attributable to noncontrolling interests 3 - - 3 - 3
Net income/(loss) attributable to Ford Motor Company $ 2,078 $ (968) $ (4,313) $ (3,203) $ 1,924 $ (1,279)
__________
(a)Other includes Corporate Other, Interest on Debt, and Special Items
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selected Balance Sheet Information. The following tables provide supplemental balance sheet information (in millions):
December 31, 2020
Assets Company excluding
Ford Credit Ford Credit Eliminations Consolidated
Cash and cash equivalents $ 10,894 $ 14,349 $ - $ 25,243
Marketable securities 19,858 4,860 - 24,718
Ford Credit finance receivables, net - 42,401 - 42,401
Trade and other receivables, net 3,422 6,571 - 9,993
Inventories 10,808 - - 10,808
Assets held for sale 11 36 - 47
Other assets 1,987 1,547 - 3,534
Receivable from other segments - 2,718 (2,718) -
Total current assets 46,980 72,482 (2,718) 116,744
Ford Credit finance receivables, net - 55,277 - 55,277
Net investment in operating leases 1,304 26,647 - 27,951
Net property 36,864 219 - 37,083
Equity in net assets of affiliated companies 4,778 123 - 4,901
Deferred income taxes 14,757 165 (2,499) 12,423
Other assets 9,293 3,589 - 12,882
Receivable from other segments 10 22 (32) -
Total assets $ 113,986 $ 158,524 $ (5,249) $ 267,261
Liabilities
Payables $ 21,125 $ 1,079 $ - $ 22,204
Other liabilities and deferred revenue 21,942 1,703 - 23,645
Automotive debt payable within one year 1,194 - - 1,194
Ford Credit debt payable within one year - 49,969 - 49,969
Other debt payable within one year 180 - - 180
Liabilities held for sale - - - -
Payable to other segments 2,718 - (2,718) -
Total current liabilities 47,159 52,751 (2,718) 97,192
Other liabilities and deferred revenue 27,246 1,133 - 28,379
Automotive long-term debt 22,342 - - 22,342
Ford Credit long-term debt - 87,708 - 87,708
Other long-term debt 291 - - 291
Deferred income taxes 130 2,907 (2,499) 538
Payable to other segments 32 - (32) -
Total liabilities $ 97,200 $ 144,499 $ (5,249) $ 236,450
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Selected Other Information.
Equity. At December 31, 2019, total equity attributable to Ford was $33.2 billion, a decrease of $2.7 billion compared with December 31, 2018. At December 31, 2020, total equity attributable to Ford was $30.7 billion, a decrease of $2.5 billion compared with December 31, 2019. The detail for the changes is shown below (in billions):
2019 vs 2018 Increase/
(Decrease) 2020 vs 2019 Increase/
(Decrease)
Net income/(loss) $ - $ (1.3)
Shareholder distributions (2.6) (0.6)
Other comprehensive income/(loss) (0.3) (0.5)
Adoption of accounting standards - (0.2)
Common stock issued (including share-based compensation impacts) 0.2 0.1
Total $ (2.7) $ (2.5)
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (1) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (2) changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period, or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
Management has discussed the development and selection of these critical accounting estimates with the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors. In addition, there are other items within our financial statements that require estimation, but are not deemed critical as defined above. Changes in estimates used in these and other items could have a material impact on our financial statements.
Warranties and Field Service Actions
Nature of Estimates Required. We provide base warranties on the products we sell for specific periods of time and/or mileage, which vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale. Separately, we also periodically perform field service actions related to safety recalls, emission recalls, and other product campaigns. Pursuant to these warranties and field service actions, we will repair, replace, or adjust all parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship. We accrue the estimated cost of both base warranty coverages and field service actions at the time of sale. In addition, from time to time, we issue extended warranties at our expense, the estimated cost of which is accrued at the time of issuance.
Assumptions and Approach Used. We establish our estimate of base warranty obligations using a patterned estimation model. We use historical information regarding the nature, frequency, and average cost of claims for each vehicle line by model year. We reevaluate our estimate of base warranty obligations on a regular basis. Experience has shown that initial data for any given model year may be volatile; therefore, our process relies on long-term historical averages until sufficient data are available. As actual experience becomes available, we use the data to update the historical averages. We then compare the resulting accruals with present spending rates to assess whether the balances are adequate to meet expected future obligations. Based on this data, we update our estimates as necessary.
Field service actions are distinguishable from warranties in that they may occur in periods beyond the base warranty coverage period. We establish our estimates of field service action obligations using a patterned estimation model. We use historical information regarding the nature, frequency, severity, and average cost of claims for each model year. We assess our obligation for field service actions on a regular basis using actual claims experience and update our estimates as necessary.
Due to the uncertainty and potential volatility of the factors used in establishing our estimates, changes in our assumptions could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations. See Note 25 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for information regarding warranty and field service action costs.
Pensions and Other Postretirement Employee Benefits
Nature of Estimates Required. The estimation of our defined benefit pension and OPEB plan obligations and expenses requires that we make use of estimates of the present value of the projected future payments to all participants, taking into consideration the likelihood of potential future events, such as demographic experience and health care cost increases. Plan obligations and expenses are based on existing retirement plan provisions. No assumption is made regarding any potential future changes to benefit provisions beyond those to which we are presently committed (e.g., in existing labor contracts).
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Assumptions and Approach Used. The assumptions used in developing the required estimates include the following key factors:
•Discount rates. Our discount rate assumptions are based primarily on the results of cash flow matching analyses, which match the future cash outflows for each major plan to a yield curve based on high-quality bonds specific to the country of the plan. Benefit payments are discounted at the rates on the curve to determine the year-end obligations.
•Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets. Our expected long-term rate of return considers inputs from a range of advisors for capital market returns, inflation, bond yields, and other variables, adjusted for specific aspects of our investment strategy by plan. Historical returns also are considered when appropriate. The assumption is based on consideration of all inputs, with a focus on long-term trends to avoid short-term market influences.
•Salary growth. Our salary growth assumption reflects our actual experience, long-term outlook, and assumed inflation.
•Inflation. Our inflation assumption is based on an evaluation of external market indicators, including real gross domestic product growth and central bank inflation targets.
•Expected contributions. Our expected amount and timing of contributions are based on an assessment of minimum requirements, cash availability, and other considerations (e.g., funded status, avoidance of regulatory premiums and levies, and tax efficiency).
•Retirement rates. Retirement rates are developed to reflect actual and projected plan experience.
•Mortality rates. Mortality rates are developed to reflect actual and projected plan experience.
•Health care cost trends. Our health care cost trend assumptions are developed based on historical cost data, the near-term outlook, and an assessment of likely long-term trends.
Assumptions are set at each year-end and are generally not changed during the year unless there is a major plan event, such as a curtailment or settlement that would trigger a plan remeasurement.
See Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding pension and OPEB costs and assumptions.
Pension Plans
Effect of Actual Results. The year-end 2020 weighted average discount rate was 2.56% for U.S. plans and 1.23% for non-U.S. plans, reflecting decreases of 76 and 51 basis points, respectively, compared with year-end 2019. In 2020, the U.S. actual return on assets was 16.44%, which was higher than the expected long-term rate of return of 6.50%. Non-U.S. actual return on assets was 10.96%, which was higher than the expected long-term rate of return of 3.67%. In total, these differences, in addition to demographic and other updates, resulted in a net remeasurement loss of $876 million, which has been recognized within net periodic benefit cost and reported as a special item.
For 2021, the expected long-term rate of return on assets is 6.00% for U.S. plans, down 50 basis points from 2020, and 3.42% for non-U.S. plans, down 25 basis points compared with a year ago, reflecting a lower consensus on capital market return expectations from advisors.
De-risking Strategy. We employ a broad de-risking strategy for our global funded plans that increases the matching characteristics of our assets relative to our obligation as funded status improves. Changes in interest rates, which directly influence changes in discount rates, in addition to other factors have a significant impact on the value of our pension obligation and fixed income asset portfolio. Our de-risking strategy has increased the allocation to fixed income investments and reduced our funded status sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Changes in interest rates should result in offsetting effects in the value of our pension obligation and the value of the fixed income asset portfolio.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Sensitivity Analysis. The December 31, 2020 pension funded status and 2021 expense are affected by year-end 2020 assumptions. Sensitivities to these assumptions may be asymmetric and are specific to the time periods noted. The effects of changes in the factors that generally have the largest impact on year-end funded status and pension expense are discussed below.
Discount rates and interest rates have the largest impact on our obligations and fixed income assets. The table below estimates the effect on our funded status of an increase/decrease in discount rates and interest rates (in millions):
Basis
Point Change Increase/(Decrease) in
December 31, 2020 Funded Status
Factor U.S. Plans Non-U.S. Plans
Discount rate - obligation +/- 100 bps $5,200/$(6,400) $6,100/$(8,000)
Interest rate - fixed income assets +/- 100 (5,000)/6,100 (4,400)/5,700
Net impact on funded status $200/$(300) $1,700/$(2,300)
The fixed income asset sensitivity shown excludes other fixed income return components (e.g., changes in credit spreads, bond coupon and active management excess returns), and growth asset returns. Other factors that affect net funded status (e.g., contributions) are not reflected.
Interest rates and the expected long-term rate of return on assets have the largest effect on pension expense. These assumptions are generally set at each year-end for expense recorded throughout the following year. The table below estimates the effect on pension expense of a higher/lower assumption for these factors (in millions):
Basis
Point Change Increase/(Decrease) in
December 31, 2020 Pension Expense
Factor U.S. Plans Non-U.S. Plans
Interest rate - service cost and interest cost +/- 25 bps $60/$(60) $40/$(40)
Expected long-term rate of return on assets +/- 25 (120)/120 (80)/80
The effect of changing multiple factors simultaneously cannot be calculated by combining the individual sensitivities. The sensitivity of pension expense to an increase in discount rates assumptions may not be linear.
Other Postretirement Employee Benefits
Effect of Actual Results. The weighted average discount rate used to determine the benefit obligation for worldwide OPEB plans at December 31, 2020 was 2.62%, compared with 3.30% at December 31, 2019, resulting in a worldwide net remeasurement loss of $556 million, which has been recognized within net periodic benefit cost and reported as a special item.
Sensitivity Analysis. Discount rates and interest rates have the largest effect on our OPEB obligation and expense. The table below estimates the effect on 2021 OPEB expense of higher/lower assumptions for these factors (in millions):
Worldwide OPEB
Basis
Point Change (Increase)/Decrease
2020 YE Obligation Increase/(Decrease)
2020 Expense
Factor
Discount rate - obligation +/- 100 bps $750/$(950) N/A
Interest rate - service cost and interest cost +/- 25 N/A $10/$(10)
Income Taxes
Nature of Estimates Required. We must make estimates and apply judgment in determining the provision for income taxes for financial reporting purposes. We make these estimates and judgments primarily in the following areas: (i) the calculation of tax credits, (ii) the calculation of differences in the timing of recognition of revenue and expense for tax reporting and financial statement purposes, as well as (iii) the calculation of interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions. Changes in these estimates and judgments may result in a material increase or decrease to our tax provision, which would be recorded in the period in which the change occurs.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Assumptions and Approach Used. We are subject to the income tax laws and regulations of the many jurisdictions in which we operate. These tax laws and regulations are complex and involve uncertainties in the application to our facts and circumstances that may be open to interpretation. We recognize benefits for these uncertain tax positions based upon a process that requires judgment regarding the technical application of the laws, regulations, and various related judicial opinions. If, in our judgment, it is more likely than not (defined as a likelihood of more than 50%) that the uncertain tax position will be settled favorably for us, we estimate an amount that ultimately will be realized. This process is inherently subjective since it requires our assessment of the probability of future outcomes. We evaluate these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis, including consideration of changes in facts and circumstances, such as new regulations or recent judicial opinions, as well as the status of audit activities by taxing authorities. Changes to our estimate of the amount to be realized are recorded in our provision for income taxes during the period in which the change occurred.
We must also assess the likelihood that we will be able to recover our deferred tax assets against future sources of taxable income and reduce the carrying amount of deferred tax assets by recording a valuation allowance if, based on all available evidence, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of such assets will not be realized.
This assessment, which is completed on a taxing jurisdiction basis, takes into account various types of evidence, including the following:
•Nature, frequency, and severity of current and cumulative financial reporting losses. A pattern of objectively measured recent financial reporting losses is heavily weighted as a source of negative evidence. We generally consider cumulative pre-tax losses in the three-year period ending with the current quarter to be significant negative evidence regarding future profitability. We also consider the strength and trend of earnings, as well as other relevant factors. In certain circumstances, historical information may not be as relevant due to changes in our business operations;
•Sources of future taxable income. Future reversals of existing temporary differences are heavily weighted sources of objectively verifiable positive evidence. Projections of future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences are a source of positive evidence only when the projections are combined with a history of recent profits and can be reasonably estimated. Otherwise, these projections are considered inherently subjective and generally will not be sufficient to overcome negative evidence that includes relevant cumulative losses in recent years, particularly if the projected future taxable income is dependent on an anticipated turnaround to profitability that has not yet been achieved. In such cases, we generally give these projections of future taxable income no weight for the purposes of our valuation allowance assessment; and
•Tax planning strategies. If necessary and available, tax planning strategies would be implemented to accelerate taxable amounts to utilize expiring carryforwards. These strategies would be a source of additional positive evidence and, depending on their nature, could be heavily weighted.
During 2020, based on all available evidence, we established U.S. valuation allowances of $1.3 billion primarily against tax credits, as it is more likely than not that these deferred tax assets will not be realized. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider the trade-offs between cash preservation and cash outlays to preserve tax credits. We presently believe that global valuation allowances of $2 billion are required. We believe that we ultimately will recover the remaining $11.9 billion of deferred tax assets. However, the ultimate realization of our deferred tax assets is subject to a number of variables, including our future profitability within relevant tax jurisdictions, and future tax planning and the related effects on our cash and liquidity position. Accordingly, our valuation allowances may increase or decrease in future periods.
For additional information regarding income taxes, see Note 7 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Nature of Estimates Required - Held-and-Used Long-Lived Assets. We test our long-lived asset groups when changes in circumstances indicate their carrying value may not be recoverable. Events that trigger a test for recoverability include material adverse changes in projected revenues and expenses, present cash flow losses combined with a history of cash flow losses and a forecast that demonstrates significant continuing losses, significant negative industry or economic trends, a current expectation that a long-lived asset group will be disposed of significantly before the end of its useful life, a significant adverse change in the manner in which an asset group is used or in its physical condition, or when there is a change in the asset grouping. When a triggering event occurs, a test for recoverability is performed, comparing projected undiscounted future cash flows to the carrying value of the asset group. If the test for recoverability identifies a possible impairment, the asset group’s fair value is measured relying primarily on a discounted cash flow method. To the extent available, we will also consider third-party valuations of our long-lived assets that were prepared for other business purposes. An impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its estimated fair value. When an impairment loss is recognized for assets to be held and used, the adjusted carrying amounts of those assets are depreciated over their remaining useful life.
Nature of Estimates Required - Held-for-Sale Operations. We perform an impairment test on a disposal group to be discontinued, held for sale, or otherwise disposed of when we have committed to an action and the action is expected to be completed within one year. We estimate fair value to approximate the expected proceeds to be received less cost to sell and compare it to the carrying value of the disposal group. An impairment charge is recognized when the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value. We also assess fair value if circumstances arise that were considered unlikely and, as a result, we decide not to sell a disposal group previously classified as held for sale upon reclassification as held and used. When there is a change to a plan of sale, and the assets are reclassified from held for sale to held and used, the long-lived assets should be reported at the lower of (i) the carrying amount before held for sale designation, adjusted for depreciation that would have been recognized if the assets had not been classified as held for sale or (ii) the fair value at the date the assets no longer satisfy the criteria for classification as held for sale.
Assumptions and Approach Used - Held-and-Used Long-Lived Assets. We measure the fair value of an asset group based on market prices (i.e., the amount for which the asset could be sold to a third party) when available. When market prices are not available, we generally estimate the fair value of the asset group using the income approach and/or the market approach. The income approach uses cash flow projections. Inherent in our development of cash flow projections are assumptions and estimates derived from a review of our operating results, business plan forecasts, expected growth rates, and cost of capital, similar to those a market participant would use to assess fair value. We also make certain assumptions about future economic conditions and other data. Many of the factors used in assessing fair value are outside the control of management, and these assumptions and estimates may change in future periods.
Changes in assumptions or estimates can materially affect the fair value measurement of an asset group and, therefore, can affect the test results. The following are key assumptions we use in making cash flow projections:
•Business projections. We make assumptions about the demand for our products in the marketplace. These
assumptions drive our planning assumptions for volume, mix, and pricing. We also make assumptions about our cost levels (e.g., capacity utilization, cost performance). These projections are derived using our internal business plan forecasts that are updated at least annually and reviewed by our Board of Directors.
•Long-term growth rate. A growth rate is used to calculate the terminal value of the business and is added to the present value of the debt-free interim cash flows. The growth rate is the expected rate at which a business unit’s earnings stream is projected to grow beyond the planning period.
•Discount rate. When measuring possible impairment, future cash flows are discounted at a rate that is consistent with a weighted-average cost of capital that we anticipate a potential market participant would use. Weighted-average cost of capital is an estimate of the overall risk-adjusted pre-tax rate of return expected by equity and debt holders of a business enterprise.
•Economic projections. Assumptions regarding general economic conditions are included in and affect our assumptions regarding industry sales and pricing estimates for our vehicles. These macroeconomic assumptions include, but are not limited to, industry sales volumes, inflation, interest rates, prices of raw materials (e.g., commodities), and foreign currency exchange rates.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
During 2020, we experienced triggering events in all of our Automotive asset groups related to the COVID-19 pandemic and in certain asset groups due to our ongoing global redesign. The impact of COVID-19, including changes in consumer behavior, pandemic fears, market downturns, and restrictions on business and individual activities, has created significant volatility in the global economy and led to reduced economic activity. There have been extraordinary actions taken by international, federal, state, and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in regions throughout the world, including travel bans, quarantines, “stay-at-home” orders, and similar mandates for many individuals to substantially restrict daily activities and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. In addition, we have continued to progress our global redesign, which began in 2018, by reassessing our operations and reducing structural costs.
In each situation in which we experienced a triggering event during the year, we tested our long-lived assets for impairment using our internal economic and business projections, as well as third-party valuations of certain long-lived assets, and determined that the carrying value of the long-lived assets in these business units was recoverable. If in future quarters our economic or business projections were to change as a result of our plans or changes in the economic or business environment, there was a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which a long-lived asset is being used, or there was a current expectation that a long-lived asset group will be disposed of significantly before the end of its useful life, we would undertake additional testing, as appropriate, which could result in an impairment of long-lived assets.
Assumptions and Approach Used - Held-for-Sale Operations. In the third quarter of 2019, we committed to a plan to sell specific net assets in our India Automotive operations. We entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (“Mahindra”), with Mahindra owning a 51 percent controlling stake and Ford owning a 49 percent stake. As a result of fundamental changes in global economic and business conditions in 2020, caused in part by the global pandemic, on December 31, 2020, we and Mahindra determined that we will not complete the joint venture. Accordingly, at December 31, 2020, the assets and liabilities of our India Automotive operations were reclassified and reported as held and used. Because the carrying value of the net assets approximated fair value at December 31, 2020, the pre-tax impairment charges of $804 million and $23 million recorded in 2019 and 2020, respectively, which were reported in Cost of sales, were not adjusted as a result of the reclassification to held and used. See Note 22 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding held-for-sale operations.
Allowance for Credit Losses
The allowance for credit losses represents Ford Credit’s estimate of the expected lifetime credit losses inherent in finance receivables as of the balance sheet date. The adequacy of Ford Credit’s allowance for credit losses is assessed quarterly, and the assumptions and models used in establishing the allowance are evaluated regularly. Because credit losses can vary substantially over time, estimating credit losses requires a number of assumptions about matters that are uncertain. Changes in assumptions affect Ford Credit interest, operating, and other expenses on our consolidated income statements and the allowance for credit losses contained within Ford Credit finance receivables, net on our consolidated balance sheets. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding allowance for credit losses.
Nature of Estimates Required. Ford Credit estimates the allowance for credit losses for receivables that share similar risk characteristics based on a collective assessment using a combination of measurement models and management judgment. The models consider factors such as historical trends in credit losses, recent portfolio performance, and forward-looking macroeconomic conditions. The models vary by portfolio and receivable type including consumer finance receivables, wholesale loans, and dealer loans. If Ford Credit does not believe the models reflect lifetime expected credit losses for the portfolio, an adjustment is made to reflect management judgment regarding qualitative factors including economic uncertainty, observable changes in portfolio performance, and other relevant factors.
Assumptions Used. Ford Credit’s allowance for credit losses is based on its assumptions regarding:
•Probability of default. The expected probability of payment and time to default, which include assumptions about macroeconomic factors and recent performance; and
•Loss given default. The percentage of the expected balance due at default that is not recoverable. The loss given default takes into account expected collateral value and future recoveries.
Macroeconomic factors used in Ford Credit’s models are country specific and include variables such as unemployment rates, housing prices, and gross domestic product.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
Sensitivity Analysis. Changes in the probability of default and loss given default assumptions would affect the allowance for credit losses. The effect of the indicated increase/decrease in the assumptions for Ford Credit’s U.S. Ford and Lincoln retail financing is as follows (in millions):
Assumption Basis Point Change
Increase/(Decrease)
Probability of default (lifetime) +/- 100 bps $200/$(200)
Loss given default +/- 100 15/(15)
Accumulated Depreciation on Vehicles Subject to Operating Leases
Accumulated depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases reduces the value of the leased vehicles in Ford Credit’s operating lease portfolio from their original acquisition value to their expected residual value at the end of the lease term.
Ford Credit monitors residual values each month, and it reviews the adequacy of accumulated depreciation on a quarterly basis. If Ford Credit believes that the expected residual values for its vehicles have changed, it revises depreciation to ensure that net investment in operating leases (equal to the acquisition value of the vehicles less accumulated depreciation) will be adjusted to reflect Ford Credit’s revised estimate of the expected residual value at the end of the lease term. Adjustments to depreciation expense result in a change in the depreciation rates of the vehicles subject to operating leases and are recorded prospectively on a straight-line basis.
Each lease customer has the option to buy the leased vehicle at the end of the lease or to return the vehicle to the dealer.
Nature of Estimates Required. Each operating lease in Ford Credit’s portfolio represents a vehicle it owns that has been leased to a customer. At the time Ford Credit purchases a lease, it establishes an expected residual value for the vehicle. Ford Credit estimates the expected residual value by evaluating recent auction values, return volumes for its leased vehicles, industrywide used vehicle prices, marketing incentive plans, and vehicle quality data.
Assumptions Used. Ford Credit’s accumulated depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases is based on assumptions regarding:
•Auction value. Ford Credit’s projection of the market value of the vehicles when sold at the end of the lease; and
•Return volume. Ford Credit’s projection of the number of vehicles that will be returned at lease-end.
See Note 12 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding accumulated depreciation on vehicles subject to operating leases.
Sensitivity Analysis. For returned vehicles, Ford Credit faces a risk that the amount it obtains from the vehicle sold at auction will be less than its estimate of the expected residual value for the vehicle. The impact of the change in assumptions on future auction values and return volumes would increase or decrease accumulated supplemental depreciation and depreciation expense over the remaining terms of the operating leases. The effect of the indicated increase/decrease in the assumptions for Ford Credit’s U.S. Ford and Lincoln operating lease portfolio is as follows (in millions):
Assumption Basis Point
Change
Increase/(Decrease)
Future auction values +/- 100 bps $(124)/$124
Return volumes +/- 100 13/(13)
Adjustments to the amount of accumulated supplemental depreciation on operating leases are reflected on our balance sheets as Net investment in operating leases and on our income statements in Ford Credit interest, operating, and other expenses.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (Continued)
ACCOUNTING STANDARDS ISSUED BUT NOT YET ADOPTED
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued the following Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) which are not expected to have a material impact to our financial statements or financial statement disclosures.
ASU Effective Date (a)
2019-12 Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes January 1, 2021
2020-06 Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity January 1, 2022
2018-12 Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long Duration Contracts January 1, 2023
_________
(a)Early adoption for each of the standards is permitted.
AGGREGATE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
We are party to many contractual obligations involving commitments to make payments to third parties. Most of these are debt obligations incurred by our Ford Credit segment. Long-term debt may have fixed or variable interest rates. For long-term debt with variable-rate interest, we estimate the future interest payments based on projected market interest rates for various floating-rate benchmarks received from third parties. In addition, as part of our normal business practices, we enter into contracts with suppliers for purchases of certain raw materials, components, and services to facilitate adequate supply of these materials and services. These arrangements may contain fixed or minimum quantity purchase requirements. “Purchase obligations” are defined as off-balance sheet agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding on the Company and that specify all significant terms.
The table below summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020 (in millions):
Payments Due by Period
2021 2022 - 2023 2024 - 2025 Thereafter Total
Company excluding Ford Credit
On-balance sheet
Long-term debt (a) $ 716 $ 6,396 $ 4,590 $ 11,709 $ 23,411
Interest payments relating to long-term debt 1,482 2,693 2,017 9,916 16,108
Finance leases (b) 60 97 64 303 524
Operating leases 348 460 247 334 1,389
Pension funding (c) 185 375 370 - 930
Off-balance sheet
Purchase obligations 1,626 1,429 682 370 4,107
Total Company excluding Ford Credit 4,417 11,450 7,970 22,632 46,469
Ford Credit
On-balance sheet
Long-term debt (a) 38,530 47,087 28,747 10,639 125,003
Interest payments relating to long-term debt 2,946 3,815 1,980 1,053 9,794
Operating leases 18 29 26 18 91
Off-balance sheet
Purchase obligations 29 40 4 - 73
Total Ford Credit 41,523 50,971 30,757 11,710 134,961
Total Company $ 45,940 $ 62,421 $ 38,727 $ 34,342 $ 181,430
__________
(a)Excludes unamortized debt discounts/premiums, unamortized debt issuance costs, and fair value adjustments.
(b)Includes interest payments of $110 million.
(c)Amounts represent our estimate of contractually obligated contributions to the Ford-Werke plan. See Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for further information regarding our expected 2020 pension contributions and funded status.
The amount of unrecognized tax benefits for 2020 of $1.9 billion (see Note 7 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional discussion) is excluded from the table above. Final settlement of a significant portion of these obligations will require bilateral tax agreements among us and various countries, the timing of which cannot reasonably be estimated.
For additional information regarding pension and OPEB obligations, operating lease obligations, long-term debt, and agreed future funding for Argo AI, see Notes 17, 18, 19, and 22, respectively, of the Notes to the Financial Statements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
OVERVIEW
We are exposed to a variety of market and other risks, including the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, and interest rates, as well as risks to availability of funding sources, hazard events, and specific asset risks.
These risks affect our Automotive and Ford Credit segments differently. We monitor and manage these exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program, which includes regular reports to a central management committee, the Global Risk Management Committee (“GRMC”). The GRMC is chaired by our Chief Financial Officer, and the committee includes our Controller, Treasurer, and other members of senior management.
Our Automotive and Ford Credit segments are exposed to liquidity risk, including the possibility of having to curtail business or being unable to meet financial obligations as they come due because funding sources may be reduced or become unavailable. Our plan is to maintain funding sources to ensure liquidity through a variety of economic or business cycles. As discussed in greater detail in Item 7, our funding sources include sales of receivables in securitizations and other structured financings, unsecured debt issuances, equity and equity-linked issuances, and bank borrowings.
We are exposed to a variety of insurable risks, such as loss or damage to property, liability claims, and employee injury. We protect against these risks through the purchase of commercial insurance that is designed to protect us above our self-insured retentions against events that could generate significant losses.
Direct responsibility for the execution of our market risk management strategies resides with our Treasurer’s Office and is governed by written policies and procedures. Separation of duties is maintained between the development and authorization of derivative trades, the transaction of derivatives, and the settlement of cash flows. Regular audits are conducted to ensure that appropriate controls are in place and that they remain effective. In addition, our market risk exposures and our use of derivatives to manage these exposures are approved by the GRMC, and reviewed by the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.
In accordance with our corporate risk management policies, we use derivative instruments, when available, such as forward contracts, swaps, and options that economically hedge certain exposures (foreign currency, commodity, and interest rates). We do not use derivative contracts for trading, market-making, or speculative purposes. In certain instances, we forgo hedge accounting, and in certain other instances, our derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting. Either situation results in unrealized gains and losses that are recognized in income. For additional information on our derivatives, see Note 20 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.
The market and counterparty risks of our Automotive and Ford Credit segments are discussed and quantified below.
AUTOMOTIVE MARKET RISK
Our Automotive segment frequently has expenditures and receipts denominated in foreign currencies, including the following: purchases and sales of finished vehicles and production parts, debt and other payables, subsidiary dividends, and investments in foreign operations. These expenditures and receipts create exposures to changes in exchange rates. We also are exposed to changes in prices of commodities used in the production of our vehicles and changes in interest rates.
Foreign currency risk, commodity risk, and interest rate risk are measured and quantified using a model to evaluate the sensitivity of market value to instantaneous, parallel shifts in rates and/or prices.
Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign currency risk is the possibility that our financial results could be worse than planned because of changes in currency exchange rates. Accordingly, our practice is to use derivative instruments to hedge our economic exposure with respect to forecasted revenues and costs, assets, liabilities, and firm commitments denominated in certain foreign currencies consistent with our overall risk management strategy. In our hedging actions, we use derivative instruments commonly used by corporations to reduce foreign exchange risk (e.g., forward contracts).
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)
The net fair value of foreign exchange forward contracts (including adjustments for credit risk) as of December 31, 2020, was a liability of $487 million, compared with a liability of $596 million as of December 31, 2019. The potential decrease in fair value from a 10% adverse change in the underlying exchange rates, in U.S. dollar terms, would have been $2.5 billion at December 31, 2020, compared with $2.3 billion at December 31, 2019. The sensitivity analysis presented is hypothetical and assumes foreign exchange rate changes are instantaneous and adverse across all currencies. In reality, some of our exposures offset and foreign exchange rates move in different magnitudes and at different times, and any changes in fair value would generally be offset by changes in the underlying exposure. See Note 20 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding our foreign currency exchange contracts.
Commodity Price Risk. Commodity price risk is the possibility that our financial results could be worse than planned because of changes in the prices of commodities used in the production of motor vehicles, such as base metals (e.g., steel, copper, and aluminum), precious metals (e.g., palladium), energy (e.g., natural gas and electricity), and plastics/resins (e.g., polypropylene). Accordingly, our practice is to use derivative instruments to hedge the price risk with respect to forecasted purchases of certain commodities that we can economically hedge (primarily base metals and precious metals) and consistent with our overall risk management strategy. In our hedging actions, we use derivative instruments commonly used by corporations to reduce commodity price risk (e.g., financially settled forward contracts). The extent to which we hedge is also impacted by our ability to achieve designated hedge accounting.
The net fair value of commodity forward contracts (including adjustments for credit risk) as of December 31, 2020, was an asset of $105 million, compared with a liability of $24 million as of December 31, 2019. The potential decrease in fair value from a 10% adverse change in the underlying commodity prices would be $141 million at December 31, 2020, compared with $112 million at December 31, 2019. The sensitivity analysis presented is hypothetical and assumes commodity price changes are instantaneous and adverse across all commodities. In reality, commodity prices move in different magnitudes and at different times, and any changes in fair value would generally be offset by changes in the underlying exposure.
In addition, our purchasing organization (with guidance from the GRMC, as appropriate) negotiates contracts for the continuous supply of raw materials. In some cases, these contracts stipulate minimum purchase amounts and specific prices, and, therefore, play a role in managing commodity price risk.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk relates to the loss we could incur in our Company cash investment portfolios due to a change in interest rates. Our interest rate sensitivity analysis on the investment portfolios includes cash and cash equivalents and net marketable securities. At December 31, 2020, we had $30.8 billion in our Company cash investment portfolios, compared to $22.3 billion at December 31, 2019. We invest the portfolios in securities of various types and maturities, the value of which are subject to fluctuations in interest rates. The investment strategy is based on clearly defined risk and liquidity guidelines to maintain liquidity, minimize risk, and earn a reasonable return on the short-term investments. In investing our Company cash, safety of principal is the primary objective and risk-adjusted return is the secondary objective.
At any time, a rise in interest rates could have a material adverse impact on the fair value of our portfolios. Assuming a hypothetical increase in interest rates of one percentage point, the value of our portfolios would be reduced by $250 million, as calculated as of December 31, 2020. This compares to $173 million, as calculated as of December 31, 2019. While these are our best estimates of the impact of the specified interest rate scenario, actual results could differ from those projected. The sensitivity analysis presented assumes interest rate changes are instantaneous, parallel shifts in the yield curve. In reality, interest rate changes of this magnitude are rarely instantaneous or parallel.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)
FORD CREDIT MARKET RISK
Market risk for Ford Credit is the possibility that changes in interest and currency exchange rates will adversely affect cash flow and economic value.
Interest Rate Risk. Generally, Ford Credit’s assets and the related debt have different re-pricing periods, and consequently, respond differently to changes in interest rates.
Ford Credit’s assets consist primarily of fixed-rate retail financing and operating lease contracts and floating-rate wholesale receivables. Fixed-rate retail financing and operating lease contracts generally require customers to make equal monthly payments over the life of the contract. Wholesale receivables are originated to finance new and used vehicles held in dealers’ inventory and generally require dealers to pay a floating rate.
Debt consists primarily of short- and long-term unsecured and securitized debt. Ford Credit’s term debt instruments are principally fixed-rate and require fixed and equal interest payments over the life of the instrument and a single principal payment at maturity.
Ford Credit’s interest rate risk management objective is to reduce volatility in its cash flows and volatility in its economic value from changes in interest rates based on an established risk tolerance that may vary by market. Ford Credit uses economic value sensitivity analysis and re-pricing gap analysis to evaluate potential long-term effects of changes in interest rates. It then enters into interest rate swaps to convert portions of its floating-rate debt to fixed or its fixed-rate debt to floating to ensure that Ford Credit’s exposure falls within the established tolerances. Ford Credit also uses pre-tax cash flow sensitivity analysis to monitor the level of near-term cash flow exposure. The pre-tax cash flow sensitivity analysis measures the changes in expected cash flows associated with Ford Credit’s interest-rate-sensitive assets, liabilities, and derivative financial instruments from hypothetical changes in interest rates over a twelve-month horizon. Ford Credit’s Asset-Liability Committee reviews the re-pricing mismatch and exposure every month and approves interest rate swaps required to maintain exposure within approved thresholds prior to execution.
To provide a quantitative measure of the sensitivity of its pre-tax cash flow to changes in interest rates, Ford Credit uses interest rate scenarios that assume a hypothetical, instantaneous increase or decrease of one percentage point in all interest rates across all maturities (a “parallel shift”), as well as a base case that assumes that all interest rates remain constant at existing levels. In reality, interest rate changes are rarely instantaneous or parallel and rates could move more or less than the one percentage point assumed in Ford Credit’s analysis. As a result, the actual impact to pre-tax cash flow could be higher or lower than the results detailed in the table below. These interest rate scenarios are purely hypothetical and do not represent Ford Credit’s view of future interest rate movements.
Under these interest rate scenarios, Ford Credit expects more debt and liabilities than assets to re-price in the next twelve months. Other things being equal, this means that during a period of rising interest rates, the interest received on Ford Credit’s assets will increase less than the interest paid on Ford Credit’s debt, thereby initially decreasing Ford Credit’s pre-tax cash flow. During a period of falling interest rates, Ford Credit would expect its pre-tax cash flow to initially increase. Ford Credit’s pre-tax cash flow sensitivity to interest rate movement is highlighted in the table below.
Pre-tax cash flow sensitivity at December 31 was as follows (in millions):
Pre-Tax Cash Flow Sensitivity
2019 2020
One percentage point instantaneous increase in interest rates
$ (26) $ (3)
One percentage point instantaneous decrease in interest rates (a)
26 3
__________
(a)Pre-tax cash flow sensitivity given a one percentage point decrease in interest rates requires an assumption of negative interest rates in markets where existing interest rates are below one percent.
While the sensitivity analysis presented is Ford Credit’s best estimate of the impacts of the specified assumed interest rate scenarios, its actual results could differ from those projected. The model Ford Credit uses to conduct this analysis is heavily dependent on assumptions. Embedded in the model are assumptions regarding the reinvestment of maturing asset principal, refinancing of maturing debt, replacement of maturing derivatives, exercise of options embedded in debt and derivatives, and predicted repayment of retail financing and operating lease contracts ahead of contractual maturity. Ford Credit’s repayment projections ahead of contractual maturity are based on historical experience. If interest rates or other factors change, Ford Credit’s actual prepayment experience could be different than projected.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk (Continued)
Foreign Currency Risk. Ford Credit’s policy is to minimize exposure to changes in currency exchange rates. To meet funding objectives, Ford Credit borrows in a variety of currencies, principally U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, euros, sterling, and renminbi. Ford Credit faces exposure to currency exchange rates if a mismatch exists between the currency of receivables and the currency of the debt funding those receivables. When possible, receivables are funded with debt in the same currency, minimizing exposure to exchange rate movements. When a different currency is used, Ford Credit may use foreign currency swaps and foreign currency forwards to convert substantially all of its foreign currency debt obligations to the local country currency of the receivables. As a result of this policy, Ford Credit believes its market risk exposure, relating to changes in currency exchange rates at December 31, 2020, is insignificant.
Derivative Fair Values. The net fair value of Ford Credit’s derivative financial instruments was an asset of $2.1 billion and $772 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
COUNTERPARTY RISK
Counterparty risk relates to the loss we could incur if an obligor or counterparty defaulted on an investment or a derivative contract. We enter into master agreements with counterparties that allow netting of certain exposures in order to manage this risk. Exposures primarily relate to investments in fixed income instruments and derivative contracts used for managing interest rate, foreign currency exchange rate, and commodity price risk. We, together with Ford Credit, establish exposure limits for each counterparty to minimize risk and provide counterparty diversification.
Our approach to managing counterparty risk is forward-looking and proactive, allowing us to take risk mitigation actions before risks become losses. Exposure limits are established based on our overall risk tolerance, which is calculated from counterparty credit ratings and market-based credit default swap (“CDS”) spreads. The exposure limits are lower for smaller and lower-rated counterparties, counterparties that have relatively higher CDS spreads, and for longer dated exposures. Our exposures are monitored on a regular basis and included in periodic reports to our Treasurer.
Substantially all of our counterparty exposures are with counterparties that have an investment grade rating. Investment grade is our guideline for minimum counterparty long-term ratings.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, our Financial Statements, the accompanying Notes to the Financial Statements, and the Financial Statement Schedule that are filed as part of this Report are listed under “Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules” and are set forth beginning on page 98 immediately following the signature pages of this Report.
Selected quarterly financial data for 2019 and 2020 are provided in Note 27 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. James D. Farley, Jr., our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), and John T. Lawler, our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), have performed an evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), as of December 31, 2020, and each has concluded that such disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our periodic reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the CEO and CFO to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or because the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our CEO and CFO, we conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. The assessment was based on criteria established in the framework Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013), issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its report included herein.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. There were no changes in internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. Other Information.
None.
PART III.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers of Ford, and Corporate Governance.
The information required by Item 10 regarding our directors is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Proposal 1. Election of Directors,” “Corporate Governance - Beneficial Stock Ownership,” and “Corporate Governance - Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding our executive officers appears as Item 4A under Part I of this Report. The information required by Item 10 regarding an audit committee financial expert is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Corporate Governance - Audit Committee Financial Expert and Auditor Rotation” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding the members of our Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Proxy Summary,” “Corporate Governance - Board Committee Functions,” “Corporate Governance - Audit Committee Financial Expert and Auditor Rotation,” and “Proposal 1 - Election of Directors” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding the Audit Committee’s review and discussion of the audited financial statements is incorporated by reference from information under the caption “Audit Committee Report” in our Proxy Statement. The information required by Item 10 regarding our codes of ethics is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Corporate Governance - Codes of Ethics” in our Proxy Statement. In addition, we have included in Item 1 instructions for how to access our codes of ethics on our website and our Internet address. Amendments to, and waivers granted under, our Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Personnel, if any, will be posted to our website as well.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. Executive Compensation.
The information required by Item 11 is incorporated by reference from the information under the following captions in our Proxy Statement: “Director Compensation in 2020,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Report,” “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” “Compensation of Named Executives,” “Summary Compensation Table,” “Grants of Plan-Based Awards in 2020,” “Outstanding Equity Awards at 2020 Fiscal Year-End,” “Option Exercises and Stock Vested in 2020,” “Pension Benefits in 2020,” “Nonqualified Deferred Compensation in 2020,” “Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change-in-Control,” and “Pay Ratio.”

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The information required by Item 12 is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Equity Compensation Plan Information” and “Corporate Governance - Beneficial Stock Ownership” in our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The information required by Item 13 is incorporated by reference from the information under the captions “Corporate Governance - Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and “Corporate Governance - Independence of Directors and Relevant Facts and Circumstances” in our Proxy Statement.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The information required by Item 14 is incorporated by reference from the information under the caption “Proposal 2. Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in our Proxy Statement.
PART IV.

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) 1. Financial Statements - Ford Motor Company and Subsidiaries
The following are contained in this 2020 Form 10-K Report:
•Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
•Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
•Consolidated Income Statements for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
•Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
•Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2019 and 2020.
•Consolidated Statements of Equity for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
•Notes to the Financial Statements.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, the Consolidated Financial Statements, and the Notes to the Financial Statements listed above are filed as part of this Report and are set forth beginning on page 98 immediately following the signature pages of this Report.
(a) 2. Financial Statement Schedules
Designation Description
Schedule II Valuation and Qualifying Accounts for the years ended 2018, 2019, and 2020
Schedule II is filed as part of this Report and is set forth on page 170 immediately following the Notes to the Financial Statements referred to above. The other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable, the information required to be contained in them is disclosed elsewhere on our Consolidated Financial Statements, or the amounts involved are not sufficient to require submission.
(a) 3. Exhibits
Designation Description Method of Filing
Exhibit 3-A
Restated Certificate of Incorporation, dated August 2, 2000. Filed as Exhibit 3-A to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000. (a)
Exhibit 3-A-1
Certificate of Designations of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock filed on September 11, 2009. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 11, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 3-B
By-laws. Filed as Exhibit 3.2 to our Form 8-A/A filed on September 11, 2015. (a)
Exhibit 4-A
Tax Benefit Preservation Plan (“TBPP”) dated September 11, 2009 between Ford Motor Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 11, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-1
Amendment No. 1 to TBPP dated September 11, 2012.
Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 12, 2012. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-2
Amendment No. 2 to TBPP dated September 9, 2015.
Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 11, 2015. (a)
Exhibit 4-A-3
Amendment No. 3 to TBPP dated September 13, 2018. Filed as Exhibit 4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 14, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 4-B
Description of Securities. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 10-A
Executive Separation Allowance Plan, as amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2018. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 7, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 10-B
Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, as amended and restated as of January 1, 2012. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-B to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. (a)
Exhibit 10-C
2014 Stock Plan for Non-Employee Directors (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-C to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. (a)
Designation Description Method of Filing
Exhibit 10-D
Benefit Equalization Plan, as amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2018. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 7, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 10-E
Description of financial counseling services provided to certain executives. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-E to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-F
Defined Benefit Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, as amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2018. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 7, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 10-F-1
Defined Contribution Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, as amended and restated effective as of July 9, 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-G
Description of Director Compensation as of July 13, 2006. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-G-3 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. (a)
Exhibit 10-G-1
Amendment to Description of Director Compensation as of February 8, 2012. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-F-3 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. (a)
Exhibit 10-G-2
Amendment to Description of Director Compensation as of July 1, 2013. (b)
Filed as Exhibit 10-G-2 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. (a)
Exhibit 10-G-3
Amendment to Description of Director Compensation as of January 1, 2017. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-G-3 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. (a)
Exhibit 10-H
2008 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008. (a)
Exhibit 10-I
Description of Matching Gift Program and Vehicle Evaluation Program for Non-Employee Directors. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-I to our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2005. (a)
Exhibit 10-J
Non-Employee Directors Life Insurance and Optional Retirement Plan as amended and restated as of December 31, 2010. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-I to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. (a)
Exhibit 10-K Description of Non-Employee Directors Accidental Death, Dismemberment and Permanent Total Disablement Indemnity. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-S to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1992. (a)
Exhibit 10-K-1
Description of Amendment to Basic Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-K-1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. (a)
Exhibit 10-L
Executive Waiver and Release Agreement between Ford Motor Company and Joseph R. Hinrichs dated February 21, 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-M
Offer Letter to Tim Stone dated March 11, 2019. (b) Filed as Exhibit 99 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 4, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-M-1
Executive Separation Waiver and Release Agreement between Ford Motor Company and Tim Stone dated September 30, 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-N
Agreement between Ford Motor Company and James D. Farley, Jr. dated August 3, 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-O
Select Retirement Plan, as amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2018. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.4 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed February 7, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 10-P
Deferred Compensation Plan, as amended and restated as of December 31, 2010. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-M to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. (a)
Exhibit 10-P-1
Suspension of Open Enrollment in Deferred Compensation Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-M-1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q
Annual Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended and restated effective as of September 9, 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-1
Annual Incentive Compensation Plan Metrics for 2019. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-2
Annual Incentive Compensation Plan Metrics for 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-3
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2017. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-O-10 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-4
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2018. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-5
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2019. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-6
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Metrics for 2020. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-7
Executive Compensation Recoupment Policy. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-N-8 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. (a)
Exhibit 10-Q-8
Incremental Bonus Description. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-N-9 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. (a)
Exhibit 10-R
2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 4.1 to Registration Statement No. 333-226348. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-1
Form of Stock Option Terms and Conditions for Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.4 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020. (a)
Designation Description Method of Filing
Exhibit 10-R-2
Form of Stock Option Agreement for Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-3 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-3
Form of Stock Option Agreement (ISO) for Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-4 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-4
Form of Stock Option Agreement (U.K. NQO) for Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-5 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-5
Form of Stock Option (U.K.) Terms and Conditions for Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 10-R-6
Form of Restricted Stock Grant Letter. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-7 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-7
Form of Final Award Notification Letter for Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-8 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-8
Form of Annual Equity Grant Letter V.1. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-9 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-9
Form of Annual Equity Grant Letter V.2. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-10 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-10
Long-Term Incentive Plan Restricted Stock Unit Agreement. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-11 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-11
Long-Term Incentive Plan Restricted Stock Unit Terms and Conditions. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-12 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-12
Form of Final Award Agreement for Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units under Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-13 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-13
Form of Final Award Terms and Conditions for Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units under Long-Term Incentive Plan. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-14 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-R-14
Form of Notification Letter for Time-Based Restricted Stock Units. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-15 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-S
Agreement dated January 13, 1999 between Ford Motor Company and Edsel B. Ford II. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-X to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. (a)
Exhibit 10-S-1
Amendment dated May 5, 2010 to the Consulting Agreement between Ford Motor Company and Edsel B. Ford II. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. (a)
Exhibit 10-S-2
Amendment dated January 1, 2012 to the Consulting Agreement between Ford Motor Company and Edsel B. Ford II. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-P-2 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. (a)
Exhibit 10-T
Second Amended and Restated Relationship Agreement dated March 19, 2020 between Ford Motor Company and Ford Motor Credit Company LLC. Filed as Exhibit 10 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 19, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-U
Form of Trade Secrets/Non-Compete Statement between Ford and certain of its Executive Officers. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-V to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. (a)
Exhibit 10-V
Arrangement between Ford Motor Company and William C. Ford, Jr., dated February 24, 2009. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-V to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. (a)
Exhibit 10-W
Description of Company Practices regarding Club Memberships for Executives. (b) Filed as Exhibit 10-BB to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. (a)
Exhibit 10-X
Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of November 24, 2009. Filed as Exhibit 99.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed November 25, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-1
Seventh Amendment dated as of March 15, 2012 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, and as further amended. Filed as Exhibit 99.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed March 15, 2012. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-2
Ninth Amendment dated as of April 30, 2013 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, and as further amended. Filed as Exhibit 10 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-3
Tenth Amendment dated as of April 30, 2014 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, and as further amended. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-4
Eleventh Amendment dated as of April 30, 2015 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, as amended and restated as of April 30, 2014, and as further amended, including the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed May 1, 2015. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-5
Twelfth Amendment dated as of April 29, 2016 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, as amended and restated as of April 30, 2014, and as further amended and restated as of April 30, 2015. Filed as Exhibit 10 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 29, 2016. (a)
Designation Description Method of Filing
Exhibit 10-X-6
Thirteenth Amendment dated as of April 28, 2017 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, as amended and restated as of April 30, 2014, and as further amended and restated as of April 30, 2015. Filed as Exhibit 10 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 28, 2017. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-7
Fourteenth Amendment dated as of April 26, 2018 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, as amended and restated as of April 30, 2014, and as further amended and restated as of April 30, 2015. Filed as Exhibit 10 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 26, 2018. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-8
Fifteenth Amendment dated as of April 23, 2019 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, as amended and restated as of April 30, 2014, and as further amended and restated as of April 30, 2015. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 26, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-X-9
Sixteenth Amendment dated as of July 27, 2020 to our Credit Agreement dated as of December 15, 2006, as amended and restated as of November 24, 2009, as amended and restated as of April 30, 2014, and as further amended and restated as of April 30, 2015. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed July 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-Y
Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of April 23, 2019. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 26, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-Y-1
First Amendment dated July 27, 2020 to the Revolving Credit Agreement dated April 23, 2019. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed July 30, 2020. (a)
Exhibit 10-Z
Term Loan Credit Agreement dated as of April 23, 2019. Filed as Exhibit 10.3 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 26, 2019. (a)
Exhibit 10-AA
Loan Arrangement and Reimbursement Agreement between Ford Motor Company and the U.S. Department of Energy dated as of September 16, 2009. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 22, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 10-BB
Note Purchase Agreement dated as of September 16, 2009 among the Federal Financing Bank, Ford Motor Company, and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed September 22, 2009. (a)
Exhibit 21
List of Subsidiaries of Ford as of January 31, 2021. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 23
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 24
Powers of Attorney. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 31.1
Rule 15d-14(a) Certification of CEO. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 31.2
Rule 15d-14(a) Certification of CFO. Filed with this Report.
Exhibit 32.1
Section 1350 Certification of CEO. Furnished with this Report.
Exhibit 32.2
Section 1350 Certification of CFO. Furnished with this Report.
Exhibit 101.INS Interactive Data Files pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T formatted in Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (“Inline XBRL”). (c)
Exhibit 101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. (c)
Exhibit 101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. (c)
Exhibit 101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. (c)
Exhibit 101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. (c)
Exhibit 101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. (c)
Exhibit 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted in Inline XBRL contained in Exhibit 101). (c)
__________
(a)Incorporated by reference as an exhibit to this Report (file number reference 1-3950, unless otherwise indicated).
(b)Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
(c)Submitted electronically with this Report in accordance with the provisions of Regulation S-T.
Instruments defining the rights of holders of certain issues of long-term debt of Ford and of certain consolidated subsidiaries and of any unconsolidated subsidiary, for which financial statements are required to be filed with this Report, have not been filed as exhibits to this Report because the authorized principal amount of any one of such issues does not exceed 10% of the total assets of Ford and our subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Ford agrees to furnish a copy of each of such instrument to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request.