Ford halts shipments of F-150s and other models to China
Retaliatory tariffs have raised Chinese duties on vehicle imports from the U.S. to 150%.
Ford Motor has stopped shipping pricey pickup trucks, SUVs and sports cars to China to avoid tariffs that have shot up in recent weeks, the latest effect on the auto sector from the Trump administration’s escalating trade war.
The company halted shipments this week of F-150 Raptors, Mustang muscle cars and Bronco SUVs built in Michigan, as well as Lincoln Navigators made in Kentucky, according to people familiar with the matter.
China’s recent countermeasures in response to U.S. import taxes have pushed tariffs on those vehicles as high as 150%, the people said. The F-150 Raptor sells for nearly $100,000 in China.
“We have adjusted exports from the U.S. to China in light of the current tariffs," a Ford spokeswoman said, without specifying models or timing.
The China export business represents a small but profitable operation for Ford. The automaker began shipping some of its most-recognizable nameplates to the country about a decade ago, in part to burnish its brand image among Chinese car buyers.
Last year, Ford shipped about 5,500 Broncos, F-150s, Mustangs and Navigators to China. That is below the annual average of more than 20,000 vehicle exports to China over the past decade.
The company also exports U.S.-built engines and transmissions to China. Those shipments have continued despite the decision to halt exports of assembled vehicles, the people with knowledge of Ford’s moves said.
Ford imports one model from China, the Lincoln Nautilus, which now is subject to a hefty tariff. Those shipments have continued, the company spokeswoman said.
Auto executives have been scrambling to react to a series of on-again, off-again tariffs that the Trump administration has put in place in recent months. A 25% tariff on vehicles and parts, duties on steel and aluminum and soaring taxes on Chinese imports threaten to dent the profits of auto suppliers and car companies, analysts and executives have said.
Ford’s sales in China have shriveled in recent weeks along with those of other global carmakers, hurt by the rise of Chinese car brands. The American automaker sold about 400,000 vehicles last year in the country, including cars produced jointly with Chinese partner companies, down from about 1.3 million in 2016.
Today, Ford has been using its factories in China as an export hub, shipping cars to southeast Asia and South America. The company’s operating profit from its China operations was about $900 million last year, Ford Vice Chairman John Lawler said at an investor conference this week.
Write to Mike Colias at mike.colias@wsj.com
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