Major U.S. automakers, including Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, publicly endorsed the Trump administration’s proposal to reduce the stringency of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) targets, which currently call for a combined fleet average of 54.5 mpg by model year 2025. In a joint letter submitted on Wednesday to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the companies argued that the proposed rollback—projected to lower annual efficiency improvement targets from 5% to approximately 1.5%—would better align with consumer demand and current supply-chain constraints. However, they also urged regulators to refine the plan by preserving incentives for electrified powertrains, raising the proposed light-truck fleet targets by 2 mpg relative to the draft rule, and extending the lead time to provide automakers at least four years to comply with the new standards.

Ford reported U.S. retail deliveries of 135,362 vehicles in January, down 5.3% from the 142,942 units sold during the same month last year. The decline was driven largely by a slowdown in electric vehicle (EV) sales: Ford delivered approximately 10,800 EVs in January, representing a 12% drop from January 2025. Strong consumer demand for its best-selling F-Series and Escape crossover partially offset headwinds, with F-Series sales up 3.7% year-over-year. Ford’s retail SUV volume remained flat at roughly 47,000 units, while total commercial fleet sales decreased by 8.9%.

Ford is in advanced discussions with China’s Geely Automobile to explore a manufacturing and technology partnership at its Valencia, Spain facility. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, which have been ongoing for several months, Geely could use underutilized capacity in Valencia to assemble its own vehicles for the European market, potentially circumventing tariffs of up to 10% on Chinese imports. The talks also include collaboration on automated-driving software and shared EV architectures. Ford executives dispatched a delegation to Hangzhou last quarter to deepen technical due diligence, while senior Geely leaders visited Dearborn in December. Any agreement could be finalized by summer and is seen as a way for Ford to monetize excess plant capacity and strengthen its footprint in Europe without further capital outlay.