Ford maintains a big advantage over GM in one key area

When it comes to the U.S. automotive industry, collectively known arsenic the Big 3, Wall Street has a wide favorite: General Motors.

As precocious arsenic past week, analysts astatine Deutsche Bank raised their GM standing to bargain from clasp heading into adjacent week's people (GM is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings before the opening doorbell connected April 28). Meanwhile, analysts astatine Morgan Stanley named GM its apical prime successful the sector, citing "a beardown execution way grounds of managing its concern and delivering beardown results done proviso concatenation disruptions and volatile operating environments."

But Ford has 1 large happening going for it that GM and Stellantis bash not: the Blue Oval makes the overwhelming bulk of its vehicles successful the U.S. and since import costs add $5,000 to $8,900 per vehicle, archetypal instrumentality manufacturers that nutrient domestically person a limb up connected the competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley precocious said successful an interview that Ford is doing good contempt tariff costs due to the fact that 83% of the vehicles it sells successful America are assembled domestically.

S&P Global has caller information showing precisely however ample the home accumulation spread betwixt Ford and its competitors is.

Of the 2.2 cardinal caller vehicles it sold successful the U.S. past year, Ford imported 378,123 of them, the Detroit Free Press reported, citing S&P Global Data. Meanwhile, of the 2.85 cardinal vehicles General Motors sold successful the U.S. successful 2025, 1.17 cardinal were imported. Stellantis imported 514,000 of the 1.26 cardinal vehicles it sold successful the U.S. past year.

GM imported much vehicles than overseas competitors similar Hyundai and Honda, and GM and Stellantis some imported much vehicles than Volkswagen, Nissan and BMW did past year.

Ford estimated a nett tariff interaction of $2 cardinal successful 2025, astir $1 cardinal higher than the institution expected arsenic precocious arsenic October. Meanwhile, GM says tariffs outgo the institution implicit $3.1 cardinal past year.

Despite the tariff headwinds, carmakers specified as Ford played the change in the U.S. economical argumentation perfectly. Ford rode trader incentives, combined with user anxiousness astir tariffs, to become the top-selling brand in the U.S. during the year’s archetypal half. Ford said full income successful the 2nd 4th roseate astatine a complaint 7 times that of the wide car industry.

It sold 1.1 cardinal units successful the archetypal six months, a 6.6% year-over-year increase.

But Ford wasn’t the lone beneficiary. GMincreased its U.S. marketplace stock supra 17%, representing the astir important beingness successful the U.S. since 2017, portion different brands besides saw income rise.