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I want to talk autos because Ford Pro is Ford's commercial vehicle unit. It's Ford's most profitable unit. It posted earnings before interest in taxes of one point three billion dollars in the first quarter, far more than any other unit at the company. We've got with us Matt Atkinson, executive director of Ford Pro North American Sales. He joins us from Detroit. Matt, good to have you with us. We learned this week that Ford halted its guidance and warned of a one point five billion dollar hit as
a result of tariffs. If you think about the ford Pro business, especially in North America, what impact our tariffs having on it? And is it different than the rest of the company.
Yeah, well, thank you so much for having me and great to meet you. And it's an honor to be here, especially during National Small Business Week. You know, one of the things are really proud to say at Ford Pro is that every business every week is Small Business Week. But it's always nice when the country takes a step
back to recognize the contribution of small business. And you know, one thing that is not lost on us and in these times is that you know, our success is directly tied to our customers success, and so in times of uncertainty, one of the things that we have found is that when you can be simple and transparent, that is what
can help the country the most. And one of the biggest reasons why we've launched from America for America campaign because when a customer, especially a small business, walks into a Ford dealership, they know the price that they're going to get. They're going to pay what we pay our employee pricing, and we have found that has really helped small businesses navigate these uncertain times.
How are your small businesses doing? How are your potential customers and your customers doing right now?
Well, you know, in the we're coming off first quarter sales, as you just announced, it was our best pickup sale quarter in the last twenty years. And so you know is you and your audience probably know. You know, our full size pickup are the best in class that we've had sales leadership there in the last forty eight years, and so to have our best quarter at any given time, as I think a sign of strength, but certainly not
one that we take for granted. But what small businesses are telling us right now is that you know, in these uncertain times, whether it's the transaction price that they're going to pay for their truck or their van, they also want to know that the company that they're choosing to do business with is going to stick with them, and especially for small business where they're operating fleets where
time is money. We're proud to offer a service network across the country, seven thirty certified our commercial vehicle centers, sixty five national service Elite centers that are opening up across the country. And that is what customers, especially small business, tells us they need in these times is they can't afford any missteps. They can't afford to have that vehicle down.
And it's probably one of the reasons why Ford van and trucks, you know, continue to be operated by more small business than any other automaker.
Look, I think the results that I mentioned kind of speak for themselves that it's the most profitable unit at Ford. I still, though, I think there are a lot of questions about the impact of tariffs, especially given what we heard from Ford earlier this week. Do you think that tariffs like, what is the impact that tariffs have on your business versus the greater Ford business?
Look it. You know, the customers in small business can hear a lot right now, including from us with earnings. But I think one important thing they need to know is that we have plenty of inventory on the ground today and all of that inventory, from our cars all the way up through our trucks, from all of our powertrains, from gas, diesel, hybrid, even electric, all qualify for this promotion and if you didn't catch it, that runs through
the fourth of July. So despite these uncertain times, like I mentioned before, what they need to know is that when they're in the market for a vehicle and their business is looking to upgrade or replace, Ford pro and our Ford dealers are going to be there for them and can offer them that confidence in the marketplace.
Ford said that it's going to produce one hundred thousand super duty pickups at a plan in Oakville, Ontario that would start next year. Given what we've heard from President Trump and has pushed to have more US manufacturing through his tariffs, is there a chance that Ford could instead build those trucks at one of its US plants.
Well, look, one of the things that we talk about even with our dealers about future investments is that, you know, it's nice to have demand for our pickup trucks. And we've had that sales demand for quite some time now, especially coming out of a supply strain supply constraint environment like we saw over the last couple of years, and so we're going to look at all options that are
on the table. But we know what we're finding right now is that when customers walk in looking for a super duty truck today, you know we are winning in the marketplace because of the message that we have. And again it comes back to that simplicity and transparency and that's one of the reasons that gives us so much confidence today and into the future.
And look like again, the numbers sort of speak for themselves. You guys dominate when it comes to commercial truck and the van business in the US. You have about a forty percent share. That's what you've established. Investors want to know about growth. Where will that future growth come from?
Well, look, we have no signs of no intentions of letting our foot off the gas. We have had leadership in that space for the last forty years. In the commercial space overall, as I mentioned, our full sized pickups have led in overall sales for the last forty eight years going on forty nine. In fact, in our forty ninth year, our lead has even grown versus what it was at this point in your forty eight of leadership.
So what small business and customers are can feel confident in is that the franchise of our F series pickup trucks is really important to us, and we're always going to give them the best, most capable pickup truck that is on the market.
Well, you know, we think a lot about services in telematics. That's certainly been an opportunity for companies to grow when it comes to software as a service. Ford Pro has done well expanding its subscription telematics business to provide logistics and other connected services to commercial customers. What is the future of that business and then how can forward translate that success to retail customers who maybe buy a Bronco or an F one fifty.
Right, you know, it's one of the areas that we're we maybe even most excited about in the future of ford Pro. You know, we are the modems that are being activated in our vehicles are growing every day. We're seeing lots of benefit from subscription services that are connecting those vehicles and helping provide more efficiencies to our customers. You know, one of the things that we benefit from, as I said before, is that small businesses purchase FOD
trucks and vans more than any other automaker. And that history that lessons, the lessons that we've learned over time help inspire our future innovations. And what small businesses continue to tell us is that if we can help provide to them more services, more subscriptions to help prevent their time being out of market, then then that is a value story for them that they want to invest in.
And so we're going You're going to continue to see new news from us into the future, and when that can complement the strong history and heras that we have in our products, we think that's a real winning story for us and for our customers.
So, Matt, when you think about the small businesses that you sell to, really the backbone of the US economy, I'm curious how they're embracing evs like the battery powered transit than the electric f one fifty lightning? How is that happening among commercial customers right now? Like, how is selling an EV to a commercial customer different than selling maybe the like a mock e to my dad for example, which he bought.
Sure, yeah, no, look at And you know, anytime you introduce something new, and we have a history of you know, introducing most of the country to automobiles in the first place, anytime you introduce something new, you have to be able to explain it. And I think what we're finding, especially with small businesses that you know, they have very unique needs when it comes to powertrain offerings, and you know from the size and space that they can store the
vehicles to how they can use them. And one of the things that have resonated the most for us is
everybody's interested in fuel economy savings. And we just launched last week at a conference in California, our consultancy service that's going to help small business take advantage of opportunities in rebates to go purchase vehicles so that if that if electric is of importance to them and they want they want to make that investment, we can help them maximize the amount of money they can get from federal or state rebates and and look, regardless of what a
small business needs, one of the proof points and pride points that we have is that we offer the power of choice, gas, diesel, hybrid, electric. We're there for fleets. We have the largest fleet in the United States and the largest electric fleet in the United States. And so whatever their need is, we want to be there for them to help sell service and support through the telematics and subscription services that we talked about a moment ago.
Nat, I appreciate you taking some time in joining us. That's Matt Atkinson, ford Pro, executive director, North American Sales for ford Pro.