Executive Chairman, Ford Motor
Search every verified William Ford interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company, discussed the company’s future and the competitive landscape in two recent media appearances. In a July 2026 interview with Axios, Ford said the company’s history “guarantees you nothing for the future” and emphasized the need for an enduring U.S. industrial policy, noting that changes in administration can upend prior efforts. He described Chinese auto companies as “the biggest game changer,” stating they have “taken Europe by storm” due to subsidies from the Chinese government. Ford also spoke about his family’s role in the company, saying he wants younger family members to understand the company’s values and its obligations to its workforce and communities. In a June 2026 appearance on NewsNation, Ford said that one of Ford’s core values is “stepping up when our country needs” and that the company is “uniquely good at … building a lot of something complicated.” He noted that the Trump administration had reached out to Ford and General Motors about potentially helping develop weapons faster and cheaper than current defense contractors. Ford described his family as “incredibly competitive” and said the company has “great respect” for its competitors. He also mentioned that Ford is developing a new “universal EV” midsize pickup truck, which he called “revolutionary for our company.”
“what we really need is an industrial policy that in this country that's enduring. Um and because what happens is each administration change has a change of idea and something that was worked on with a certain administration will be completely upended and taken to a different direction. And if you look at our competitor...”
“the most you know probably the biggest game changer and for those of you who travel and I know most of you probably do if you go to Europe now it's astonishing how quickly the Chinese uh auto companies have just taken Europe by storm because they're being subsidized by the Chinese government. Um and uh you know the Chi...”
“One of our core values is stepping up when our country needs. But the one thing I will say that Ford is uniquely good at in this country is building a lot of something complicated. There are folks who can build a lot of something or who can build something complicated, and we can mass-produce very complicated things.”
“One of the things about our family is we are incredibly competitive. We want to grow. We want to win. We have really great competitors. So both I have great respect for them. They've got incredible things.”
“We finally get to tell what we've been working on for three years behind the doors. We call this the Ford Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. It represents the most radical change on how we design and how we build vehicles at Ford since the Model T. And I'm especially pleased to announce that the first vehicle off thi...”
“We looked at the past for innovation. We looked at the Model T and the the flathead V8 that Mr. Ford installed in our cars in 32. These were times when Ford broke with tradition and broke the rules and we made a leap forward. So back three years ago, we did something that no one really saw. We empowered a tiny skunk wo...”
“And that's right. You are right. We will spend $2 billion here in Louisville modernizing this plant. And that's 2,200 hourly workers that have a future for decades to come. And we didn't stop there. We built a Blue Oval battery park in Michigan. We spent $3 billion building a brand new battery plant and almost 2,000 ne...”
“And we're going to start the vehicle at $30,000. Just like old Henry, our idea is that the people work here at Louisville will be able to buy this car and spend money on other things they love like vacations and their home and their kids' education. We'll eventually make multiple body styles for work and play. And Doug...”
“Now, why do I say bet? That's an intentional word. Because there are no guarantees with this project. We're doing so many new things. I can't tell you with 100% certainty that this will all go just right. It is a bet. There is risk. The automotive industry has a graveyard littered with affordable vehicles that were lau...”
“We speak to the White House almost on a daily basis and I think the hard part for a lot of people in Washington is to understand that our lead times as an industrial manufacturer are longer than political lead times and we can adapt to almost anything except uncertainty.”
“We make 80% of our vehicles here; most of our competitors make 50% or less. It's cost us over the years about a $2,000 vehicle penalty versus our domestic competition because we've chosen to be the most American, but I always felt that was the right thing to do.”
“At one point we had four layers of tariffs on us: fentanyl tariffs, reciprocal tariffs, auto tariffs, steel and aluminum tariffs. Unintentionally, there are so many tales to our industry and we get hit with so much that people don't necessarily realize.”
“We made a certain investment based upon a policy that was in place. It's not fair to change policies after all the expenditure has been made going forward. If you want to go down a different road that's fine because we can adjust to anything, but we don't think it's fair to have all the money expended and then say 'Sor...”
“We have to make sure that the young people in our family that are coming into the company are incredibly well qualified, very motivated, and understand all the things that come with it. We cannot be a family employment agency.”
“If companies aren't making people's lives better then they shouldn't exist. For us, it's about the communities in which we operate, whether it's Detroit, Michigan, or anywhere else.”
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NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas highlights the Ford Motor Company and its history as one of the pioneering businesses in the United States. The automobile giant was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford. #ford #america #autoindustry Anchor Elizabeth Vargas delivers the biggest stories, without bias or opinion. Watch "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" every weeknight at 7p/6C on NewsNation. #VargasReports NewsNation is your source for fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans. More from NewsNation: https://www.newsnationnow.com/ Get our app: https://trib.al/TBXgYpp Find us on cable: https://trib.al/YDOpGyG…
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Here we are on the eve of the grand opening of Michigan Central Station. For the first time in over 30 years, the public will be able to walk through its spacious halls once again.
Ford has been a part of Detroit's history, but with Michigan Central Station, they're committed to the city's future too.
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