Ford Motor Co (F) SEC Annual Report (10-K) for 2017

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

313-322-3000

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:   None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.   Yes   ☑   No  o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes   o   No ☑

Indicate by check mark if the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  ☑    No  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).   Yes  ☑    No  o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company.  See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.   Large accelerated filer ☑     Accelerated filer o     Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o Emerging growth company o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).   Yes   o     No   ☑

As of June 30, 2017, Ford had outstanding 3,900,795,510 shares of Common Stock and 70,852,076 shares of Class B Stock.  Based on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Transaction closing price of the Common Stock on that date ($11.19 per share), the aggregate market value of such Common Stock was $43,649,901,757.  Although there is no quoted market for our Class B Stock, shares of Class B Stock may be converted at any time into an equal number of shares of Common Stock for the purpose of effecting the sale or other disposition of such shares of Common Stock.  The shares of Common Stock and Class B Stock outstanding at June 30, 2017 included shares owned by persons who may be deemed to be "affiliates" of Ford.  We do not believe, however, that any such person should be considered to be an affiliate.  For information concerning ownership of outstanding Common Stock and Class B Stock, see the Proxy Statement for Ford's Annual Meeting of Stockholders currently scheduled to be held on May 10, 2018 (our "Proxy Statement"), which is incorporated by reference under various Items of this Report as indicated below.

As of January 31, 2018, Ford had outstanding 3,902,499,580 shares of Common Stock and 70,852,076 shares of Class B Stock.  Based on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Transaction closing price of the Common Stock on that date ($10.97 per share), the aggregate market value of such Common Stock was $42,810,420,393.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

__________

FORD MOTOR COMPANY

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

For the Year Ended December 31, 2017

Table of Contents

(continued)

PART I.

ITEM 1. Business.

Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1919.  We acquired the business of a Michigan company, also known as Ford Motor Company, which had been incorporated in 1903 to produce and sell automobiles designed and engineered by Henry Ford. We are a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 202,000 employees worldwide, the Company designs, manufactures, markets, and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles ("SUVs"), electrified vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company LLC ("Ford Credit"), and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles, and mobility solutions.

In addition to the information about Ford and our subsidiaries contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (" 2017 Form 10-K Report" or "Report"), extensive information about our Company can be found at http://corporate.ford.com , including information about our management team, our brands and products, and our corporate governance principles.

The corporate governance information on our website includes our Corporate Governance Principles, Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Personnel, Code of Ethics for the Board of Directors, Code of Corporate Conduct for all employees, and the Charters for each of the Committees of our Board of Directors.  In addition, any amendments to our Code of Ethics or waivers granted to our directors and executive officers will be posted on our corporate website.  All of these documents may be accessed by going to our corporate website, or may be obtained free of charge by writing to our Shareholder Relations Department, Ford Motor Company, One American Road, P.O. Box 1899, Dearborn, Michigan 48126-1899.

Our recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge at http://shareholder.ford.com . This includes recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments to those Reports.  Recent Section 16 filings made with the SEC by the Company or any of our executive officers or directors with respect to our Common Stock also are made available free of charge through our website.  We post each of these documents on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after it is electronically filed with the SEC. Our reports filed with the SEC also may be found on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov .

The foregoing information regarding our website and its content is for convenience only and not deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Report nor filed with the SEC.

OVERVIEW

Segments.   We have four operating segments that represent the primary businesses reported in our consolidated financial statements: Automotive, Financial Services, Ford Smart Mobility LLC, and Central Treasury Operations.

Automotive Segment. Our Automotive segment primarily includes the sale of Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories worldwide, together with the associated costs to develop, manufacture, distribute, and service the vehicles, parts, and accessories. The segment includes five regional business units: North America, South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Financial Services Segment. The Financial Services segment primarily includes our vehicle-related financing and leasing activities at Ford Credit.

All Other. Ford Smart Mobility LLC and Central Treasury Operations are combined in All Other. See Note 24 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information regarding All Other.

In the first quarter of 2018, we will change our reportable segments to better reflect the manner in which we now manage our business, including resource allocation and assessment. We will report our results in three operating segments that represent the primary businesses reported in our consolidated financial statements. These operating segments will be Automotive, Mobility, and Ford Credit. Net income will comprise the financial results of these operating segments, Corporate Other (which includes corporate governance costs, interest income on our cash, and portfolio gains and losses), Interest on Debt, Special Items, and Taxes.

AUTOMOTIVE SEGMENT

General

Our vehicle brands are Ford and Lincoln.  In 2017 , we sold approximately 6,607,000 vehicles at wholesale throughout the world.  See "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" ("Item 7") for a discussion of our calculation of wholesale unit volumes.

Substantially all of our vehicles, parts, and accessories are sold through distributors and dealers (collectively, "dealerships"), the substantial majority of which are independently owned.  At December 31, 2017, the approximate number of dealerships worldwide distributing our vehicle brands was as follows:

We do not depend on any single customer or a few customers to the extent that the loss of such customers would have a material adverse effect on our business.

In addition to the products we sell to our dealerships for retail sale, we also sell vehicles to our dealerships for sale to fleet customers, including commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments.  We also sell parts and accessories, primarily to our dealerships (which in turn sell these products to retail customers) and to authorized parts distributors (which in turn primarily sell these products to retailers). We also offer extended service contracts.

The worldwide automotive industry is affected significantly by general economic conditions over which we have little control.  Vehicles are durable goods, and consumers have latitude in determining whether and when to replace an existing vehicle.  The decision whether to purchase a vehicle may be affected significantly by slowing economic growth, geopolitical events, and other factors (including the cost of purchasing and operating cars, trucks, and SUVs and the availability and cost of financing and fuel).  As we have seen in the United States and Europe, in particular, the number of cars, trucks, and SUVs sold may vary substantially from year to year.  Further, the automotive industry is a highly competitive business that has a wide and growing variety of product offerings from a growing number of manufacturers.

Our wholesale unit volumes vary with the level of total industry demand and our share of that industry demand.  Our wholesale unit volumes also are influenced by the level of dealer inventory.  Our share is influenced by how our products are perceived in comparison to those offered by other manufacturers based on many factors, including price, quality, styling, reliability, safety, fuel efficiency, functionality, and reputation.  Our share also is affected by the timing and frequency of new model introductions.  Our ability to satisfy changing consumer preferences with respect to type or size of vehicle, as well as design and performance characteristics, affects our sales and earnings significantly.

As with other manufacturers, the profitability of our business is affected by many factors, including:

Our industry has a very competitive pricing environment, driven in part by industry excess capacity, which is concentrated in Europe and Asia but affects other markets because much of this capacity can be redirected to other markets. Prior to its recent strengthening, the decline in the value of the yen over the last several years also has contributed significantly to competitive pressures in many of our markets. For the past several decades, manufacturers typically have given price discounts and other marketing incentives to maintain market share and production levels.  

Competitive Position.   The worldwide automotive industry consists of many producers, with no single dominant producer. Certain manufacturers, however, account for the major percentage of total sales within particular countries, especially their countries of origin.  Key competitors with global presence include Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, General Motors Company, Groupe PSA, Honda Motor Company, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Renault-Nissan B.V., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Volkswagen AG Group.

Seasonality.   We manage our vehicle production schedule based on a number of factors, including retail sales (i.e., units sold by our dealerships to their customers at retail) and dealer stock levels (i.e., the number of units held in inventory by our dealerships for sale to their customers). Historically, we have experienced some seasonal fluctuation in the business, with production in many markets tending to be higher in the first half of the year to meet demand in the spring and summer (typically the strongest sales months of the year).  

Backlog Orders.   We generally produce and ship our products on average within approximately 20 days after an order is deemed to become firm.  Therefore, no significant amount of backlog orders accumulates during any period.

Raw Materials.   We purchase a wide variety of raw materials from numerous suppliers around the world for use in production of our vehicles.  These materials include base metals (e.g., steel, iron castings, and aluminum), precious metals (e.g., palladium), energy (e.g., natural gas), and plastics/resins (e.g., polypropylene).  We believe we have adequate supplies or sources of availability of raw materials necessary to meet our needs.  There always are risks and uncertainties with respect to the supply of raw materials, however, which could impact availability in sufficient quantities to meet our needs.  See the "Overview" section of Item 7 for a discussion of commodity and energy price trends, and "Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" ("Item 7A") for a discussion of commodity price risks.

Intellectual Property.   We own or hold licenses to use numerous patents, copyrights, and trademarks on a global basis. Our policy is to protect our competitive position by, among other methods, filing U.S. and international patent applications to protect technology and improvements that we consider important to the development of our business.  We have generated a large number of patents, and expect this portfolio to continue to grow as we actively pursue additional technological innovation.  We have approximately 57,000 active patents and pending patent applications globally, with an average age for patents in our active patent portfolio of just under five years.  In addition to this intellectual property, we also rely on our proprietary knowledge and ongoing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position.  Although we believe these patents, patent applications, and know-how, in the aggregate, are important to the conduct of our business, and we obtain licenses to use certain intellectual property owned by others, none is individually considered material to our business.  We also own numerous trademarks and service marks that contribute to the identity

and recognition of our Company and its products and services globally.  Certain of these marks are integral to the conduct of our business, a loss of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Warranty Coverage, Field Service Actions, and Customer Satisfaction Actions.   We provide warranties on vehicles we sell.  Warranties are offered for specific periods of time and/or mileage, and vary depending upon the type of product and the geographic location of its sale.  Pursuant to these warranties, we will repair, replace, or adjust all parts on a vehicle that are defective in factory-supplied materials or workmanship during the specified warranty period.  In addition to the costs associated with this warranty coverage provided on our vehicles, we also incur costs as a result of field service actions (i.e., safety recalls, emission recalls, and other product campaigns), and for customer satisfaction actions.

For additional information regarding warranty and related costs, see "Critical Accounting Estimates" in Item 7 and Note 23 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.

Wholesales

Wholesales consist primarily of vehicles sold to dealerships. For the majority of such sales, we recognize revenue when we ship the vehicles to our customers (i.e., the dealerships) from our manufacturing facilities. See the "Overview" section in Item 7 for additional discussion of revenue recognition practices. Wholesales in each region and in certain key markets within each region during the past three years were as follows:

_______

Retail Sales, Industry Volume, and Market Share

Retail sales, industry volume, and market share in each region and in certain key markets within each region during the past three years were as follows:

______________

U.S. Sales by Type

The following table shows 2017 U.S. retail sales volume and U.S. wholesales segregated by truck, SUV, and car sales. U.S. retail sales volume reflects transactions with (i) retail and fleet customers (as reported by dealers), (ii) government, and (iii) Ford management.  U.S. wholesales reflect sales to dealers.

FINANCIAL SERVICES SEGMENT

Ford Motor Credit Company LLC

Our wholly-owned subsidiary Ford Credit offers a wide variety of automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers throughout the world.  The predominant share of Ford Credit's business consists of financing our vehicles and supporting our dealers.  Ford Credit earns its revenue primarily from payments made under retail installment sale and lease contracts that it originates and purchases; interest rate supplements and other support payments from us and our subsidiaries; and payments made under dealer financing programs.

As a result of these financing activities, Ford Credit has a large portfolio of finance receivables and operating leases which it classifies into two portfolios-"consumer" and "non-consumer."  Finance receivables and operating leases in the consumer portfolio include products offered to individuals and businesses that finance the acquisition of our vehicles from dealers for personal and commercial use.  Retail financing includes retail installment sale contracts for new and used vehicles and direct financing leases for new vehicles to retail and commercial customers, including leasing companies, government entities, daily rental companies, and fleet customers. Finance receivables in the non-consumer portfolio include products offered to automotive dealers. Ford Credit makes wholesale loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory, also known as floorplan financing, as well as loans to dealers to finance working capital and improvements to dealership facilities, finance the purchase of dealership real estate, and finance other dealer vehicle programs.  Ford Credit also purchases receivables generated by us and our subsidiaries, primarily related to the sale of parts and accessories to dealers and certain used vehicles from daily rental fleet companies. Ford Credit also provides financing to us for vehicles that we lease to our employees.

Ford Credit does business in the United States and Canada through business centers. Outside of the United States, Europe is Ford Credit's largest operation. Ford Credit's European operations are managed primarily through its United Kingdom-based subsidiary, FCE Bank plc ("FCE"). Within Europe, FCE's largest markets are the United Kingdom and Germany, representing 59% of FCE's finance receivables and operating leases at year-end 2017 .

The following table shows Ford Credit's financing shares of new Ford and Lincoln vehicle retail sales in the United States and new Ford vehicles sold in Europe, as well as its wholesale financing shares of new Ford and Lincoln vehicles acquired by dealers in the United States and new Ford vehicles acquired by dealers in Europe:

See Item 7 and Notes 10 , 11 , and 13 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a detailed discussion of Ford Credit's receivables, credit losses, allowance for credit losses, loss-to-receivables ratios, funding sources, and funding strategies. See Item 7A for discussion of how Ford Credit manages its financial market risks.

We routinely sponsor special retail and lease incentives to dealers' customers who choose to finance or lease our vehicles from Ford Credit.  In order to compensate Ford Credit for the lower interest or lease payments offered to the retail customer, we pay the discounted value of the incentive directly to Ford Credit when it originates the retail finance or lease contract with the dealer's customer. These programs increase Ford Credit's financing volume and share.  See Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for information about our accounting for these programs.

We have an Amended and Restated Relationship Agreement with Ford Credit, pursuant to which, if Ford Credit's managed leverage for a calendar quarter were to be higher than 11.5:1 (as reported in its most recent periodic report), Ford Credit could require us to make or cause to be made a capital contribution to it in an amount sufficient to have caused such managed leverage to have been 11.5:1.  No capital contributions have been made pursuant to this agreement.  The agreement also allocates to Ford Credit $3 billion of commitments under our corporate credit facility. In a separate agreement with FCE, Ford Credit has agreed to maintain FCE's net worth in excess of $500 million. No payments have been made pursuant to that agreement.

GOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS

Many governmental standards and regulations relating to safety, fuel economy, emissions control, noise control, vehicle recycling, substances of concern, vehicle damage, and theft prevention are applicable to new motor vehicles, engines, and equipment manufactured for sale. In addition, manufacturing and other automotive assembly facilities are subject to stringent standards regulating air emissions, water discharges, and the handling and disposal of hazardous substances. The most significant of the standards and regulations affecting us are discussed below:

Vehicle Emissions Control

U.S. Requirements – Federal and California Emission Standards. The federal Clean Air Act imposes stringent limits on the amount of regulated pollutants that lawfully may be emitted by new vehicles and engines produced for sale in the United States. Pursuant to the Clean Air Act, California may establish its own vehicle emission standards, which can then be adopted by other states. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the California Air Resources Board ("CARB") have established tailpipe and evaporative emissions standards for light and medium duty vehicles that become increasingly stringent through the 2025 model year. Thirteen states, primarily located in the Northeast and Northwest, have adopted the California standards. Compliance with both the federal and California standards could be challenging.

Both federal and California regulations require motor vehicles to be equipped with on-board diagnostic ("OBD") systems that monitor emission-related systems and components. As OBD requirements become more complex and challenging over time, they could lead to increased vehicle recalls and warranty costs. Compliance with automobile emission standards depends in part on the widespread availability of high-quality and consistent automotive fuels that the vehicles were designed to use. Fuel variables that can affect vehicle emissions include ethanol content, octane ratings, and the use of metallic-based fuel additives, among other things. Legislative, regulatory, and judicial developments related to fuel quality at both the national and state levels could affect vehicle manufacturers' warranty costs as well as their ability to comply with vehicle emission standards.

The California vehicle emissions program also includes requirements for manufacturers to produce and deliver for sale zero-emission vehicles ("ZEVs"). The current ZEV regulations mandate substantial annual increases in the production and sale of battery-electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles through the 2025 model year. By the 2025 model year, approximately 15% of a manufacturer's total California sales volume will need to be made up of such vehicles. Compliance with ZEV rules could have a substantial adverse effect on our sales volumes and profits. We are concerned that the market and infrastructure in California may not support the large volume of advanced-technology vehicles that manufacturers will be required to produce, especially if gasoline prices remain relatively low . We also are concerned about enforcement of the ZEV mandate in other states that have adopted California's ZEV program, where the existence of a market for such vehicles is even less certain.

European Requirements. European Union ("EU") directives and related legislation limit the amount of regulated pollutants that may be emitted by new motor vehicles and engines sold in the EU. Stringent new Stage 6 emission standards took effect for vehicle registrations starting in September 2014, and a second phase introduced a new laboratory test cycle for CO 2 and emissions in September 2017.  These standards drive the need for additional diesel exhaust after-treatment, which adds cost to, and potentially impacts, the diesel CO 2 advantage.  The mandatory Real Driving Emission ("RDE") rules require manufacturers to conduct on-road emission tests using portable emission analyzers. These on-road emission tests complement the laboratory-based tests. In September 2017, manufacturers began to reduce the divergence between the regulatory limit that is tested in laboratory conditions and the values of RDE tests ("conformity factors"). The costs associated with conducting the RDE tests and complying with the conformity factors are significant. A second step for RDEs to further reduce the conformity factors becomes mandatory for new vehicle type approvals by authorities starting in January 2020. Europe is in the process of finalizing the RDE in-use surveillance rules with proposals to allow third parties to conduct testing and to define a process to challenge the product compliance with authorities. The WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) Regulations are being adapted to cover increased market surveillance, and the EU Commission announced that in 2018 it will begin to discuss air quality modeling scenarios for the next steps of emission standards post Stage 6.

There is an increasing trend of city access restrictions for internal combustion engine powered vehicles, in particular in European cities that do not meet air quality limits. Depending on city and country, the conditions for access will vary (e.g., different emission limits or vehicle requirements), which indirectly impact residual values and sales of internal combustion powered vehicles prior to restrictions being agreed. There might also be a need to retrofit emission after-treatment of vehicles. There are also discussions in several European countries to ban the registration of internal combustion powered vehicles in the future.

Other National Requirements. Many countries, in an effort to address air quality concerns, are adopting previous versions of European or United Nations Economic Commission for Europe ("UN-ECE") mobile source emission regulations. Some countries have adopted more advanced regulations based on the most recent version of European or U.S. regulations; for example, in December 2016, the China Ministry of Environmental Protection ("MEP") finalized emission regulations based on European Stage VI emission standards for light duty vehicles and U.S. evaporative emissions and OBD requirements. The China Stage VI standards incorporate two levels of stringency. Stage one is slated for implementation by July 1, 2020, and the more stringent stage two level is slated for implementation by July 1, 2023. In 2018, the MEP will continue to focus on the development of detailed test procedures for RDE and OBD.

Korea and Taiwan have adopted very stringent U.S.-based standards for gasoline vehicles and European-based standards for diesel vehicles. Although these countries have adopted regulations based on UN-ECE or U.S. standards, there may be some unique testing provisions that require emission-control systems to be redesigned for these markets. Canadian criteria emissions regulations are largely aligned with U.S. requirements.

In October 2016, the Canadian Province of Quebec passed legislation enabling regulation of a ZEV mandate. Final regulations were published in December 2017, and came into effect in January 2018. Quebec's final regulations are more stringent than those in place in California and the other U.S. ZEV mandate states.

Not all countries have adopted appropriate fuel quality standards to accompany the stringent emission standards adopted. This could lead to compliance problems, particularly if OBD or in-use surveillance requirements are implemented.

Brazil and Chile have introduced stringent emission and OBD standards based on the European Stage 5 standards for light duty vehicles and Stage V standards for heavy duty vehicles.  In Brazil, all light duty vehicles are required to meet U.S.-based PROCONVE L6 standards and more stringent OBD standards for diesel light duty vehicles were introduced in 2017. Argentina implemented European Stage 5 standards for all new light duty vehicles in 2017 and European Stage V standards for heavy duty vehicles in 2018.

Global Developments. Beginning in September 2015, EPA and CARB have pursued enforcement actions against a major competitor in connection with its use of "defeat devices" in hundreds of thousands of light-duty diesel vehicles. These actions have resulted in settlements involving billions of dollars for environmental remediation and civil penalties, as well as indictments of and guilty pleas from several employees on charges of committing federal crimes. The competitor continues to face various class action suits, as well as numerous claims and investigations by various U.S. states and other nations. Defeat devices are elements of design (typically embedded in software) that improperly cause the emission control system to function less effectively during normal on-road driving than during an official laboratory emissions test, without justification. They are prohibited by law in many jurisdictions, and we do not use defeat devices in our vehicles.

The investigations by EPA and CARB of our competitor have led to increased scrutiny of automakers' emission testing by regulators around the world. EPA began carrying out additional non-standard tests as part of its vehicle certification program, following an announcement in September 2015. The EU accelerated efforts to finalize its RDE testing program as described above. In 2016, several European countries, including France and Germany, conducted non-standard emission tests and published the results. In some cases, this supplemental testing has triggered investigations of other manufacturers for possible defeat devices. Testing is expected to continue on an ongoing basis. In the United States, plaintiffs' attorneys are pursuing consumer class action lawsuits based on alleged excessive emissions from cars and trucks, which could, in turn, prompt further investigations by regulators.

Vehicle Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards

U.S. Requirements – Light Duty Vehicles .  Federal law requires that light duty vehicles meet minimum corporate average fuel economy ("CAFE") standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA"). Manufacturers are subject to substantial civil penalties if they fail to meet the CAFE standard in any model year, after taking into account all available credits for the preceding three model years and expected credits for the five succeeding model years. The law requires NHTSA to promulgate and enforce separate CAFE standards applicable to each manufacturer's fleet of domestic passenger cars, imported passenger cars, and light duty trucks.

EPA also regulates vehicle greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions under the Clean Air Act. Because the vast majority of GHGs emitted by a vehicle are the result of fuel combustion, GHG emission standards effectively are fuel economy standards. Thus, it is necessary for NHTSA and EPA to coordinate with each other on their fuel economy and GHG standards, respectively, to avoid potential inconsistencies.

In 2010, EPA and NHTSA jointly promulgated regulations establishing the "One National Program" of CAFE and GHG regulations for light duty vehicles for the 2012-2016 model years. In 2012, EPA and NHTSA jointly promulgated regulations extending the One National Program framework through the 2025 model year. These rules require manufacturers to achieve increasingly stringent standards reaching approximately 50 mpg by the 2025 model year. Each manufacturer's specific task depends on the mix of vehicles it sells. The rules include the opportunity for manufacturers to earn credits for technologies that achieve real-world CO 2 reductions and fuel economy improvements that are not captured by the EPA fuel economy test procedures. Manufacturers also can earn credits for GHG reductions not specifically tied to fuel economy, such as improvements in air conditioning systems.

The existing One National Program standards will be difficult to meet if fuel prices remain relatively low and market conditions do not drive consumers to purchase electric vehicles and other highly fuel-efficient vehicles in large numbers. We are concerned about the commercial feasibility of meeting future model year GHG and CAFE standards, particularly the 2022-2025 standards, because of the many unknowns regarding technology development, market conditions, and other factors so far into the future.

The One National Program rules provided for a midterm evaluation process under which, by April 2018, EPA and NHTSA would re-evaluate their standards for model years 2022-2025 in order to ensure that those standards are feasible and optimal in light of intervening events. In January 2017, EPA announced an accelerated decision to maintain the GHG standards originally set for those model years–that decision is currently under reconsideration by EPA. NHTSA is continuing to conduct its evaluation with respect to the model year 2022-2025 standards. It is expected that by April 2018 EPA and NHTSA will either announce a decision to maintain the existing GHG and fuel economy standards, or commence a rulemaking to set revised standards.

If the agencies seek to impose and enforce fuel economy and GHG standards that are misaligned with market conditions, we likely would be forced to take various actions that could have substantial adverse effects on our sales volume and profits. Such actions likely would include restricting offerings of selected engines and popular options; increasing market support programs for our most fuel-efficient cars and light trucks; and ultimately curtailing the production and sale of certain vehicles such as high-performance cars, utilities, and/or full-size light trucks, in order to maintain compliance.

California has asserted the right to regulate motor vehicle GHG emissions, and other states have asserted the right to adopt the California standards. With the adoption of the federal One National Program standards discussed above, California and the other states have agreed that compliance with the federal program would satisfy compliance with any purported state GHG requirements for the 2012–2025 model years. This avoids a patchwork of potentially conflicting federal and state GHG standards. Should California and other states ever renew their efforts to enforce state-specific motor vehicle GHG rules, this would impose significant costs on automotive manufacturers.

U.S. Requirements – Heavy Duty Vehicles. EPA and NHTSA have jointly promulgated GHG and fuel economy standards for heavy duty vehicles (generally, vehicles over 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating) through the 2027 model year. In our case, the standards primarily affect our heavy duty pickup trucks and vans, plus vocational vehicles such as shuttle buses and delivery trucks. As the heavy duty standards increase in stringency, it may become more difficult to comply while continuing to offer a full lineup of heavy duty trucks.

European Requirements. In December 2008, the EU approved regulation of passenger car CO 2 emissions, with a 2012-2015 phase-in period, that limits the industry fleet average to a maximum of 130 grams per kilometer ("g/km"), using a sliding scale (the EU target slope) based on vehicle weight. This regulation provides different CO 2 targets for each manufacturer based on the respective average vehicle weight for its fleet of vehicles initially registered in a calendar year. Limited credits are available for CO 2 off-cycle technologies ("eco-innovations"), certain alternative fuels, and vehicles with CO 2 emissions below 50 g/km for a period of time. A penalty system applies to manufacturers failing to meet the individual CO 2 targets. Pooling agreements between manufacturers are possible under certain conditions. Starting in 2020, an EU industry target of 95 g/km has been set, for which 95% of a manufacturer's fleet has to comply; by 2021, 100% of a manufacturer's fleet has to comply. Outside of the EU, Switzerland, for example, has introduced similar rules, which began phasing-in in July 2012, although the stringency of the industry average emission target is significantly higher in a volatile market. We face the risk of advance premium payment requirements if, for example, unexpected market fluctuation within a quarter negatively impacts our average fleet performance.

In separate legislation, "complementary measures" have been mandated, including requirements related to fuel economy indicators, gear shift indicators, tire pressure monitoring systems, low rolling resistance tires, and more-efficient low-CO 2 mobile air conditioning systems. The EU Commission introduced in 2011 a CO 2 target for commercial light duty vehicles to be at an EU industry average of 175 g/km starting in 2014 and 147 g/km starting in 2020 (with a similar 2020 ruling in Switzerland). For "multi-stage vehicles" (e.g., our Transit chassis cabs), the base manufacturer (e.g., Ford) is fully responsible for the CO 2 performance of the final up-fitted vehicles. The EU legislation for light commercial vehicles also includes a penalty system, super-credits for vehicles below 50 g/km (granted between 2014 and 2017), and limited credits for CO 2 off-cycle eco-innovations, pooling, etc., similar to the passenger car CO 2 regulation.

The EU Commission has proposed revised rules for the years 2021 to 2024 and 2025/2030 that include a further tightening of CO 2 limits for passenger cars and light commercial vans, including expected shares of zero and low emission vehicles. Heavy duty vehicles will be addressed in a separate regulation.

The United Nations developed a new technical regulation for passenger car emissions and CO 2. This new world light duty test procedure ("WLTP") is focused primarily on better aligning laboratory CO 2 and fuel consumption figures with customer-reported figures. The introduction of WLTP in Europe started in September 2017 and is likely to require updates to CO 2 labeling, thereby impacting taxes in countries with a CO 2 tax scheme as well as the above-mentioned CO 2 fleet regulations for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Costs associated with new or incremental testing for WLTP could be significant.

Some European countries have implemented or are considering other initiatives for reducing CO 2 vehicle emissions, including fiscal measures and CO 2 labeling. For example, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, among others, have introduced taxation based on CO 2 emissions. The EU CO 2 requirements are likely to trigger further measures. To limit GHG emissions, the EU directive on mobile air conditioning currently requires the replacement of the current refrigerant with a lower "global warming potential" refrigerant for new vehicle types, and for all newly registered vehicles starting in January 2017. A refrigerant change adds considerable costs along the whole manufacturing chain.

Other National Requirements. The Canadian federal government has regulated vehicle GHG emissions under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, beginning with the 2011 model year. In October 2014, the Canadian federal government published the final changes to the regulation for light duty vehicles, which maintain alignment with U.S. EPA vehicle GHG standards for the 2017–2025 model years. The final regulation for 2014–2018 heavy duty vehicles was published in February 2013. Part 1 draft regulations for the 2021 model year and beyond were published in March 2017 and are in line with U.S. requirements.

Mexico adopted fuel economy/CO 2 standards, based on the U.S. One National Program framework, that took effect in 2014. Recently, the government agreed to carryover 2016 model year standards into the 2017 and 2018 model years. Standards for the 2019 model year and later are being developed.

Many Asia Pacific countries (such as Australia, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam) are developing or enforcing fuel efficiency or labeling targets. For example, South Korea has set fuel efficiency targets for 2020, with incentives for early adoption. In September 2017, China published the Method for Parallel Administration on Corporate Average Fuel Consumption of Passenger Car and New Energy Vehicle ("NEV") Credit, which aims to improve fuel efficiency and to set targets for new energy vehicles. The fuel efficiency targets and NEV mandate will impact the cost of vehicle technology in the future.

In South America, Brazil introduced a voluntary vehicle energy-efficiency labeling program, indicating fuel consumption rates for all light-duty vehicles. Brazil has required inclusion of emission classification on fuel economy labels since January 2016. Brazil also published a new automotive regime establishing a minimum absolute CAFE value as a function of Fleet Corporate Average Mass for 2017 light duty vehicles with a spark ignition engine in order to qualify for industrialized products tax reduction. Additional tax reductions are available if further fuel efficiency improvements are achieved and maintained through 2020. Penalties are applied if the energy efficiency levels are not maintained. Brazil reduced the import tax on electric and hybrid cars. The tax rate, which was 35%, will vary from zero to 7%, depending on a vehicle's energy efficiency. Discussion on new fuel efficiency requirements has started. Chile introduced a tax based on urban fuel consumption and NOx emission for light and medium vehicles beginning in late 2014. In general, fuel efficiency targets may impact the cost of technology of our models in the future.

In the Middle East, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia introduced new light duty vehicle fuel economy standards, which are patterned after the U.S. CAFE standard structure, with fuel economy targets following the design of the U.S. 2012–2016 fuel economy standards. The standards became effective on January 1, 2016 and became fully phased in at the end of 2017.

Vehicle Safety

U.S. Requirements. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (the "Safety Act") regulates vehicles and vehicle equipment in two primary ways. First, the Safety Act prohibits the sale in the United States of any new vehicle or equipment that does not conform to applicable vehicle safety standards established by NHTSA. Meeting or exceeding many safety standards is costly, in part because the standards tend to conflict with the need to reduce vehicle weight in order to meet emission and fuel economy standards. Second, the Safety Act requires that defects related to motor vehicle safety be remedied through safety recall campaigns. A manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. Should we or NHTSA determine that either a safety defect or noncompliance issue exists with respect to any of our vehicles, the cost of such recall campaigns could be substantial.

Other National Requirements. The EU and many countries have established vehicle safety standards and regulations, and are likely to adopt additional or more stringent requirements in the future. The European General Safety Regulation introduced UN-ECE regulations, which will be required for the European Type Approval process. EU regulators also are focusing on active safety features such as lane departure warning systems, electronic stability control, and automatic brake assist. Globally, governments generally have been adopting UN-ECE based regulations with minor variations to address local concerns. Any difference between North American and UN-ECE based regulations can add complexity and costs to the development of global platform vehicles, and we continue to support efforts to harmonize regulations to reduce vehicle design complexity while providing a common level of safety performance; several recently launched bilateral negotiations on free trade can potentially contribute to this goal. New safety and recall requirements in China, India, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries also may add substantial costs and complexity to our global recall practice. In South America, additional safety requirements are being introduced or proposed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay, influenced by The New Car Assessment Program for Latin America and the Caribbean ("Latin NCAP"), which may be a driver for similar actions in other countries. In Canada, regulatory requirements are currently aligned with U.S. regulations. However, under the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Act the Minister of Transport has broad powers to order manufacturers to submit a notice of defect or non-compliance when the Minister considers it would be in the interest of safety. In China, a new mandatory Event Data Recorder regulation is under development that is more complex than U.S. requirements, and in China, Malaysia, and South Korea, mandatory e-Call requirements have been drafted.

New Car Assessment Programs. Organizations around the globe rate and compare motor vehicles in New Car Assessment Programs ("NCAPs") to provide consumers with additional information about the safety of new vehicles. NCAPs use crash tests and other evaluations that are different than what is required by applicable regulations, and use stars to rate vehicle safety, with five stars awarded for the highest rating and one for the lowest. Achieving high NCAP ratings can add complexity and cost to vehicles. China finalized the 2018 NCAP protocol with more stringent Pedestrian Protection and Automatic Emergency Braking requirements compared to the United States and Europe. China will also launch a new safety assessment, China Insurance Vehicle Safety Index ("CIVSI"), that is similar to the U.S. IIHS in 2018. Taiwan may also draft NCAP requirements in 2018.

EMPLOYMENT DATA

The approximate number of individuals employed by us and entities that we consolidated as of December 31,  2016 and 2017 was as follows (in thousands):

Substantially all of the hourly employees in our Automotive operations are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements.  In the United States, approximately 99% of these unionized hourly employees in our Automotive segment are represented by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America ("UAW" or "United Auto Workers").  At December 31, 2017 , approximately 56,400 hourly employees in the United States were represented by the UAW. Approximately 1.5% of our U.S. salaried employees are represented by unions.  Many non-management salaried employees at our operations outside of the United States also are represented by unions.

In 2017, we entered into collective bargaining agreements (covering wages, benefits and/or other employment provisions) with unions in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, France, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand.

In 2018, we will negotiate collective bargaining agreements (covering wages, benefits and/or other employment provisions) with unions in Argentina, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, Spain, and Thailand.

ENGINEERING, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT

We engage in engineering, research, and development primarily to improve the performance (including fuel efficiency), safety, and customer satisfaction of our products, and to develop new products and services.  Engineering, research, and development expenses for 2015 , 2016 , and 2017 were $6.7 billion, $7.3 billion, and $8 billion, respectively. 

ITEM 1A. Risk Factors.

We have listed below (not necessarily in order of importance or probability of occurrence) the most significant risk factors applicable to us:

Ford's long-term competitiveness depends on the successful execution of fitness actions. We have announced fitness redesign plans to transform the operational fitness of our business by becoming more customer centric and adopting processes that emphasize simplicity, speed and agility, efficiency, and accountability. If these fitness actions are not successful, we may not be able to materially lower costs in the near term or improve our competitiveness in the long term, which could have an adverse effect on our profitability.

Industry sales volume, particularly in the United States, Europe, or China, could decline if there is a financial crisis, recession, or significant geopolitical event.   Because we, like other manufacturers, have a high proportion of relatively fixed structural costs, relatively small changes in industry sales volume can have a substantial effect on our cash flow and profitability .  If industry vehicle sales were to decline to levels significantly below our planning assumption, particularly in the United States, Europe, or China, due to a financial crisis, recession, or significant geopolitical event, the decline could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flow . For a discussion of economic trends, see the "Overview" section of Item 7.

Ford's new and existing products and mobility services are subject to market acceptance.  Although we conduct extensive market research before launching new or refreshed vehicles and introducing new services, many factors both within and outside our control affect the success of new or existing products and services in the marketplace.  Offering vehicles and services that customers want and value can mitigate the risks of increasing price competition and declining demand, but products and services that are perceived to be less desirable (whether in terms of price, quality, styling, safety, overall value, fuel efficiency, or other attributes) can exacerbate these risks. With increased consumer interconnectedness through the internet, social media, and other media, mere allegations relating to quality, safety, fuel efficiency, corporate social responsibility, or other key attributes can negatively impact our reputation or market acceptance of our products or services, even where such allegations prove to be inaccurate or unfounded. Further, our ability to successfully grow through investments in the area of mobility and electrification depends on many factors, including advancements in technology, regulatory changes, and other factors that are difficult to predict, that may significantly affect the future of autonomous vehicles and mobility services. Rapid changes to our industry, including the introduction of new types of competitors who may possess technological innovations, increase the significance that we are able to anticipate, develop, and deliver products and services that customers desire.

Ford's results are dependent on sales of larger, more profitable vehicles, particularly in the United States. A shift in consumer preferences away from larger, more profitable vehicles (including trucks and SUVs) at levels beyond our current planning assumption-whether because of spiking fuel prices, a decline in the construction industry, government actions or incentives, or other reasons-could result in an immediate and substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Ford may face increased price competition resulting from industry excess capacity, currency fluctuations, or other factors. The global automotive industry is intensely competitive, with manufacturing capacity far exceeding current demand. According to the December 2017 report issued by IHS Automotive, the global automotive industry is estimated to have had excess capacity of about 35 million units in 2017, an increase of about 4 million units from the prior year. Industry overcapacity has resulted in many manufacturers offering marketing incentives on vehicles in an attempt to maintain and grow market share; these incentives historically have included a combination of subsidized financing or leasing programs, price rebates, and other incentives. As a result, we are not necessarily able to set our prices to offset higher costs of marketing incentives, commodity or other cost increases, or the impact of adverse currency fluctuations, including pricing advantages foreign competitors may have because of their weaker home market currencies. Continuation of or increased excess capacity could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Fluctuations in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates can have a significant effect on results. As a resource-intensive manufacturing operation, we are exposed to a variety of market risks, including the effects of changes in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates. We monitor and manage these exposures as an integral part of our overall risk management program, which recognizes the unpredictability of markets and seeks to reduce potentially adverse effects on our business. Changes in commodity prices, currency exchange rates, and interest rates cannot always be predicted, hedged, or offset with price increases to eliminate earnings volatility. As a result, significant changes in commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates, or interest rates could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. See "Overview" to Item 7 and Item 7A for additional discussion of currency, commodity price, and interest rate risks.

With a global footprint, Ford's results could be adversely affected by economic, geopolitical, protectionist trade policies, or other events. With the increasing interconnectedness of global economic and financial systems, a financial crisis, natural disaster, geopolitical crisis, or other significant event in one area of the world can have an immediate and material adverse impact on markets around the world.  Concerns persist regarding the overall stability of the European Union, given the diverse economic and political circumstances of individual European currency area ("euro area") countries.  These concerns have been exacerbated by Brexit.  We have a sterling revenue exposure and a euro cost exposure; a sustained weakening of sterling against euro may have an adverse effect on our profitability.  Further, the United Kingdom may be at risk of losing access to free trade agreements for goods and services with the European Union and other countries, which may result in increased tariffs on U.K. imports and exports that could have an adverse effect on our profitability.

We have operations in various markets with volatile economic or political environments and are pursuing growth opportunities in a number of newly developed and emerging markets.  These investments may expose us to heightened risks of economic, geopolitical, or other events, including governmental takeover (i.e., nationalization) of our manufacturing facilities or intellectual property, restrictive exchange or import controls, disruption of operations as a result of systemic political or economic instability, outbreak of war or expansion of hostilities, and acts of terrorism, each of which could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.  Further, the U.S. government, other governments, and international organizations could impose additional sanctions that could restrict us from doing business directly or indirectly in or with certain countries or parties, which could include affiliates.

Ford's production, as well as Ford's suppliers' production, could be disrupted by labor disputes, natural or man-made disasters, financial distress, production difficulties, or other factors.  A work stoppage or other limitation on production could occur at Ford's or its suppliers' facilities for any number of reasons, including as a result of disputes under existing collective bargaining agreements with labor unions or in connection with negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements, or as a result of supplier financial distress or other production constraints or difficulties, or for other reasons. Many components used in our vehicles are available only from a single supplier and therefore cannot be re-sourced quickly or inexpensively to another supplier (due to long lead times, new contractual commitments that may be required by another supplier before ramping up to provide the components or materials, etc.). Such single-source suppliers also could threaten to disrupt our production as leverage in negotiations. A significant disruption to our production schedule could have a substantial adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Ford's ability to maintain a competitive cost structure could be affected by labor or other constraints. Substantially all of the hourly employees in our Automotive operations in the United States and Canada are represented by unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements.  These agreements provide guaranteed wage and benefit levels throughout the contract term and some degree of income security, subject to certain conditions. As a practical matter, these agreements may restrict our ability to close plants and divest businesses. A substantial number of our employees in other regions are represented by unions or government councils, and legislation or custom promoting retention of manufacturing or other employment in the state, country, or region may constrain as a practical matter our ability to sell or close manufacturing or other facilities.

Pension and other postretirement liabilities could adversely affect Ford's liquidity and financial condition. We have defined benefit retirement plans in the United States that cover many of our hourly and salaried employees. We also provide pension benefits to non-U.S. employees and retirees, primarily in Europe. In addition, we and certain of our subsidiaries sponsor plans to provide other postretirement benefits ("OPEB") for retired employees (primarily health care and life insurance benefits). See Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for more information about these plans. These benefit plans impose significant liabilities on us and could require us to make additional cash contributions, which could impair our liquidity. If our cash flows and capital resources were insufficient to meet any pension or OPEB obligations, we could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, suspend dividend payments, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness.

Economic and demographic experience for pension and other postretirement benefit plans (e.g., discount rates or investment returns) could be worse than Ford has assumed . The measurement of our obligations, costs, and liabilities associated with benefits pursuant to our pension and other postretirement benefit plans requires that we estimate the present value of projected future payments to all participants. We use many assumptions in calculating these estimates, including assumptions related to discount rates, investment returns on designated plan assets, and demographic experience (e.g., mortality and retirement rates). We generally remeasure these estimates at each year end and recognize any gains or losses associated with changes to our plan assets and liabilities in the year incurred. To the extent actual results are less favorable than our assumptions, we may recognize a substantial remeasurement loss in our results. For discussion of our assumptions, see "Critical Accounting Estimates" in Item 7 and Note 17 of the Notes to the Financial Statements.

Ford's vehicles could be affected by defects that result in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns, or increased warranty costs. Government safety standards require manufacturers to remedy defects related to vehicle safety through safety recall campaigns, and a manufacturer is obligated to recall vehicles if it determines that the vehicles do not comply with a safety standard. NHTSA's enforcement strategy has shifted to a significant increase in civil penalties levied and the use of consent orders requiring direct oversight by NHTSA of certain manufacturers' safety processes, a trend that could continue. Should we or government safety regulators determine that a safety or other defect or a noncompliance exists with respect to certain of our vehicles prior to the start of production, the launch of such vehicle could be delayed until such defect is remedied. The costs associated with any protracted delay in new model launches necessary to remedy such defects, or the cost of recall campaigns or warranty costs to remedy such defects in vehicles that have been sold, could be substantial. Such recall and customer satisfaction actions may relate to defective components we receive from suppliers. The cost to complete a recall or customer satisfaction action could be exacerbated to the extent such action relates to a global platform. Furthermore, launch delays or recall actions could adversely affect our reputation or market acceptance of our products as discussed above under " Ford's new and existing products and mobility services are subject to market acceptance ."

Safety, emissions, fuel economy, and other regulations affecting Ford may become more stringent. The worldwide automotive industry is governed by a substantial amount of government regulation, which often differs by state, region, and country. Government regulation has arisen, and proposals for additional regulation are advanced, primarily out of concern for the environment (including concerns about global climate change and its impact), vehicle safety, and energy independence. For example, as discussed above under "Item 1. Business - Governmental Standards," in the United States the CAFE standards for light duty vehicles increase sharply to approximately 50 mpg by the 2025 model year; EPA's parallel CO 2  emission regulations impose similar standards. California's ZEV rules also mandate steep increases in the sale of electric vehicles and other advanced technology vehicles through the 2025 model year; even more burdensome regulations are likely to follow. In addition, many governments regulate local product content and/or impose import requirements as a means of creating jobs, protecting domestic producers, and influencing the balance of payments.

We are continuing to make changes to our product cycle plan to improve the fuel economy of our petroleum-powered vehicles and to offer more electrified vehicles with lower GHG emissions. There are limits on our ability to achieve fuel economy improvements over a given time frame, however, primarily relating to the cost and effectiveness of available technologies, consumer acceptance of new technologies and changes in vehicle mix, willingness of consumers to absorb the additional costs of new technologies, the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of certain technologies for use in particular vehicles, the widespread availability (or lack thereof) of supporting infrastructure for new technologies, and the human, engineering, and financial resources necessary to deploy new technologies across a wide range of products and powertrains in a short time. The current fuel economy, CO 2 , and ZEV standards will be difficult to meet if fuel prices remain relatively low and market conditions do not drive consumers to purchase electric vehicles and other highly fuel-efficient vehicles in large numbers.

The U.S. government has pursued an enforcement action against a major competitor in connection with its alleged use of "defeat devices" in hundreds of thousands of light duty diesel vehicles, collecting billions of dollars for environmental remediation projects and civil penalties.  Several of the competitor's employees have been indicted on charges of committing federal crimes.  The competitor also faces various class action suits, as well as numerous claims and investigations by various U.S. states and other nations. The emergence of this issue has led to increased scrutiny of automaker emission testing by regulators around the world ,  which in turn has triggered investigations of other manufacturers. These events have led to new regulations, more stringent enforcement programs, requests for field actions, and/or delays in regulatory approvals. The cost to comply with existing government regulations is substantial and additional regulations or changes in consumer preferences that affect vehicle mix could have a substantial adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, a number of governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, publicly assess vehicles to their own protocols. The protocols could change aggressively, and any negative perception regarding the performance of our vehicles subjected to such tests could reduce future sales. For more discussion of the impact of standards on our global business, see the "Governmental Standards" discussion in "Item 1. Business" above.

Ford could experience unusual or significant litigation, governmental investigations, or adverse publicity arising out of alleged defects in products, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise. We spend substantial resources ensuring that we comply with governmental safety regulations, mobile and stationary source emissions regulations, and other standards. Compliance with governmental standards, however, does not necessarily prevent individual or class actions, which can entail significant cost and risk. In certain circumstances, courts may permit tort claims even where our vehicles comply with federal and/or other applicable law. Furthermore, simply responding to actual or threatened litigation or government investigations of our compliance with regulatory standards, whether related to our products or business or commercial relationships, may require significant expenditures of time and other resources. Litigation also is inherently uncertain, and we could experience significant adverse results. In addition, adverse publicity surrounding an allegation may cause significant reputational harm that could have a significant adverse effect on our sales.

Ford's receipt of government incentives could be subject to reduction, termination, or clawback. We receive economic benefits from national, state, and local governments in various regions of the world in the form of incentives designed to encourage manufacturers to establish, maintain, or increase investment, workforce, or production. These incentives may take various forms, including grants, loan subsidies, and tax abatements or credits. The impact of these incentives can be significant in a particular market during a reporting period. For example, most of our manufacturing facilities in South America are located in Brazil, where the state or federal governments have historically offered, and continue to offer, significant incentives to manufacturers to encourage capital investment, increase manufacturing production, and create jobs. As a result, the performance of our South American operations has been impacted favorably by government incentives to a substantial extent. In Brazil, however, the federal government has levied assessments against us concerning our calculation of federal incentives we received, and certain states have challenged the grant to us of tax incentives by the State of Bahia. A decrease in, expiration without renewal of, or other cessation or clawback of government incentives for any of our business units, as a result of administrative decision or otherwise, could have a substantial adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations. See Note 2 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for discussion of our accounting for government incentives, and "Item 3. Legal Proceedings" for a discussion of tax proceedings in Brazil and the potential requirement for us to post collateral.

Operational systems, security systems, and vehicles could be affected by cyber incidents.  We rely on information technology networks and systems, including in-vehicle systems and mobile devices, some of which are managed by suppliers, to process, transmit , and store electronic information that is important to the operation of our business and our vehicles. Despite security measures, we are at risk for interruptions, outages, and breaches of: (i) operational systems (including business, financial, accounting, product development, consumer receivables, data processing, or manufacturing processes); (ii) facility security systems; and/or (iii) in-vehicle systems or mobile devices. Such cyber incidents could materially disrupt operational systems; result in loss of trade secrets or other proprietary or competitively sensitive information; compromise the privacy of personal information of customers, employees, or others; jeopardize the security of our facilities; affect the performance of in-vehicle systems; and/or impact the safety of our vehicles. A cyber incident could be caused by malicious third parties using sophisticated, targeted methods to circumvent firewalls, encryption, and other security defenses, including hacking, fraud, trickery, or other forms of deception. We have been the target of these types of attacks in the past and such attacks are likely to occur in the future. The techniques used for attacks by third parties change frequently and may become more sophisticated, which may cause cyber incidents to be difficult to detect for long periods of time. Our networks and in-vehicle systems may also be affected by computer viruses or breaches due to the negligence or misconduct of employees, contractors , and/or others who have access to our networks and systems. A significant cyber incident could impact production capability, harm our reputation, and/or subject us to regulatory actions or litigation.

Ford Credit's access to debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in sufficient amounts could be affected by credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, or other factors. Ford Credit's ability to obtain unsecured funding at a reasonable cost is dependent on its credit ratings or its perceived creditworthiness. Ford Credit's ability to obtain securitized funding under its committed asset-backed liquidity programs and certain other asset-backed securitization transactions is subject to having a sufficient amount of assets eligible for these programs, as well as Ford Credit's ability to obtain appropriate credit ratings and, for certain committed programs, derivatives to manage the interest rate risk. Over time, and particularly in the event of any credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, or other factors, Ford Credit may reduce the amount of receivables it purchases or originates because of funding constraints. In addition, Ford Credit may be limited in the amount of receivables it purchases or originates in certain countries or regions if the local capital markets, particularly in developing countries, do not exist or are not adequately developed. Similarly, Ford Credit may reduce the amount of receivables it purchases or originates if there is a significant decline in the demand for the types of securities it offers or Ford Credit is unable to obtain derivatives to manage the interest rate risk associated with its securitization transactions. A significant reduction in the amount of receivables Ford Credit purchases or originates would significantly reduce its ongoing profits and could adversely affect its ability to support the sale of Ford vehicles.

Ford Credit could experience higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values, or higher-than-expected return volumes for leased vehicles. Credit risk is the possibility of loss from a customer's or dealer's failure to make payments according to contract terms. Credit risk (which is heavily dependent upon economic factors including unemployment, consumer debt service burden, personal income growth, dealer profitability, and used car prices) has a significant impact on Ford Credit's business. The level of credit losses Ford Credit may experience could exceed its expectations and adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations. In addition, Ford Credit projects expected residual values (including residual value support payments from Ford) and return volumes for the vehicles it leases. Actual proceeds realized by Ford Credit upon the sale of returned leased vehicles at lease termination may be lower than the amount projected, which would reduce the profitability of the lease transaction. Among the factors that can affect the value of returned lease vehicles are the volume of vehicles returned, economic conditions, marketing programs, and quality or perceived quality, safety, fuel efficiency, or reliability of the vehicles. Actual return volumes may be influenced by these factors, as well as by contractual lease-end values relative to auction values. Each of these factors, alone or in combination, has the potential to adversely affect Ford Credit's profitability if actual results were to differ significantly from Ford Credit's projections. See "Critical Accounting Estimates" in Item 7 for additional discussion.

Ford Credit could face increased competition from banks, financial institutions, or other third parties seeking to increase their share of financing Ford vehicles. No single company is a dominant force in the automotive finance industry. Most of Ford Credit's competitors in the United States use credit aggregation systems that permit dealers to send, through standardized systems, retail credit applications to multiple finance sources to evaluate financing options offered by these sources. Also, direct on-line or large dealer group financing options provide consumers with alternative finance sources and/or increased pricing transparency. All of these financing alternatives drive greater competition based on financing rates and terms. Competition from such institutions and alternative finance sources could adversely affect Ford Credit's profitability and the volume of its retail business. In addition, Ford Credit may face increased competition on wholesale financing for Ford dealers.

Ford Credit could be subject to new or increased credit regulations, consumer or data protection regulations, or other regulations. As a finance company, Ford Credit is highly regulated by governmental authorities in the locations in which it operates, which can impose significant additional costs and/or restrictions on its business.  In the United States, for example, Ford Credit's operations are subject to regulation, supervision, and licensing under various federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including the federal Truth-in-Lending Act, Consumer Leasing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The Dodd-Frank Act directs federal agencies to adopt rules to regulate the consumer finance industry and the capital markets and gives the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") broad rule-making and enforcement authority for a wide range of consumer financial protection laws that regulate consumer finance businesses, such as Ford Credit's retail automotive financing business. Exercise of these powers by the CFPB may increase the costs of, impose additional restrictions on, or otherwise adversely affect companies in the automotive finance business. The CFPB has authority to supervise and examine the largest nonbank automotive finance companies, such as Ford Credit, for compliance with consumer financial protection laws.

ITEM 1B.   Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

ITEM 2. Properties.

Our principal properties include manufacturing and assembly facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, sales or administrative offices, and engineering centers.

We own substantially all of our U.S. manufacturing and assembly facilities. Our facilities are situated in various sections of the country and include assembly plants, engine plants, casting plants, metal stamping plants, transmission plants, and other component plants. Most of our distribution centers are leased (we own approximately 40% of the total square footage, and lease the balance). The majority of the warehouses that we operate are leased, although many of our manufacturing and assembly facilities contain some warehousing space. Substantially all of our sales offices are leased space. Approximately 98% of the total square footage of our engineering centers and our supplementary research and development space is owned by us.

In addition, we maintain and operate manufacturing plants, assembly facilities, parts distribution centers, and engineering centers outside of the United States. We own substantially all of our non-U.S. manufacturing plants, assembly facilities, and engineering centers. The majority of our parts distribution centers outside of the United States are either leased or provided by vendors under service contracts.

We and the entities that we consolidated as of December 31, 2017 use nine regional engineering, research, and development centers, and 61 manufacturing plants as shown in the table below:

Included in the number of plants shown above are plants that are operated by us or our consolidated joint ventures that support our Automotive segment. The significant consolidated joint ventures and the number of plants each owns are as follows:

In addition to the plants that we operate directly or that are operated by our consolidated joint ventures, additional plants that support our Automotive segment are operated by unconsolidated joint ventures of which we are a partner.  These plants are not included in the number of plants shown in the table above.  The most significant of the automotive unconsolidated joint ventures are as follows:

The facilities described above are, in the opinion of management, suitable and adequate for the manufacture and assembly of our and our joint ventures' products.

The furniture, equipment, and other physical property owned by our Financial Services operations are not material in relation to the operations' total assets.

ITEM 3.  Legal Proceedings.

The litigation process is subject to many uncertainties, and the outcome of individual matters is not predictable with assurance. See Note 23 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a discussion of loss contingencies. Following is a discussion of our significant pending legal proceedings:

PRODUCT LIABILITY MATTERS

We are a defendant in numerous actions in state and federal courts within and outside of the United States alleging damages from injuries resulting from (or aggravated by) alleged defects in our vehicles. In many, no monetary amount of damages is specified or the specific amount alleged is the jurisdictional minimum. Our experience with litigation alleging a specific amount of damages suggests that such amounts, on average, bear little relation to the actual amount of damages, if any, that we will pay in resolving such matters.

In addition to pending actions, we assess the likelihood of incidents that likely have occurred but not yet been reported to us. We also take into consideration specific matters that have been raised as claims but have not yet proceeded to litigation. Individual product liability matters which, if resolved unfavorably to the Company, likely would involve a significant cost would be described herein. Currently there are no such matters to report.

ASBESTOS MATTERS

Asbestos was used in some brakes, clutches, and other automotive components from the early 1900s. Along with other vehicle manufacturers, we have been the target of asbestos litigation and, as a result, are a defendant in various actions for injuries claimed to have resulted from alleged exposure to Ford parts and other products containing asbestos. Plaintiffs in these personal injury cases allege various health problems as a result of asbestos exposure, either from component parts found in older vehicles, insulation or other asbestos products in our facilities, or asbestos aboard our former maritime fleet. We believe that we are targeted more aggressively in asbestos suits because many previously-targeted companies have filed for bankruptcy, or emerged from bankruptcy relieved of liability for such claims.

Most of the asbestos litigation we face involves individuals who claim to have worked on the brakes of our vehicles. We are prepared to defend these cases and believe that the scientific evidence confirms our long-standing position that there is no increased risk of asbestos-related disease as a result of exposure to the type of asbestos formerly used in the brakes on our vehicles. The extent of our financial exposure to asbestos litigation remains very difficult to estimate and could include both compensatory and punitive damage awards. The majority of our asbestos cases do not specify a dollar amount for damages; in many of the other cases the dollar amount specified is the jurisdictional minimum, and the vast majority of these cases involve multiple defendants, sometimes more than one hundred. Many of these cases also involve multiple plaintiffs, and often we are unable to tell from the pleadings which plaintiffs are making claims against us (as opposed to other defendants). Annual payout and defense costs may become significant in the future.

ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

We have received notices under various federal and state environmental laws that we (along with others) are or may be a potentially responsible party for the costs associated with remediating numerous hazardous substance storage, recycling, or disposal sites in many states and, in some instances, for natural resource damages. We also may have been a generator of hazardous substances at a number of other sites. The amount of any such costs or damages for which we may be held responsible could be significant.

We have one environmental legal proceeding to which a governmental authority is a party and in which we believe there is the possibility of monetary sanctions in excess of $100,000:

Notice of Violation to Ford Chicago Assembly Plant .  On August 17, 2015, U.S. EPA issued a notice of violation to our Chicago Assembly Plant. EPA alleges that the plant violated several requirements related to its air permit.  Monetary sanctions, if any, have not yet been determined.

CLASS ACTIONS

In light of the fact that very few of the purported class actions filed against us in the past have ever been certified by the courts as class actions, in general we list those actions that (i) have been certified as a class action by a court of competent jurisdiction (and any additional purported class actions that raise allegations substantially similar to an existing and certified class), and (ii) likely would involve a significant cost if resolved unfavorably to the Company. At this time, we have no such purported class actions filed against us.

OTHER MATTERS

Brazilian Tax Matters.   Two Brazilian states and the Brazilian federal tax authority currently have outstanding substantial tax assessments against Ford Brazil related to state and federal tax incentives Ford Brazil receives for its operations in the Brazilian state of Bahia.  All assessments have been appealed to the relevant administrative court of each jurisdiction.  Our appeals with the State of São Paulo and the federal tax authority remain at the administrative level. In the State of Minas Gerais, where three cases are pending, one remains at the administrative level and two have been appealed to the judicial court.  To proceed with an appeal within the judicial court system, an appellant may be required to post collateral. To date we have not been required to post any collateral.

The state assessments are part of a broader conflict among various states in Brazil. The federal legislature enacted laws designed to encourage the states to end that conflict, and in 2017 the states reached an agreement on a framework for resolution. We expect the amount of any remaining assessments by the states to be resolved under that framework. The federal assessments are outside the scope of the legislation.

Transit Connect Customs Ruling. On March 8, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") ruled that Transit Connects imported as passenger wagons and later converted into cargo vans are subject to the 25% duty applicable to cargo vehicles, rather than the 2.5% duty applicable to passenger vehicles. As a result of the ruling, CBP is requiring Ford to pay the 25% duty upon importation of Transit Connects that will be converted to cargo vehicles, and is seeking the difference in duty rates for prior imports. Our protest of the ruling within CBP was denied, and we filed a challenge in the U.S. Court of International Trade ("CIT"). On August 9, 2017, the CIT ruled in our favor. On October 6, 2017, CBP filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If we prevail on appeal, we will receive a refund of the contested amounts paid, plus interest.

ITEM 4.   Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

ITEM 4A. Executive Officers of Ford.

Our executive officers are as follows, along with each executive officer's position and age at February 1, 2018:

____________

Except as noted below, each of the officers listed above has been employed by Ford or its subsidiaries in one or more capacities during the past five years.  Prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford, James P. Hackett was the Chief Executive Officer of Steelcase Inc. until March 2014; a member of Ford's Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016; and the chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC from March 2016 to May 2017.

Under our by-laws, executive officers are elected by the Board of Directors at an annual meeting of the Board held for this purpose or by a resolution to fill a vacancy.  Each officer is elected to hold office until a successor is chosen or as otherwise provided in the by-laws.

PART II.

ITEM 5. Market for Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Our Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States.

The table below shows the high and low sales prices for our Common Stock, and the dividends we paid per share of Common and Class B Stock, for each quarterly period in 2016 and 2017:

__________

As of January 31, 2018, stockholders of record of Ford included approximately 120,626 holders of Common Stock and 3 holders of Class B Stock.

In the second quarter of 2017, we completed a modest anti-dilutive share repurchase program to offset the dilutive effect of share-based compensation granted during 2017. The plan authorized repurchases of up to 11.8 million shares of Ford Common Stock .

ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data.

The following table sets forth selected financial data for each of the last five years (dollar amounts in millions, except for per share amounts):

ITEM 7.  Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

OVERVIEW

Non-GAAP Financial Measures That Supplement GAAP Measures

We use both generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and non-GAAP financial measures for operational and financial decision making, and to assess Company and segment business performance. The non-GAAP measures listed below are intended to be considered by users as supplemental information to their equivalent GAAP measures, to aid investors in better understanding our financial results. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful perspective on underlying business results and trends, and a means to assess our period-over-period results. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies due to possible differences in method and in items or events being adjusted.

Revenue

Our Automotive segment revenue is generated primarily by sales of vehicles, parts, and accessories. Revenue is recorded when control is transferred to our customers (generally, our dealers and distributors). For the majority of sales, this occurs when products are shipped from our manufacturing facilities. This is not the case, however, with respect to vehicles produced for sale to daily rental car companies with an obligation to repurchase the vehicle for a guaranteed amount, exercisable at the option of the customer. These vehicles are accounted for as operating leases, with lease revenue and profits recognized over the term of the lease. Proceeds from the sale of vehicles at auction are recognized in revenue upon transfer of control of the vehicle to the customer.

Most of the vehicles sold by us to our dealers and distributors are financed at wholesale by Ford Credit. Upon Ford Credit originating the wholesale receivable related to a dealer's purchase of a vehicle, Ford Credit pays cash to the relevant Automotive legal entity in payment of the dealer's obligation for the purchase price of the vehicle. The dealer then pays the wholesale finance receivable to Ford Credit when it sells the vehicle to a retail customer.

Our Financial Services segment revenue is generated primarily from interest on finance receivables, net of certain deferred origination costs that are included as a reduction of financing revenue, and such revenue is recognized over the term of the receivable using the interest method. Also, revenue from operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Income is generated to the extent revenues exceed expenses, most of which are interest, depreciation, and operating expenses.

Transactions between our Automotive and Financial Services segments occur in the ordinary course of business. For example, we offer special retail financing and lease incentives to dealers' customers who choose to finance or lease our vehicles from Ford Credit. The cost for these incentives is included in our estimate of variable consideration at the later of the date the related vehicle sales to our dealers are recorded or the date the incentive program is both approved and communicated. In order to compensate Ford Credit for the lower interest or lease payments offered to the retail customer, we pay the discounted value of the incentive directly to Ford Credit when it originates the retail finance or lease contract with the dealer's customer. Ford Credit recognizes the amount over the life of retail finance contracts as an element of financing revenue and over the life of lease contracts as a reduction to depreciation. See Note 1 of the Notes to the Financial Statements for a more detailed discussion of transactions between our Automotive and Financial Services segments.

Costs and Expenses

Our income statement classifies our Automotive segment total costs and expenses into two categories: (i) cost of sales, and (ii) selling, administrative, and other expenses. We include within cost of sales those costs related to the development, manufacture, and distribution of our vehicles, parts, and accessories. Specifically, we include in cost of sales each of the following: material costs (including commodity costs); freight costs; warranty, including product recall costs; labor and other costs related to the development and manufacture of our products; depreciation and amortization; and other associated costs. We include within selling, administrative, and other expenses labor and other costs not directly related to the development and manufacture of our products, including such expenses as advertising and sales promotion costs.

Certain of our costs, such as material costs, generally vary directly with changes in volume and mix of production. In our industry, production volume often varies significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. Quarterly production volumes experience seasonal shifts throughout the year (including peak retail sales seasons and the impact on production of model changeover and new product launches). As we have seen in recent years, annual production volumes are heavily impacted by external economic factors, including the pace of economic growth and factors such as the availability of consumer credit and cost of fuel.

As a result, we analyze the profit impact of certain cost changes holding constant present-year volume and mix and currency exchange, in order to evaluate our cost trends absent the impact of varying production and currency exchange levels. We analyze these cost changes in the following categories:

While contribution costs generally vary directly in proportion to production volume, elements within our structural costs category are impacted to differing degrees by changes in production volume. We also have varying degrees of discretion when it comes to controlling the different elements within our structural costs. For example, depreciation and amortization expense largely is associated with prior capital spending decisions. On the other hand, while labor costs do not vary directly with production volume, manufacturing labor costs may be impacted by changes in volume, for example when we increase overtime, add a production shift, or add personnel to support volume increases. Other structural costs, such as advertising or engineering costs, do not necessarily have a directly proportionate relationship to production volume. Our structural costs generally are within our discretion, although to varying degrees, and can be adjusted over time in response to external factors.

We consider certain structural costs to be a direct investment in future growth and revenue. For example, increases in structural costs are necessary to grow our business and improve profitability as we expand around the world, invest in new products and technologies, respond to increasing industry sales volume, and grow our market share.

Cost of sales and Selling, administrative, and other expenses for full-year 2017 were $142.9 billion. Our Automotive segment's material and commodity costs make up the largest portion of these costs and expenses, representing in 2017 about two-thirds of the total amount. Structural costs are the largest piece of the remaining balance. Although material costs are our largest absolute cost, our margins can be affected significantly by changes in any category of costs.

Key Economic Factors and Trends Affecting the Automotive Industry

Currency Exchange Rate Volatility. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its policy interest rate three times in 2017, after single rate increases in 2015 and 2016. Central banks in other developed markets have also initiated or signaled the end of an extended period of monetary policy easing.  The related shifts in capital flows have contributed to increased volatility for both developed and emerging market currencies globally. Emerging markets also face differing inflation backdrops and, in some cases, political instability, contributing to unpredictable movements in the value of their exchange rates.  In addition to direct impacts on the financial flows of global automotive companies, currency movements can also impact pricing of vehicles exported to overseas markets, most notably in the case of the yen. In most markets, exchange rates are market-determined, and all are impacted by many different macroeconomic and policy factors, and thus likely to remain volatile.  However, in some markets, exchange rates are heavily influenced or controlled by governments.

Excess Capacity. According to IHS Automotive, an automotive research firm, the estimated automotive industry global production capacity for light vehicles of about 130 million units exceeded global production by about 35 million units in 2017.  In North America and Europe, two regions where a significant share of industry revenue is earned, excess capacity as a percent of production was an estimated 17% and 20%, respectively, in 2017.  In China, the auto industry also witnessed excess capacity at 57% of production in 2017, as manufacturers compete to capitalize on China's future market potential.  According to production capacity data projected by IHS Automotive, global excess capacity conditions could continue for several years at an average of about 40 million units per year during the period from 2018 to 2023.

Pricing Pressure. Excess capacity, coupled with a proliferation of new products being introduced in key segments, will keep pressure on manufacturers' ability to increase prices.  In North America, the industry restructuring of the past few years has allowed manufacturers to better match production with demand, although Japanese and Korean manufacturers also have capacity located outside of the region directed to North America.  In the future, Chinese and Indian manufacturers are expected to enter U.S. and European markets, further intensifying competition.  Over the long term, intense competition and excess capacity will continue to put downward pressure on inflation-adjusted prices for similarly-contented vehicles in the United States and contribute to a challenging pricing environment for the automotive industry.  In Europe, the excess capacity situation was exacerbated by weakening demand and the lack of reductions in existing capacity, such that negative pricing pressure is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Commodity and Energy Price Changes. The price of oil has increased since late 2017, supported by global demand growth and an extended agreement among oil-producing nations to maintain modest output reductions. Still, oil prices remain well below prior peaks. In addition, after several years of low prices, stronger global demand has put upward pressure on other commodity prices, including steel, aluminum, and other metals used in the manufacturing of our vehicles. 

Vehicle Profitability. Our financial results depend on the profitability of the vehicles we sell, which may vary significantly by vehicle line. In general, larger vehicles tend to command higher prices and be more profitable than smaller vehicles, both across and within vehicle segments. For example, in North America, our larger, more profitable

vehicles had an average contribution margin that was about 135% of our total average contribution margin across all

vehicles, whereas our smaller vehicles had significantly lower contribution margins. In addition, government regulations aimed at reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency may increase the cost of vehicles by more than the perceived benefit to the consumer. Given the backdrop of excess capacity, these regulations could dampen contribution margins.

Trade Policy. To the extent governments in various regions erect or intensify barriers to imports, or implement currency policy that advantages local exporters selling into the global marketplace, there can be a significant negative impact on manufacturers based in markets that promote free trade.  While we believe the long-term trend is toward the growth of free trade, we have noted with concern recent developments in a number of regions.  In Asia Pacific, for example, a weak yen significantly reduces the cost of exports into the United States, Europe, and other global markets by Japanese manufacturers.  Over a period of time, a weak yen can contribute to other countries pursuing weak currency policies by intervening in the exchange rate markets.  This is particularly likely in other Asian countries, such as South Korea.  We will continue to monitor and address developing issues around trade policy. 

Other Economic Factors. Although in recent months interest rates have risen, mature market government bond yields and inflation have remained lower than expected.  At the same time, government deficits and debt remain at high levels in many major markets.  The eventual implications of higher government deficits and debt, with potentially higher long-term interest rates, may drive a higher cost of capital over our planning period.  Higher interest rates and/or taxes to address the higher deficits also may impede real growth in gross domestic product and, therefore, vehicle sales over our planning period.

Trends and Strategies

Cities are becoming more congested. Fortunately, vehicles that move people in city infrastructures are becoming smarter. Our opportunity is to leverage the capability of smart vehicles in smart environments to attack the congestion problem through a new transportation operating system.

We also have an opportunity to improve logistics. Currently, there is an inefficient operating system for the delivery of goods. The growth of internet sales has resulted in more deliveries, which is compounding the problem of city congestion. We can imagine a world where smart vehicles in a smart world improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and improve logistics.

In response to these trends, we refined our strategy in 2017 to focus on resetting revenue and attacking costs in the short-term, and redesigning our business to compete and win in the future. To that end, we have identified five priorities:

In 2017, we took several actions to help achieve these priorities, including:

At the start of 2018, we announced a plan to increase our investment in electrification-expected to be over $11 billion by 2022-to substantially increase the number of battery electric vehicles we offer around the world. And we will have more to announce in 2018 as we remain focused on designing smart vehicles for a smart world that help people move more safely, confidently, and freely.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2017

TOTAL COMPANY

Net income attributable to Ford. The chart below shows our net income attributable to Ford for full year 2017:

Net income attributable to Ford for full year 2017 was $7.6 billion or $1.90 diluted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock, an increase of $3 billion or $0.75 per share compared with 2016, due to the significantly lower remeasurement loss on pension and OPEB plans and favorable tax planning actions. Full year 2017 pre-tax results of our Automotive segment, Financial Services segment, All Other, Special Items, and Taxes are discussed in the following sections in "Results of Operations - 2017."

Revenue. Company revenue for full year 2017 was $156.8 billion, $5 billion higher than 2016.

Cost of sales and Selling, administrative, and other expenses for full year 2017 were $142.9 billion, an increase of $5.7 billion compared with 2016. The detail for the change is shown below (in billions):

Equity. At December 31, 2017, total equity attributable to Ford was $34.9 billion, an increase of $5.7 billion compared with December 31, 2016. The detail for this change is shown below (in billions):

The chart below shows our full year 2017 total Company adjusted pre-tax results and pre-tax results of our Automotive segment by regional business unit, our Financial Services segment, and All Other.

Our Company adjusted pre-tax profit for full year 2017 was $8.4 billion, a decrease of $1.9 billion from 2016. Our Company adjusted pre-tax profit consisted of Automotive segment profit of $7.3 billion, a strong profit of $2.2 billion in the Financial Services segment, and a loss of $1.1 billion in All Other.

Automotive results were driven by North America. In total, our Automotive operations outside North America generated a loss of $252 million, $673 million lower than in 2016 driven largely by expected Brexit effects in Europe.

Our adjusted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock was $1.78, an increase of $0.02 per share, due to favorable tax planning actions.

AUTOMOTIVE SEGMENT

In general, we measure year-over-year change in Automotive segment pre-tax results using the causal factors listed below, with net pricing and cost variances calculated at present-year volume and mix and exchange:

In addition, definitions and calculations used in this report include:

References to Automotive records for operating cash flow, operating margin, and business units are since at least 2000.

The charts on the following pages detail full year 2017 key metrics and the change in full year 2017 pre-tax results compared with full year 2016 by causal factor for our Automotive segment and its business units - North America, South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Shown above are the key financial metrics for our Automotive segment for full year 2017.

Wholesale volumes were about flat while Automotive revenue was up 3% due to favorable mix, higher volume from consolidated operations, and favorable net pricing.

Global industry volume, estimated at 94.9 million units, was up 2.2 million units or 2% compared to a year ago. The increase was driven by Asia Pacific, Europe, and South America.

Global market share, at 7%, was down two-tenths of a percentage point, reflecting lower share in Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Market share was up in South America and flat in North America.

Our Automotive operating margin was 5% and pre-tax profit was $7.3 billion. Both metrics were lower than a year ago.

Shown above are the factors that contributed to the $2.2 billion decline in full year Automotive segment pre-tax profit. The lower profit was primarily explained by higher commodities and adverse exchange. All other factors about offset.

Higher commodities were driven by metals, primarily steel, and adverse exchange was driven by the sterling, reflecting Brexit effects of about $600 million, along with the Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi, and Argentine peso.

Favorable market factors were driven by improved mix in all regions, excluding South America, and higher net pricing in all regions, except Asia Pacific, reflecting negative industry pricing in China.

In 2017, North America generated a full year pre-tax profit of $7.5 billion with an operating margin of 8%.

Wholesale volume was down 2% while revenue was up 1% from a year ago.

North America and U.S. industry volume, at 21.5 million units and 17.5 million units, respectively, were each down 300,000 units.

Our North America market share was flat, with U.S. share up two-tenths of a point to 14.8%. The increase was driven by F-Series (with share up four-tenths), utilities, and Lincoln.

North America's full year 2017 pre-tax profit was $1.5 billion lower than a year ago. The decrease was driven by higher commodities, mainly steel and other metals; Expedition/Navigator launch effects, reflecting lower volume and higher costs, both product and structural costs, offset partially by favorable net pricing; and adverse exchange driven primarily by the Canadian dollar.

The higher engineering expense primarily reflects utilities, autonomous vehicles, and commercial vehicles.

The favorable mix was driven by the strength of F-Series and utilities.

Within the United States, average retail transaction prices were $1,300 per vehicle higher compared to a year ago, more than double the industry average increase. (Average retail transaction prices are based on J.D. Power and Associates PIN data). Our incentives were up slightly as a percent of revenue, but less than the industry average.

In 2017, South America generated a pre-tax loss of $784 million, an improvement of $325 million, or 29%, from a year ago.

All full year key metrics were improved from a year ago, as macroeconomic conditions continue to show signs of improvement.

Wholesale volume increased by 15% and revenue was up 21% from a year ago.

Industry volume for the region, at 4.2 million units, was 13% higher than 2016 due to growth in Brazil and Argentina.

Our market share for the region, at 8.9%, was up one-tenth of a percentage point due to the strong performance of Ka in Brazil.

South America's full year 2017 pre-tax loss improved $325 million compared to a year ago due to higher industry volume and favorable net pricing. This was partially offset by unfavorable cost performance due to the effects of high inflation and higher product costs net of efficiencies, driven by the all-new EcoSport.

Unfavorable exchange was primarily due to the weaker Argentine peso.

In 2017, Europe delivered a full year pre-tax profit of $234 million and an operating margin of 0.8%, both down sharply from a year ago.

Wholesale volume increased by 3% and revenue was up 4% from a year ago.

Europe industry volume, at 20.9 million units, was 4% higher than a year ago.

Europe's market share, at 7.5%, was down two-tenths of a percentage point reflecting limited product availability, primarily due to the all-new Fiesta launch ramp-up.

Europe's full year 2017 pre-tax profit was $971 million lower than a year ago driven by Brexit effects, reflecting the weaker sterling and lower U.K. industry, offset partially by favorable net pricing in the United Kingdom; higher commodities, mainly steel and other metals; Fiesta launch effects, reflecting lower volume and higher costs, both product and structural costs, offset partially by favorable net pricing; and higher warranty costs.

Although not shown, results in Russia continued to improve.

In 2017, Middle East & Africa generated a pre-tax loss of $263 million, an improvement of $39 million, or 13%, from a year ago.

Wholesale volume was lower than a year ago, as the sharp and sustained decline of the Middle East industries required the distributors to adjust their stock level in line with the lower industry level.

Industry volume for the region, at 3.6 million units, was down 100,000 units from 2016. Within this, the markets where we participate declined 300,000 units.

Our market share was 3.9%, down six-tenths of a percentage point due to unfavorable market mix and market performance in the Middle East.

Middle East & Africa's full year 2017 pre-tax result improved $39 million from a year ago. All factors improved other than volume.

Favorable cost performance and exchange, reflecting the stronger South African rand and euro, offset lower volume.

In 2017, Asia Pacific generated a pre-tax profit of $561 million and an operating margin of 4%, both down from a year ago.

Wholesale volume was down 3% while revenue from consolidated operations was up 17%.

Asia Pacific industry volume was 44.8 million units, up 1.4 million units from 2016, including a 700,000 unit increase in China industry volume, estimated at 28.2 million units, and a 300,000 unit increase in India industry volume, estimated at 4 million units.

Our Asia Pacific market share was 3.4%, down three-tenths of a percentage point. China share decreased four-tenths of a percentage point to 4.2%, reflecting increased competitive entries, primarily in the SUV segment.

Asia Pacific achieved record full-year Lincoln sales in China, up 55% from a year ago.

Our China joint ventures contributed $916 million to pre-tax profit, reflecting our equity share of the unconsolidated JVs' after-tax earnings. This was $523 million lower than last year. Net income margin was 10.9%, down 3.7 percentage points. The decline in margin reflects negative industry pricing in China and a higher mix of vehicles with engine displacement of 1.6 liters or lower.

Asia Pacific's full year 2017 pre-tax profit was $66 million lower than a year ago due to market performance in China and unfavorable exchange.

Lower net pricing compared to a year ago reflects negative pricing trends in China.

Favorable cost performance reflects our continued focus on material cost reductions.

Unfavorable exchange was driven by the Chinese renminbi and Thai baht.

FINANCIAL SERVICES SEGMENT

In general, we measure year-over-year changes in Ford Credit's pre-tax results using the causal factors listed below:

• Financing Margin:

In addition, the following definitions and calculations apply to Ford Credit when used in this report:

In 2017, Ford Credit's full year pre-tax profit was $2.3 billion. Receivables were higher with growth globally led by retail receivables.

Average placement FICO scores remained strong, and Ford Credit's origination, servicing, and collection practices continued to be disciplined and consistent. The loss-to-receivables ratio of 53 basis points was up 6 basis points and within expectations.

Ford Credit's full year 2017 pre-tax profit was $431 million higher than 2016, led primarily by receivables growth, lease residual performance, and financing margin.

The improvement in lease residual performance was driven by higher than expected auction values.

ALL OTHER

All Other is a combination of Central Treasury Operations and Ford Smart Mobility LLC, two operating segments that did not meet the quantitative thresholds in this reporting period to qualify as reportable segments.

The Central Treasury Operations segment is primarily engaged in decision making for investments, risk management activities, and providing financing for the Automotive segment. Interest income (excluding interest earned on our extended service contract portfolio that is included in our Automotive segment), interest expense, gains and losses on cash equivalents and marketable securities, and foreign exchange derivatives associated with intercompany lending are included in the results of Central Treasury Operations. The underlying assets and liabilities, primarily cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, debt, and derivatives, remain with the Automotive segment.

Ford Smart Mobility LLC is a subsidiary formed to design, build, grow, and invest in mobility services. Designed to compete like a start-up company, Ford Smart Mobility LLC designs and builds mobility services on its own, and collaborates with start-ups and tech companies.

In 2017, pre-tax results for All Other were a loss of $1.1 billion, a $203 million greater loss compared with a year ago. This increase is primarily explained by higher net interest expense and Ford Smart Mobility LLC's results.

SPECIAL ITEMS

Our pre-tax and tax special items were as follows:

TAXES

Our provision for income taxes for full year 2017 was $520 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 6.4%, both lower than 2016, reflecting benefits for foreign tax credits expected to be realized in the foreseeable future, non-U.S. restructuring, and the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Our full year 2017 adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes special items, was 15.3%, reflecting the same benefits from foreign tax credits mentioned above.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS - 2016

TOTAL COMPANY

Net income attributable to Ford. The chart below shows our net income attributable to Ford for full year 2016:

Net income attributable to Ford for full year 2016 was $4.6 billion or $1.15 diluted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock, a decrease of $2.8 billion or $0.69 per share compared with 2015. Full year 2016 pre-tax results of our Automotive segment, Financial Services segment, All Other, and Special Items, as well as Taxes are discussed in the following sections in "Results of Operations - 2016."

Revenue. Company revenue for full year 2016 was $151.8 billion, $2.2 billion higher than a year ago.

Cost of sales and Selling, administrative, and other expenses for the full year 2016 were $137.2 billion, an increase of about $1.9 billion compared with 2015. The detail for the change is shown below (in billions):

Equity. At December 31, 2016, total equity attributable to Ford was $29.2 billion, an increase of $0.5 billion compared with December 31, 2015. The detail for this change is shown below (in billions):

The chart below shows our full year 2016 total Company adjusted pre-tax results and pre-tax results of our Automotive segment by regional business unit, our Financial Services segment, and All Other, which is mainly net interest expense.

Our total Company adjusted pre-tax profit for full year 2016 was $10.4 billion, or $1.76 of adjusted earnings per share of Common and Class B Stock, a decrease of $425 million or $0.17 per share compared with 2015. Our total Company adjusted pre-tax profit consisted of our second-best Automotive segment profit of $9.4 billion, a solid profit of $1.8 billion in the Financial Services segment, and a loss of $867 million in All Other.

Automotive results were driven by North America, a record profit in Europe, and the second-best profit in Asia Pacific.

In total, our Automotive operations outside North America delivered a full year profit of $421 million, $198 million higher than in 2015.

AUTOMOTIVE SEGMENT

The charts on the following pages detail full year 2016 key metrics and the change in full year 2016 pre-tax results compared with full year 2015 by causal factor for our Automotive segment and its business units - North America, South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Shown above are the key financial metrics for our Automotive segment for full year 2016. Wholesales and revenue were about the same as 2015 with all other metrics down, consistent with our expectations for the year.

Global industry volume, estimated at 91.4 million units, was up 3.2 million units or 4%. The increase was driven by industry gains in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Global market share was down one-tenth of a percentage point driven by lower market share in North America and South America. Market share was flat in Europe and higher in Middle East & Africa and Asia Pacific.

Our Automotive operating margin was 6.7% and pre-tax profit was $9.4 billion. Both metrics were the second-best for a full year and only slightly lower than our record performance in 2015.

Shown above are the factors that contributed to the $146 million decline in full year 2016 Automotive segment pre-tax profit. The lower profit was more than explained by higher warranty costs, including about $600 million for the door latch recall we announced in the third quarter of 2016.

Market factors were favorable, driven by strong mix in all regions except South America. This more than offset unfavorable dealer stock changes which reflected stock reductions this year compared to increases in 2015 in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

North America generated a full year 2016 pre-tax profit of $9 billion with an operating margin of 9.7%.

North America industry, at 21.8 million units, was up 300,000 units, reflecting increases in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. U.S. industry, at 17.9 million units, was up 100,000 units.

Our North America market share was down one-tenth of a percentage point, with U.S. share down by one-tenth of a point to 14.6%. The decrease was driven by lower retail sales, mainly cars. F-Series retail share was a partial offset, improving two-tenths from 2015.

Included in North America's profit is about $600 million for the door latch recall we announced in the third quarter of 2016, which negatively impacted North America's operating margin by six-tenths of a percentage point.

North America's full year pre-tax 2016 profit was $344 million lower than 2015 driven by unfavorable stock changes and higher recall costs.

The unfavorable stock changes reflect decreases in dealer stock this year compared to increases in 2015 when we were building F-150 stock after the Kansas City plant launch. It also reflects actions to align production to demand for several vehicles.

The higher product costs reflect primarily the impact of our first major refresh of the Super Duty.

The non-repeat of 2015's one-time ratification bonus related to the UAW agreement was a partial offset.

Within the United States, average retail transaction prices were $1,300 per vehicle higher compared to 2015, more than double the industry average increase. (Average retail transaction prices are based on J.D. Power and Associates PIN data). Our incentives were up as a percent of revenue, but less than the industry average.

All full year 2016 key metrics were lower than 2015, reflecting the difficult external environment.

Industry volume for the region, at 3.7 million units, was 500,000 units lower than 2015 due to Brazil.

Our market share for the region, at 8.8%, was down eight-tenths of a percentage point, reflecting our continued focus on optimizing more profitable share amid higher industry discounting.

South America's full year 2016 loss was $277 million greater than in 2015. This was more than explained by the unfavorable effects of high local inflation and weaker local currencies exceeding higher net pricing and favorable cost performance.

Europe delivered a record full year profit of $1.2 billion and a record operating margin of 4.2% in 2016, both up sharply from 2015.

Europe industry volume, at 20.1 million units, was 5% higher than 2015.

Europe's market share, at 7.7%, was unchanged from 2015.

Europe's full year 2016 pre-tax profit improved $946 million from 2015. This was driven by favorable mix, reflecting increasing demand for our higher trim series across all major vehicle lines, and improved cost performance, reflecting our continued focus on material cost reductions. Improved results in Russia also contributed to Europe's favorable year-over-year profit improvement.

Middle East & Africa's operating margin and pre-tax results in 2016 were down sharply from 2015, reflecting difficult external conditions resulting in lower volume and unfavorable exchange, primarily the South African rand.

Industry volume for the region, at 3.6 million units, was down 700,000 units from 2015. Lower industry volume was the primary driver in the 14% reduction in our wholesale volume. Our market share for the region was 4.5%, up one-tenth of a percentage point.

In 2016, Asia Pacific generated its second-best full year pre-tax profit.

Wholesale volume increased by 10% while revenue from consolidated operations was up 12%.

Asia Pacific industry was 42.1 million units, up 3.0 million units from 2015, primarily explained by a 2.9 million unit increase in China industry volume, estimated at 26.4 million units. The increase was driven by the government purchase tax incentive for vehicles with engine displacements of 1.6 liters or lower.

Our Asia Pacific market share was 3.8%, up two-tenths of a percentage point. The improvement in share was driven by new product introductions, including Taurus, Edge, Lincoln MKX, and Lincoln MKZ.

Our China joint ventures contributed $1.4 billion to Asia Pacific's pre-tax profit, reflecting our equity share of the unconsolidated JVs' after-tax earnings; this was $75 million lower than in 2015. Our China joint ventures' net income margin was 14.6%, a reduction of 1 percentage point from 2015. The decline in margin reflects negative industry pricing in China and a higher mix of vehicles with engine displacement of 1.6 liters or lower.

Asia Pacific's full year 2016 profit was $627 million, down $138 million from 2015, reflecting lower net pricing, adverse exchange effects (mainly a weaker Chinese renminbi), and unfavorable cost performance.

Lower net pricing in 2016 compared to 2015 reflected continued negative pricing trends in China.

Unfavorable cost performance was driven by cost increases to support higher volumes and continued investment for future product and regulatory actions. The investments in structural cost were offset partially by our continued focus on material cost efficiencies.

Volume and mix were up reflecting higher industry volume in China and improved mix from new product launches.

FINANCIAL SERVICES SEGMENT

Ford Credit's receivables in 2016 were higher than 2015, in line with expectations, and while full year pre-tax profit was lower, it remained solid at $1.9 billion. Portfolio performance remained robust, despite higher LTRs. Origination, servicing, and collection practices remained disciplined and consistent.

Ford Credit's lower full year 2016 pre-tax profit is primarily explained by unfavorable lease residual performance and credit losses. Favorable volume and mix, driven by growth in consumer and non-consumer finance receivables globally and operating leases in North America, was a partial offset. Lease residual performance primarily reflects higher depreciation in North America as we expect lower auction values in the future. Credit loss performance primarily reflects higher charge-offs in North America.

ALL OTHER

Our full year 2016 All Other pre-tax results were a loss of $867 million, a $71 million higher loss compared with 2015. This increase is more than explained by higher net interest expense, offset partially by lower net losses on cash equivalents and marketable securities.

SPECIAL ITEMS

Our pre-tax and tax special items were as follows: