Ford Posts Optimistic 2023 Outlook
Post-strike perspective remains strong and includes plans for growth and value.

Ford sold 145,559 vehicles in November, compared to 146,364 units last November.
IMAGE: Pexels
Ford Motor Co. reported a 0.5% decrease in U.S. new vehicle sales for November as the automaker worked to restart plants affected by the United Auto Workers’ strike.
The company also reported:
Electric vehicle sales jumped 43.2% to 8,958 units from a year ago.
Truck sales slipped 2.8% to 78,971 units in the same period.
Total sales for November were 145,559, compared with 146,364 units in November 2022.
Ford withdrew 2023 financial guidance in late October, during the strike. With a new labor agreement in place, the company also updated its financial expectations.
A Ford press release noted that even with the strike having an estimated $1.7 billion impact, the company’s outlook remains strong and includes plans to generate both growth and value.
Ford CFO John Lawler said Ford expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes for 2023 to be between $10 and $10.5 billion, which includes lost profits from the strike and because of reduced production of high-margin trucks and SUVs, 100,000 fewer vehicle wholesales.
Still, the automaker reported it generated $4.9 billion of net income and $9.4 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes through the first three quarters of the year, before the strike. The expected adjusted free cash flow for the entirety of 2023 is expected to fall between $5 and $5.5 billion, it said.
Lawler emphasized the automaker's intention to forge ahead with the Ford+ plan, seeing a technology transformation ahead industrywide.
“This industry is going through the biggest technology-led transformation we’ve ever seen and some companies, new and old, are going to be left behind,” Lawler said in a statement. “Ford+ is the right strategy to win—we’ve got a highly talented team that allocates capital with great discipline, so that we’re executing with consistency, generating strong growth and profitability, and are less cyclical.”
He described how Ford’s customer-centered businesses—Ford Blue for gas and hybrid vehicles, Ford Model e for electric vehicles, and Ford Pro for commercial customers—provide for transparency, flexibility, accountability, disciplined capital allocation and increasingly differentiated performance. Customers of all three of the businesses will benefit from Ford’s emerging software and services capabilities, he said.
.
More Dealer Ops

Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is a Dealership: Why the Fundamentals Still Decide Who Wins
A teaching moment by a legendary football coach happens to apply perfectly in the auto retail space. Learn what it is and how to use it to your store’s advantage.
Read More →
Timing the Market Can Hurt Long-Term Program Performance
For dealer-owned reinsurance entities, avoiding volatility entirely can mean falling behind inflation and missing market rebounds that drive long term surplus growth. Missing just a handful of strong market days can materially impact cumulative returns—an important reminder for long horizon trust and investment strategies.
Read More →
Dealer Ads and the FTC
The agency has made it clear in recent enforcement actions and warnings, in auto retail and other industries, that advertised prices must include all nonoptional costs to the consumer.
Read More →
Used Autos Supply Dwindles
The March shopping surge, despite high prices, cut into inventory by the most since the thick of the pandemic, Cox Automotive analysts calculated.
Read More →
Managing Risk Effectively Through Changing Times
The variables influencing risk pricing have changed significantly over the past five years. Being proactive and responsive to emerging trends is not optional but essential.
Read More →
Survey Reveals What Won't Fix What's Breaking Car Sales
AutoPayPlus says extra-long auto loans are trapping consumers and threatening the dealer trade-in cycle, and that the industry is leveraging the wrong tools to combat high MSRPs.
Read More →
IA American Appoints Two Execs
Senior vice presidents of the company's agent and dealer channels chosen to support general agents and help auto dealers with sales and performance.
Read More →
Cox Automotive Acquires Inspection Firm
Full ownership of Alliance Inspection Management, or AiM, meant to unlock growth for Manheim inspection capabilities
Read More →
Assurant Expands Partnership With Holman
Extended collaboration delivers training, products and performance development to 30 newly acquired Holman dealerships
Read More →
Franchises, Throughput Down in First Half
A handful of states see franchise growth through June, while EV sales per store boost overall business in U.S.
Read More →