Legacy automaker Ford (F) is facing some serious conditions in the Chinese auto market, where a host of competitors means a price war is already underway. But Ford may have figured out a way to keep its operations therein profitable even as conditions are less than perfect. The news was not a total loss to investors, but it was loss enough to send shares down fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The price war in China is bad by any stretch of the imagination. Over half of China’s car dealerships are unprofitable, as 56% of them booked losses in 2025. Given that that number was 42% back in 2024, it demonstrates a problem that has been bad for some time, is not improving, and looks like it will continue to deliver problems for some time to come.
Thus, Ford started turning its Chinese operations into a “low-cost vehicle export hub.” The move to start sending vehicles made in China abroad, complete with some improvements in technology and software made in China, allowed Ford to post a win for the first time in six years with 2024’s numbers. This is regarded as a way for Ford to “buy time,” allowing its Chinese operations to stop posting exclusively losses and hold out until the domestic picture brightens.
History Held
There were some signs that Ford was planning to change the name of a road near its world headquarters, converting Carroll Shelby Way into something a little more up-to-date. Ideas were floated for Raptor Way or Navigator Avenue, but reports out of Ford suggest that Carroll Shelby Way will remain for some time.
Ford noted that the move to change Carroll Shelby Way was “…under consideration but not finalized.” The idea that the street’s name was changing was regarded as a “miscommunication,” reports note, based on “…incorrect information released by its real estate arm.”
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, nine Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 24.92% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $13.88 per share implies 14.7% upside potential.
