Production of some Lincoln models to be moved from China to the US; China-made Nautilus faces 52.5% tariff

Ford CEO Jim Farley has told Reuters that the carmaker plans to move production of some Lincoln models from China to the US from 2030. For instance, because it’s built in China, the Nautilus faces a 52.5% tariff in the US.

“We made this decision as soon ⁠as the policy of the administration was set. We knew exactly what they ​wanted to do, and we knew exactly what it meant for Ford,” Farley said in a joint interview with US commerce secretary ​Howard Lutnick, adding that the Connected Vehicle Rule, which bans some Chinese technology and hardware in US models, was a secondary reason for the decision.

The Blue Oval was among several companies that requested authorisation from the US commerce department to continue selling vehicles potentially restricted under the rule, but a Ford spokesperson told Reuters recently that after discussions with the commerce department, the carmaker realised the Nautilus no longer needed an authorisation to sell in the US.

Ford had previously said the Nautilus’ software, although US-developed, was installed into the vehicle in China, and so government approval was needed for it to continue selling in the US. Some 34,000 units of the SUV found US homes last year.

US lawmakers have been trying to further tighten prohibitions beyond those introduced in the Connected Vehicle Rule. One such push, approved by the US Senate commerce committee last month, would bar carmakers over 15% Chinese-owned – and over 19% of Mercedes-Benz is owned by Chinese entities.

Currently, the Navigator and Aviator SUVs are built in the US while the Nautilus and Corsair SUVs, and the Z sedan, are built by the Changan-Ford joint-venture in China. Meanwhile, General Motors has announced that Buick Envision production will be moved to the US from China beginning 2028.