Ford In Talks With Trump Administration About Getting Into The War Business – Jalopnik

Good morning! It’s Friday, May 1, 2026, and that is The Morning Shift, your each day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from world wide, in a single place. This is the place you may discover a very powerful tales which might be shaping the best way Americans drive and get round.

In this morning’s version, Ford CEO Jim Farley confirms that his firm is in talks with the Trump administration about engaged on protection initiatives, Rivian is scaling again its Georgia plant capability goal as its federal mortgage shrinks by billions of {dollars}, Volkswagen is promoting its plant in Osnabrück, Germany to an organization that makes components for Israel’s Iron Dome, and Nissan is dropping its $500 million EV plan at its manufacturing facility in Mississippi in a pivot again to gas-powered vehicles.

Ford apparently sees all of the enjoyable General Motors is having with its protection contracts and desires to get in on the motion. The Blue Oval is in early talks with the Trump administration about engaged on varied protection (or is it warfare now?) initiatives, CEO Jim Farley confirmed.

It alerts a broader consideration from Ford to have a working relationship with the Pentagon. Military officers have lengthy appeared to business producers to assist construct weapons and different items of navy tools which might be at present solely constructed by a small variety of devoted protection contractors like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Jalopnik first reported on the Pentagon trying to court docket U.S. automakers a number of weeks in the past. From Bloomberg:

“We are in early discussions with the US government on some defense-related projects,” Farley stated through the firm’s earnings name, including that he cannot provide any specifics.

[…]

On Wednesday, Farley stated buyers ought to count on Ford to play an “outsized role” in onshoring crucial minerals and different elements resembling manufacturing-grade semiconductors.

“Our supply chain is heavily engaged not only with our government, but new companies that are starting to emerge in our country to onshore some of this capability,” Farley stated. “Perhaps in the short term, that’s the biggest role Ford can play in helping our country.”

It’s at present unclear if this transfer from the Pentagon is solely simply being performed to diversify the place it is getting provides from, or if it is as a result of the wars in Ukraine and Iran have depleted weapons and provides stockpiles to the purpose that they should discover different sources to construct up caches as soon as once more. The Wall Street Journal reported that automakers like Ford and GM have been requested if they might “rapidly” shift to protection work” if wanted. The Pentagon was additionally in talks with firms like GE Aerospace and Oshkosh.

Ya know, when conservatives stated they needed to return to an earlier time, I do not suppose they meant World War II.

Rivian is reducing again on output plans for its future plant in Georgia from 400,000 autos per yr to 300,000, because of a federal mortgage for the mission shrinking by about $2 billion. On the brilliant facet, the electrical automobile maker will have the ability to draw on the funds in 2027, sooner than anticipated. Now, it will use the $4.5 billion mortgage for a single part with an annual capability of 300,000, fairly than two phases with a capability of 200,000 every.

Originally, President Biden’s Department of Energy deliberate to lend Rivian $6.6 billion as a part of a program to spice up manufacturing of its electrical vehicles and batteries. From Automotive News:

The Georgia plant, scheduled to open in late 2028, will construct the R2 midsize crossover and future autos on the R2 platform, together with the smaller R3 crossover. Rivian began R2 manufacturing in late April at its present plant in Normal, Ill.

[…]

“As a result, we made the strategic decision to increase the production capacity of the first phase of our Georgia plant by 50 percent, bringing it to 300,000 units,” Scaringe stated.

[…]

Rivian stated the Georgia manufacturing facility website close to Atlanta has room for future enlargement however did not announce any fast plans for a further part of building.

Rivian’s chief monetary officer, Claire McDonough, stated Rivian’s complete manufacturing capability between the 2 vegetation would rise to 515,000 autos per yr. The Illinois plant additionally makes supply vans for Amazon along with the R1 autos and R2.

In response to an analyst query on the earnings name, McDonough declined to say whether or not Rivian approached the Department of Energy, or vice versa, on adjustments to the mortgage phrases.

Rivian had a fairly stable first quarter of 2026. Its internet loss narrowed to $416 million. Admittedly, that is rather a lot, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a 23% enchancment from the identical time final yr, and its income rose 11% to $1.38 billion. It additionally reported a 20% acquire in Q1 deliveries year-over-year, with 10,365 autos discovering properties between January and March. It additionally maintained its 2026 supply steering of someplace between 62,000 and 67,000 autos.

It appears we now know the faux of Volkswagen’s Osnabrück plant: it may turn out to be an integral a part of supplying Israel’s Iron Dome. Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has signed a letter of intent with the automaker to purchase the plant in western Germany, in accordance with two folks accustomed to the matter. We’ve reported previously that this was a chance, and now it appears all however confirmed. From Reuters:

Rafael, one of many foremost companions in Israel’s Iron Dome, Arrow and David’s Sling air and missile defence techniques, would give attention to constructing missile components together with motors fairly ​than on explosives, which, for safety causes, can be constructed at a separate website, ​the sources stated.

The change from auto elements would mirror German trade’s rising give attention to defence as ‌the federal government ⁠in Berlin has put aside a whole bunch of billions of euros to rebuild the navy after many years of neglect.

People accustomed to the problem stated the German authorities needed to make sure it retained general management over defence expertise initiatives in Germany and that the expertise remained ​in Germany.

[…]

The ⁠wars in Ukraine and Iran have additionally made clear how the character of warfare has been reworked by the event of low-cost drones for each offensive functions and anti-aircraft defence.

The ⁠defence ​ministry in Berlin declined to remark however a spokesperson ​stated it was working carefully with the financial system ministry on potential defence initiatives with industrial firms within the ​civil sector.

I’ve acquired a sense this would possibly not be the final auto plant to be repurposed right into a weapons or “defense” producer, and that will get one large, fats “yikes” from me, dawg.

Nissan, like nearly each different automaker, is making a tough proper flip and completely rethinking its electrical automobile technique. Part of that’s dropping half-billion greenback plans to construct electrical autos at its manufacturing facility in Canton, Mississippi. Instead, the Japanese automaker will pivot to constructing a variety of body-on-frame autos on the plant — beginning with the revived Xterra that’ll include inner combustion and hybrid powertrains. From Automotive News:

Nissan […] confirmed it has canceled all applications involving U.S.-made EVs to “better align with market conditions, customer demand and Nissan’s updated strategic direction.”

The Canton plant, which builds the Frontier pickup and Altima sedan, was slated to be on the heart of the automaker’s EV push.

Nissan in 2021 introduced a $500 million funding to remodel the manufacturing facility midway between Memphis, Tenn., and New Orleans into an EV manufacturing hub. It was to construct a number of battery fashions for the Nissan and Infiniti manufacturers, which had aimed to promote a mixed 200,000 EVs within the U.S. in 2028.

Nissan now hopes to revive the underutilized industrial complicated in Canton with a brand new body-on-frame platform that may underpin at the very least 5 fashions.

The first of these fashions — the Xterra — will debut in late 2028, adopted by the redesigned Frontier and a three-row midsize SUV.

This shared structure is designed to ship important economies of scale and components commonality, serving to Nissan scale back its price construction and ship stronger profitability.

Supplier sources have informed the outlet that these body-on-frame autos would share as much as 70% of their components, and the whole lot ahead of the B-pillar can be frequent. Executives on the automaker are aiming for about 1 million gross sales in North America by as early as 2031 with the assistance of localized manufacturing, massive autos, and a versatile powertrain technique.

The future the Ariya promised to carry appears like a distant reminiscence at this level.

History.com

I do know my job is not as onerous as that of a Ford line employee in 1926, but when I needed to do it for greater than 40 hours per week, I might scream. Kudos to Henry Ford for locking within the 5 days per week, eight hours a day schedule. I simply want you’d been cooler to the -bergs, -witzs, -steins and -farbs of the world.

Things are getting actually unhealthy on the market. Thanks to a back-and-forth between the U.S. and Iran over management of the Strait of Hormuz and the United Arab Emirates formally leaving OPEC in the present day, gasoline costs have jumped in a single day as soon as once more, and I’m now beginning to fear that surpassing the all-time excessive of $5.02 — that was set again on June 14, 2022 — is not out of the query. Not serving to issues is the truth that WTI Crude Oil futures and Brent Crude have been proper round $102 and $109, respectively, on the time of publication.

All of that is to say that we have hit a brand new 2026 file common worth for a gallon of gasoline after it shot up one other 9 cents in a single day to $4.39, in accordance with AAA. This 9-cent improve additionally represents the most important single-day leap in gasoline costs we have seen because the U.S. and Israel’s warfare with Iran started.

Here’s the place nationwide common costs stand proper now, in accordance with AAA:

AAA

The final time gasoline was over $4.12 per gallon was again in July of 2022, in accordance with information from the Energy Information Administration. The common worth of a gallon of gasoline is now up $1.41 — or about 47.3% — because the warfare first broke out on February 28, when it was $2.98.

As quickly as I’m performed writing The Morning Shift, I’m taking off for the day and heading downtown, as a result of my greatest buddy in the entire world is getting married this afternoon. I’m in all probability going to cry just a little bit, nevertheless it’s okay, as a result of exhibiting emotion to your family members is sick as hell.

Eternal like to Dave and Libby. If you are studying this proper now, I do know you are in all probability ingesting, so increase your glass to them.

Oh, it is also the one-year mark till my brother and his fiancée tie the knot. Love is within the air, girls and gents.