UK Export Finance (UKEF) is partially guaranteeing a £1bn loan to Ford, as the UK government seeks to bolster an automotive sector under pressure from low-cost competitors and US tariffs.
Citi is the sole co-ordinator and agent on the loan, which has been syndicated to other lenders. UKEF says it does not have permission to name the other banks on the deal.
UKEF is covering 80% of the facility through an export development guarantee, a product that provides general working capital for companies that export from the UK or intend to do so.
It is the largest of three guarantees UKEF has furnished for Ford since 2020, and was signed this month, the export credit agency says in a statement.
US-headquartered Ford stopped manufacturing vehicles in the UK more than ten years ago. But UKEF says the company still has 5,500 staff in the UK, including at a research and development centre in Essex and an engine and transmission plants in London and Liverpool.
Ford Britain chair Lisa Brankin says the loan “will play an important role in supporting our UK exporting footprint, especially amid the continued uncertainty in the trade landscape and the disconnect between electric vehicle targets and customer demand”.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the guarantee “is a major boost for Britain’s auto sector. It will help develop world-leading products, open new export markets, and secure jobs”.
Vehicle production fell to a seven-decade low – excluding the Covid-19 pandemic – in the first of half of this year, according to industry group The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, although it expects production to pick up again in 2026. Around eight in 10 cars made in the UK are exported.
The first 100,000 UK vehicles exported to the US per year will attract a 10% tariff after the UK and US signed a trade deal earlier this year, up from 2.5% previously. After that quota is met, a tariff of 27.5% will apply.
