Ford 2011 Annual Report Download - page 73

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Ford Motor Company | 2011 Annual Report 71
Risk Factors
Statements included or incorporated by reference herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations,
forecasts, and assumptions by our management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including, without limitation:
• Decline in industry sales volume, particularly in the United States or Europe, due to financial crisis, recession,
geopolitical events, or other factors;
• Decline in market share or failure to achieve growth;
• Lower-than-anticipated market acceptance of new or existing products;
• Market shift away from sales of larger, more profitable vehicles beyond our current planning assumption, particularly in
the United States;
• An increase in fuel prices, continued volatility of fuel prices, or reduced availability of fuel;
• Continued or increased price competition resulting from industry excess capacity, currency fluctuations, or other factors;
• Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices, and interest rates;
• Adverse effects on our operations resulting from economic, geopolitical, or other events;
• Economic distress of suppliers that may require us to provide substantial financial support or take other measures to
ensure supplies of components or materials and could increase our costs, affect our liquidity, or cause production
constraints or disruptions;
• Work stoppages at Ford or supplier facilities or other limitations on production (whether as a result of labor disputes,
natural or man-made disasters, tight credit markets or other financial distress, information technology issues, production
constraints or difficulties, or other factors);
• Single-source supply of components or materials;
• Labor or other constraints on our ability to maintain competitive cost structure;
• Substantial pension and postretirement health care and life insurance liabilities impairing our liquidity or financial
condition;
• Worse-than-assumed economic and demographic experience for our postretirement benefit plans (e.g., discount rates
or investment returns);
• Restriction on use of tax attributes from tax law "ownership change;"
• The discovery of defects in vehicles resulting in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns, reputational damage,
or increased warranty costs;
• Increased safety, emissions, fuel economy, or other regulations resulting in higher costs, cash expenditures, and/or
sales restrictions;
• Unusual or significant litigation, governmental investigations or adverse publicity arising out of alleged defects in our
products, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise;
• A change in our requirements where we have long-term supply arrangements committing us to purchase minimum or
fixed quantities of certain parts, or to pay a minimum amount to the seller ("take-or-pay" contracts);
• Adverse effects on our results from a decrease in or cessation or clawback of government incentives related to
investments;
• Inherent limitations of internal controls impacting financial statements and safeguarding of assets;
• Cybersecurity risks to operational systems, security systems, or infrastructure owned by us or a third-party vendor, or at
a supplier facility;
• Failure of financial institutions to fulfill commitments under committed credit facilities;
• Inability of Ford Credit to access debt, securitization, or derivative markets around the world at competitive rates or in
sufficient amounts, due to credit rating downgrades, market volatility, market disruption, regulatory requirements, or
other factors;
• Higher-than-expected credit losses, lower-than-anticipated residual values or higher-than-expected return volumes for
leased vehicles;
• Increased competition from banks or other financial institutions seeking to increase their share of financing Ford
vehicles; and
• New or increased credit, consumer, or data protection or other regulations resulting in higher costs and/or additional
financing restrictions.
We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast, or assumption made in preparing forward-looking statements will
prove accurate, or that any projection will be realized. It is to be expected that there may be differences between
projected and actual results. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and we do
not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.