Retail sentiment around Ford Motor turned positive Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said Japan would begin importing the company’s full-size F-150 pickup truck, despite ongoing confusion between the two countries over the details of a recently announced trade agreement.

Trump said, “they’re taking the very beautiful Ford F-150,” suggesting the truck would perform well in the Japanese market, Bloomberg reported, citing a CNBC interview.

His comments came as Tokyo’s top negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, was in Washington seeking to get the United States to live up to its part of the bargain, which involves slashing auto tariffs from a combined 27.5% to 15%. 

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the issue as “extremely urgent” and stated that the government would do its utmost to implement the measure. 

Tokyo is wary of mixed signals emanating from the U.S. administration, which it views as particularly concerning in the case of cars. 

However, Trump’s claim that Japan would buy the F-150 was met with skepticism given the large size of the truck. The pickup measures more than two meters wide, posing challenges on Japan’s narrow roads, many of which are less than four meters across for both lanes.

Akazawa, speaking after landing in Washington on his eighth visit since April, pointed to the timeline of other trade deals such as the U.S.-UK agreement, which took 54 days to implement. 

Tokyo is eager to avoid delays in tariff relief for a sector that remains a core part of Japan’s economy.

Meanwhile, Trump claimed in the interview that he secured a $550 billion “signing bonus” from Japan under the trade deal. However, Japanese officials said only 1–2% of that amount represents direct investment, with the remainder consisting of loans and loan guarantees to be allocated by private firms.

Despite market skepticism, Ford’s core truck line saw strong demand at home. The company reported a 9.3% year-on-year jump in July U.S. sales to 189,313 vehicles, led by trucks and SUVs. 

The F-series remained the top-selling model, with 73,538 units sold, a 6.6% increase, accounting for nearly 39% of total sales.

Hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicles rose 11.8% and 9.5%, respectively, though EV sales dipped 0.2%. Ford’s Lincoln brand posted a 4.7% sales gain, while SUV sales hit 75,574 units.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Ford was ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume.

Ford’s stock has risen 14.6% so far in 2025.

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