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, Europe, or China, due to financial crisis, recession, geopolitical events, or other factors; Lower-than-anticipated market acceptance of Ford’s new or existing products or services, or failure to achieve expected growth; Market shift away from sales of larger, more profitable vehicles beyond Ford’s current planning assumption, particularly in the United States; 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 resulting from economic, geopolitical, protectionist trade policies, or other events; 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, production constraints or difficulties, or other factors); Single-source supply of components or materials; Labor or other constraints on Ford’s ability to maintain competitive cost structure; Substantial pension and other postretirement liabilities impairing liquidity or financial condition; Worse-than-assumed economic and demographic experience for pension and other 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, 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 products, perceived environmental impacts, or otherwise; Adverse effects on results from a decrease in or cessation or claw back of government incentives related to investments; Cybersecurity risks to operational systems, security systems, or infrastructure owned by Ford, Ford Credit, or a third party vendor or supplier; Failure of financial institutions to fulfill commitments under committed credit and liquidity 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, financial institutions, or other third parties seeking to increase their share of financing Ford vehicles; and New or increased credit regulations, consumer or data protection regulations, 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. For additional discussion, see "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as updated by subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.
