DBRS Morningstar Finalizes Its Provisional Rating of BB (high), Stable, on Ford Motor Company’s Senior Unsecured Green Bonds

DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) finalized its provisional rating of BB (high) with a Stable trend and an associated recovery rating of RR4 on the $2.5 billion, 3.250% Senior Unsecured Green Bonds due February 12, 2032 (the Green Bonds), issued by Ford Motor Company (Ford or the Company). The rating being assigned to this newly issued debt instrument is based on the rating of an already-outstanding debt series of the above-mentioned debt instrument.

The Green Bonds are senior unsecured obligations of Ford and rank equally and rateably with all other present and future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness of the Company. DBRS Morningstar understands that the net proceeds from the offering will be used to finance and refinance, in whole or in part, new or existing green investments or expenditures that meet the eligibility criteria as described in Ford’s Sustainability Financing Framework (the Framework) and that are aligned with Ford’s corporate responsibility strategy. Ford has set up a sustainable financing committee comprising the Company’s senior management, which will oversee the process of evaluation, selection, and ongoing monitoring of the projects and ensuring compliance with the Framework.

A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework can be found in the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings at https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodologies are Rating Companies in the Automotive Manufacturing and Supplier Industries (October 14, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/385892), DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (May 31, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/379424), and DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Recovery Ratings for Non-Investment-Grade Corporate Issuers (August 19, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/383238), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria. Other applicable methodologies include the DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk Factors in Credit Ratings (February 3, 2021; https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/373262).

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the United Kingdom, and by DBRS Ratings GmbH for use in the European Union, respectively. The following additional regulatory disclosures apply to endorsed ratings:

Each of the principal methodologies employed in the analysis addressed one or more particular risks or aspects of the rating and were factored into the rating decision. Specifically, Rating Companies in the Automotive Manufacturing and Supplier Industries (October 14, 2021) was used to evaluate the ratings of Ford while DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (May 31, 2021) was applied to subsequently determine the ratings of Ford Motor Credit Company LLC and Ford Credit Canada Company, respectively. Finally, DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Recovery Ratings for Non-Investment-Grade Corporate Issuers (August 19, 2021) was applied to estimate the recovery prospects of Ford’s various security lines and assign specific instrument ratings thereto.

The last rating action on this transaction took place on May 17, 2021, when DBRS Morningstar changed the trend on Ford’s long-term debt ratings to Stable (from Negative) while confirming the ratings at BB (high).

Generally, the conditions that lead to the assignment of a Negative or Positive trend are generally resolved within a 12-month period. DBRS Morningstar trends and ratings are under regular surveillance.

For further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in a central repository, see: http://cerep.esma.europa.eu/cerep-web/statistics/defaults.xhtml. DBRS Morningstar understands further information on DBRS Morningstar historical default rates may be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on its webpage: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/credit-rating-agencies.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].

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-- Rating Companies in the Automotive Manufacturing and Supplier Industries (October 14, 2021)
https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/385892

-- DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Guarantees and Other Forms of Support (May 31, 2021)
https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/379424

-- DBRS Morningstar Criteria: Recovery Ratings for Non-Investment-Grade Corporate Issuers (August 19, 2021)
https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/383238