Last Spring, Ford decided to implement a simple yet genius marketing scheme: Employee pricing for all. The incentive was exactly what it sounded like. Offer discounted pricing on new cars normally reserved for Ford employees to the public, giving people the opportunity to score big discounts.
The promotion was a smash hit, with Q2 sales for Ford jumping by 14% and Lincoln sales increasing by 31% in the same period. This happened for a couple of reasons. Not only did it unlock instant savings for shoppers, but it also capitalized on a rush of buyers who wanted to secure a deal on a new car before tariff-related price increases kicked in later that year. Ford even called the promotion “From America, For America” to flex on competitors that weren’t as American as Ford.
It’s no surprise to hear, then, that Ford is bringing back the employee pricing for all scheme for 2026. This time around, the company is doing it to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, and calling the promotion “American Value. For American Values.”
A name like that is marketing jargon gold, aimed directly at patriotic buyers. Ford really leans into it through their press release, too. Here’s an excerpt you can read for yourself:
It is our way of sticking up for the people who keep this nation moving. We show that value every day by employing more American hourly workers and assembling more vehicles here than any other automaker. We are deeply invested in the American worker and the neighborhoods where we live – a mission shared by our more than 2,800 dealers, who do so much for the local communities in which they operate.
“American Value. For American Values” is our commitment to the workers and families who drive this country forward. To us, that means more than just a century of history – it means offering employee pricing to provide the right value at the right time.
While that sounds very noble, deep down, Ford is still a publicly traded company that’s legally obligated to do everything in its power to make as much money as possible. Just make sure to remember that next time you see a particularly convincing ad from them (or from any automaker, for that matter).
Here’s How Much You’re Actually Saving
All that being said, there are some pretty nice savings to be had with this deal. Depending on the car, employee pricing can slash between 4% to 5% off MSRP, which could add up to over $2,000 on cars like, say, the Mustang.
For 2026 model year ‘Stangs, employee pricing comes in at $32,328, including destination, down $2,307 from the car’s normal price. The discounts extended to 2025 model year cars still on the lot, too, which means you can grab a new ’25 Mustang Ecoboost for as little as $31,666, or exactly one dollar more than a brand-new, 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata.
If you’re looking for the absolute cheapest thing in Ford’s lineup, you’ll have to turn to its trucks. The Maverick gets around $1,400 worth of discounts thanks to employee pricing for all, with both 2025 and 2026 models now starting at $28,616, including destination charges. The price cuts mean the remaining 2026 Ford Escapes sitting on dealer lots right now also come in under the $30,000 mark, with suggested retail prices starting at $29,726.
Looking for something a bit more utilitarian? The Bronco gets a price cut of nearly two grand, for a new starting price of $40,547, including destination. The F-150 is even cheaper, with bare-bones models starting at $37,207, a massive $2,878 discount from normal pricing. The smaller Ranger and the bigger Super Duty have similar discounts as well. If something electric is more your style, Ford will sell you a Mustang Mach-E for as little as $37,863, around $2,000 lower than the standard price.
Ford says that, like last year, the promotion will run until the week after July 4th to give buyers ample time to take advantage. While there isn’t the looming threat of tariffs pushing people to showrooms this time around, I suspect this will mean another nice sales bump once Q2 numbers are released this summer.
Before you ask, top-level performance products like Raptors and the Mustang Dark Horse are excluded from this incentive, as they were the first time around. I’ve reached out to the company to confirm, and a representative gave me this comprehensive list:
- NEW 25MY/26MY Transit Wagon
- Ranger Raptor
- F-150 Raptor and Raptor R
- Mustang GTD
- F-450 & F-550 Chassis Cabs
- E-Series: E-450 Cutaway & E-450 Stripped Chassis
- F-Series Stripped Chassis: F-53 Class A Motorhome Chassis & F59 Commercial Stripped Chassis, F-650 & F-750 Chassis Cabs
- 26MY Bronco Raptor
- 26MY Bronco Stroppe Edition
- 26MY Super Duty (Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum trims)
- 26MY Mustang Dark Horse SC
So if you were planning to buy your business a new fleet through the employee discount plan, I’m sorry to burst your bubble.
Top graphic images: Mazda; Ford
Eh, show me a new GT for the price of a Miata and I’d be interested.
Why?
$30k for a 480 HP car that can make 800 with a $10k bolt on blower under factory warranty would interest me. $45 + 10k seems like too much.
Because it’s a $20k jump from the base Mustang to get one with a manual transmission.
I think the lack of manual is worth mentioning in this type of car.
“Employee pricing”…otherwise know as a “discount”. Jesus what marketing bullshit. Guess I’ll head down to Walmart and get some “employee pricing” on some Minestrone soup.
Amen!
But, but…! It’s an American Discount for American Discounts. Or something.
Seems like a rough deal for Ford employees. Basically it’s a “Discount for everyone except Ford employees” discount, which seems like it would sting a bit!
How many people are cross shopping a Miata and a Mustang though? What Miata buyer is suddenly going to settle for a Ford?
Bingo
They’re both convertibles. It’s why people cross shop Mustangs and Wranglers.
Do people really cross shop an ecoboost mustang with a Miata? It just seems like a really weird comparison to me.
Convertibles. Maybe the Miata is too small.
“American Value. For American Values”
What, no aggressively patriotic insecure bullymanchild pointlessly driving around in a F-x50 with a gun rack in the window and a ginormous American flag flapping around in the bed?
That’s REAL America!
‘Murica! **** yeah!
I think Ram has that market cornered.
There’s plenty of ‘Murica! to go around.
Brainless jingoism sells vehicles. Cash on the hood sells MORE vehicles. Combine the two and someone’s trying to get NYSE: F above $15!
The last vehicle I purchased new was built in Tahara. I felt kind of bad about that but the domestics didn’t offer a competitor. When I see annoying ploys like this and $47 OIL CHANGES from my local dopey Ford dealer, I feel less bad about the J VIN.
“American Value. For American Values.”
White, cis, fash. Probably not the marketing thrust they’re hoping for.
The banner has three white people, including a hard hat and a guy that looks to be about to illegally detain a citizen who looks too brown. Pardon while I search up some miatas.
Meh. Notify me when you can get a new Maverick XL hybrid for $19,999.00
I recently bought an f-250 and got between 5-6% off, $200ish over invoice. I know there was wiggle room, but it was the best I was getting without traveling.
Sometimes theres room to negotiate on top of incentives, because the OEM pays those, not the dealer. Is this one of those times? Or is employee pricing about as good as they’ll do ya.
How about offering the manual in the ecoboost again?
A 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine producing 315 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque would be a riot if they fully debugged it. Then revisit early prototype mid engine mustang designs, dial in aero, old school gauges, 0 nanies, 40+mpg hw. $30k even. That would be worthy of a race class.
Keep the nanies for street use but make them defeatable at the track and only at the track.
Defeatable everywhere.
Don’t geofence my fun. Crowds of pedestrians can happen anywhere.
$31,666 for a Mustang? How delightfully devilish!
Let’s celebrate America’s 250th anniversary by buying a Ford
Maverick
Made in Mexico!
It is a sassy Mexican import.
Hey, Mexico is part of North America!
Still has about 25% US content and was probably designed and engineered in the US.
I’ve defended the Ecostang on here several times and had a lot of fun in one I had as a rental a couple of years ago….but I can’t even begin to fathom choosing one over a Miata
The easy answer is back seats. Sure, they’re small. But they are there.
I can’t recall the last time I saw a Mustang with 2 people in it, let alone 4.
They’re not so much for people (except emergency), but to increase the utility immensely. The amount of crap I can fit in a GR86 over the Miata that I can barely fit myself in comfortably is astounding and that’s without a hatch, which would make it a lot better as the biggest problem is loading.
I used to do it pretty frequently, heading out to lunch or to a bar after hours with 2 or 3 other people, not a 1,000 mile road trip, but people need to get over themselves if they think a couple adults can’t physically ride in the back of a Mustang for a few minutes to get some place. They can, it works, cool out
Of course, I have a Challenger at the moment, which has more of a midsize sedan back seat
Count yourself lucky. A Mustang with anyone in it is the last thing some people ever see.
I’m guessing it’s been a minute since you’ve seen a parade.
Tall people fit a Mustang.
315HP, 350ftlbs and a 10 speed auto is actually a lot of go. My rental … the windows didn’t seal, EVERYTHING rattled, and it had less than 10k on the odo. Drivetrain in search of a car.
Not a fan of that 10 speed in normal driving. Cane it a bit and it works well but during normal ’round town it had weird shift logic and paired with the turbo the power delivery was inconsistent and a bit annoying.
That 2.3 has a lot of punch, though.
I agree. it has a lot of go, not a lot of smooth.
“but I can’t even begin to fathom choosing one over a Miata”
It’ll depend on what you want. The Miata’s going to be way more sharp, elemental, and engaging, but I wouldn’t hesitate to cover 500 miles of highway in a Mustang.
I wonder if anyone really cross shops them, they’re so different.
35K OTD for a 4 cyl mustang? that is a crime
An AUTOMATIC 4cyl mustang
This is not your father’s fox body with a four-pot Pinto mill. The base ecoboost ‘Stang does 0-60 in something around 5 seconds. That’s pretty serious scoot, and a mite faster than a Miata. At least until the first corner.
This would have been a marketing masterstroke to have called it an “illegal tariff refund” sale instead.
Just calling it the “Tariff give back sale” would get so many people in the door
that’s in 6 months after sales of American Values slow down.
Based on who I’ve seen around my Ford dealership, this would kill sales and cause a revolt. Better to lie and name it
TRUMP TARIFF TRIUMPH TWO-FIFTY!
This one is just petty, these trucks are $80,000+, likely with higher profit margins than any mainstream vehicle sold by any automaker, and they can’t throw buyers a bone here?
Supply and demand baby. Those profit margins are high because people pay them. Why “throw people a bone” when you don’t need to.
What happens when Nacho Libre can’t put an end to his war and people start looking for more fuel efficient vehicles and realize Ford doesn’t have much to offer? They can only pump out so many Mavericks. I guess people buying an $80,000 truck aren’t concerned about fueling costs.
Why offer discounts on anything in that case?
People pay $80K for high trim F150s and Expeditions as well, and those are on the list.
Oh, they throw people a bone, you just don’t want to catch it where they’re throwing.
I agree this is dumb as everyone I’ve ever met loves to brag how they “got a deal” (even when they didn’t) no matter their income level, but maybe they’re just selling so many that they don’t need to bother.
Employee pricing doesn’t seem that great looking at the actual discount. What’s the difference in savings between this and x-plan?
There was some comment somewhere about it being a bad omen seeing a company just wrap it’s products in the American flag – seems to track.
It just screams “We are all out of ideas”
It worked for Lee Iacocca.
Ahh Ford, leaning into the Stellantis playbook of appealing to identity politics rather than making reliable, quality vehicles. Then again, this is probably the best way to sell their vehicles, since informed buyers would avoid a Ford showroom under most circumstances.
“American Values” are identity politics now?
I personally am not willing to cede those words to any narrowly-defined political group.
I don’t want the concept of American Values to be considered Identity politics. But recent political rhetoric that talks about things like “the American way” or “American values” certainly leans heavily to one side. Maybe it’s because Republicans have the presidency and a majority in both chambers of Congress, so they have the mouthpiece, but hearing about “values” in online discourse definitely causes some assumptions.
“American Values” are identity politics now?
Those words have been used as identity politics against those center and left in the US for a very long time now.
Bonus points for asking them what “Christian Values” are.
Since Falwell and Gingrich at least.
American Values reads McCarthy to me…
Odd. I’ve always considered, “All are created equal” as a core American Value.
Of course it is but capitalizing the “V” makes values a slogan.
What? Me worry?
$#!+ Happens!
Have it your way.
Drive Happy.
It used to mean more. It should again. https://static.dc.com/sites/default/files/imce/2017/08-AUG/Superman_American700_59a0b47e397f63.76112626.jpg
Sadly it’s been weaponized for many years. I feel the sting as a gay man and I know my husband does as Black.
The “Values” part is doing a lot of work in this case, lots of connotation wrapped up there. Swap in Quality, Manufacturing, or Workers and say the same thing without the baggage… Unless the dog whistle was intentional.
Stellantis has fewer recalls.
Ford needs to bring back the LX Mustang and just put the V8 in the Ecoboost car, it’s much better looking than the GT imo. I’m a big fan of understated vs. tacky/pimped out looking.
And bring back the Probe as a FWD or AWD hot hatch, and use the Ecoboost in that.
They should just bring over the Puma from the UK and rename it the Probe.
I was thinking the same thing about the looks. I’ve seen surprisingly few of the newest Mustang, but they’re all the higher end ones with the ghastly, drooping front end that looks like a hanging lower lip displaying a person’s gums. The base actually looks decent and I even like the wheels.
To celebrate America, all of the vehicles we assemble in Mexico are 5% off!
Well done.
Muy bueno!
and chinese parts are included at no cost!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
jokes on you. I’ll be at Cinco de Cuatro
But only on May 5th.
Employee pricing is still around? I thought that went away after the recession.
Welcome to the Tariff and Stupid War Recession.
Dear Ford, I hate your jingoistic marketing. I also hate your lack of a mini-van.
Love, Taargus
It screams desperation.
Also the lack of a Taurus, Taargus.
I’ll certainly second that.
I miss the Focus & Fiesta hatches most.
No love for the Mazda-derived Escort?
Seems Ford would do really well w/ a warmed-over version of a Mazda3