ice-capades Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) Ford Transit Connect Importation Scheme Will Cost Ford $365M https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/ford-transit-connect-importation-scheme-will-cost-ford-365m/ As Ford Authority reported back in 2021, The Blue Oval has been facing potential penalties ranging between $652 million and $1.3 billion – along with $181 million in added penalties levied by the U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – for failing to pay proper import duties on Ford Transit Connect models that were produced at the Ford Otosan Assembly Plant in Turkey prior to 2013. The issue, it seems, is that Ford classified the Transit Connect as a passenger van rather than a cargo van, fitting it with a cheap rear seat designed to be easily removed – which resulted in it being charged a far lower import duty. Now, that scheme will cost the automaker a whopping $365 million as it has officially settled its case with the government, according to the the U.S. Department of Justice. According to the federal agency, Ford has agreed to pay this hefty fine to “resolve allegations that it violated the Tariff Act of 1930 by misclassifying and understating the value of hundreds of thousands of its Transit Connect vehicles.” The issue stems from the fact that Ford Transit Connect vehicles imported into the U.S. between 2009-2013 were fitted with “sham rear seats and other temporary features to make the vans appear to be passenger vehicles,” according to the DOJ. At the time, the U.S. levied a 25 percent duty rate on cargo vehicles, but by classifying these Ford Transit Connect models as passenger vans, the automaker only had to pay a duty rate of 2.5 percent. After declaring those models as passenger vehicles and clearing customs, each unit was then “immediately stripped of its rear seats and returned to its original identity as a two-seat cargo van.” “This settlement, which is one of the largest customs penalty settlements in recent history, demonstrates that U.S. Customs and Border Protection will pursue even the largest companies to ensure that all importers follow the rules; our intent is to enforce the customs laws fairly, which means that non-compliance is not an option for anyone,” said Senior Official Performing Duties of the Commissioner Troy A. Miller of CBP. ”The partnership between CBP and the Justice Department provides a critical safeguard to protect the revenue of the United States.” Edited March 12 by ice-capades Additional Content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Makes you wonder what happened to the person or persons who thought this was a good idea? I guess they are retired by now LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 If they had left the seats in when they sold them I think it would have been perfectly legal. Yet another vehicle that should have been on C2 and made in Mexico from the start. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oac98 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, akirby said: If they had left the seats in when they sold them I think it would have been perfectly legal. Yet another vehicle that should have been on C2 and made in Mexico from the start. I just can understand why Ford doesn’t get their ass moving and get some more of these C2 vehicles over on these shores quickly. Doesn’t seem to be a priority. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AM222 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Oacjay98 said: I just can understand why Ford doesn’t get their ass moving and get some more of these C2 vehicles over on these shores quickly. Doesn’t seem to be a priority. Too bad Ford gave up on its C-segment Transit Connect van. The all-new model is a VW Caddy with a Ford face built at Volkswagen's plant in Poland. -Motor1 Edited March 12 by AM222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oac98 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 15 minutes ago, AM222 said: Too bad Ford gave up on its C-segment Transit Connect van. The all-new model is a VW Caddy with a Ford face built at Volkswagen's plant in Poland. -Motor1 Yup that’s definitely a Ford face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, Oacjay98 said: I just can understand why Ford doesn’t get their ass moving and get some more of these C2 vehicles over on these shores quickly. Doesn’t seem to be a priority. I know a certain plant in Canada that could benefit by being refitted to C2 production.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GearheadGrrrl Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 In world markets the "Combi" with 2nd row but no 3rd row seats has been very popular, and a lot of cargo van buyers prefer 2nd row windows for better visibility. Ford should have made 2nd row seats and windows standard and let the customer remove the seats if they don't want them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oac98 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 17 minutes ago, twintornados said: I know a certain plant in Canada that could benefit by being refitted to C2 production.... That won’t be happening at OAC U759/U760. I’ve already seen the U759 code on new machinery in a training room that they set up. C2 will never happen here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseodiaga4 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 55 minutes ago, Oacjay98 said: That won’t be happening at OAC U759/U760. I’ve already seen the U759 code on new machinery in a training room that they set up. C2 will never happen here. Nice to read that you could see the Ford EV! Finally! Haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oac98 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, joseodiaga4 said: Nice to read that you could see the Ford EV! Finally! Haha No no we can’t see anything. ford hasn’t unveiled the product. They just built one cell with new equipment in a training area for skills trades. I looked at the cell and I seen U759 on the machinery. I could take a picture but Im not risking my job. Who knows if there is anyone from Ford corporate who looks in this group. Then again probably not or maybe they would listen to some of our bright ideas lol. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oac98 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 1 hour ago, joseodiaga4 said: Nice to read that you could see the Ford EV! Finally! Haha There’s nothing to see! Ford has these vehicles under extreme secrecy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotRunrGuy Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 (edited) 35 minutes ago, Oacjay98 said: I could take a picture but I'm not risking my job. Who knows if there is anyone from Ford corporate who looks in this group. Then again probably not or maybe they would listen to some of our bright ideas lol. Yeah, they're watching. Just ask our friend from MAP,,,,,, HRG Edited March 12 by HotRunrGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oac98 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 48 minutes ago, HotRunrGuy said: Yeah, they're watching. Just ask our friend from MAP,,,,,, HRG It doesn’t surprise me at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 12 hours ago, akirby said: If they had left the seats in when they sold them I think it would have been perfectly legal. Yet another vehicle that should have been on C2 and made in Mexico from the start. c2 didn’t exist when they brought it over or for our 2nd generation … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) 10 hours ago, rmc523 said: c2 didn’t exist when they brought it over or for our 2nd generation … I know. I’m saying they should have either waited for C2 and/or built C2 sooner instead of switching escape, TC and focus to C1 and Fusion/Edge to CD4. Edited March 13 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) 2 hours ago, akirby said: I know. I’m saying they should have either waited for C2 and/or built C2 sooner instead of switching escape, TC and focus to C1 and Fusion/Edge to CD4. Couple of problems with that- The Kuga came out in 2008 and the C1 officially came out in 2004 with the Focus in the EU The NA Focus was built on the C170 platform since '99 and the Escape was on the CD2 platform which was shared with Mazda came out in 1998 or so (in Mazda form) Ford big push was consolation of platforms back 15 years ago and waiting for the C2 (which didn't come out till about 6 years ago) wouldn't have worked...since you'd have a 15+ year old platform being used with the Focus and Escape in NA if they had to wait even for an accelerated C2 platform to come along. Edited March 13 by silvrsvt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, silvrsvt said: Couple of problems with that- The Kuga came out in 2008 and the C1 officially came out in 2004 with the Focus in the EU The NA Focus was built on the C170 platform since '99 and the Escape was on the CD2 platform which was shared with Mazda came out in 1998 or so (in Mazda form) Ford big push was consolation of platforms back 15 years ago and waiting for the C2 (which didn't come out till about 6 years ago) wouldn't have worked...since you'd have a 15+ year old platform being used with the Focus and Escape in NA if they had to wait even for an accelerated C2 platform to come along. Let me make this a little simpler. Instead of developing CD4 for the 2013 Fusion, Mondeo, MKZ, Edge and Nautilus which they ended up throwing away 10 years later, they should have created C2 earlier and used it for those vehicles plus kuga, escape, focus and transit connect. Turns out the whole reason for CD4 over C1 was full sized cars and turbo v6 engines which no longer exist on FWD platforms. So yes it’s hindsight and things changed. I’m just saying they’d be in a much better position today had they done that a decade ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 1 hour ago, akirby said: Let me make this a little simpler. Instead of developing CD4 for the 2013 Fusion, Mondeo, MKZ, Edge and Nautilus which they ended up throwing away 10 years later, they should have created C2 earlier and used it for those vehicles plus kuga, escape, focus and transit connect. CD4 was the replacement for EUCD, which was developed in 2007 or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Good going America! Screw one of the last two great American auto mfrs.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 2 hours ago, silvrsvt said: CD4 was the replacement for EUCD, which was developed in 2007 or so And it’s been thrown away and replaced with C2 which is lighter and cheaper and amortized over more vehicles. Had they been able to do that several years ago we might still have edge and nautilus with hybrids and maybe even a car or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 11 minutes ago, akirby said: And it’s been thrown away and replaced with C2 which is lighter and cheaper and amortized over more vehicles. Had they been able to do that several years ago we might still have edge and nautilus with hybrids and maybe even a car or two. but the EUCD was based on the C1, if you believe Biker16, so I'm guessing outside of needing to fit a V6 in it, that was the only major change besides being wider. The C2 is just a necking down of the two platforms after lessons learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 41 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: but the EUCD was based on the C1, if you believe Biker16, so I'm guessing outside of needing to fit a V6 in it, that was the only major change besides being wider. The C2 is just a necking down of the two platforms after lessons learned. Whatever it is, C2 is clearly superior to both C1 and CD4 and Ford would be better off today had they been able to switch to it years ago. Thats all I’m saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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