WEBVTT - ICYMI: Ford Pro's Matt Atkenson on Tariff Uncertainty 

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. You're listening to Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to talk autos because Ford Pro is Ford's

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<v Speaker 2>commercial vehicle unit. It's Ford's most profitable unit. It posted

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<v Speaker 2>earnings before interest in taxes of one point three billion

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<v Speaker 2>dollars in the first quarter, far more than any other

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<v Speaker 2>unit at the company. We've got with us Matt Atkinson,

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<v Speaker 2>executive director of Ford Pro North American Sales. He joins

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<v Speaker 2>us from Detroit. Matt, good to have you with us.

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<v Speaker 2>We learned this week that Ford halted its guidance and

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<v Speaker 2>warned of a one point five billion dollar hit as

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<v Speaker 2>a result of tariffs. If you think about the ford

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<v Speaker 2>Pro business, especially in North America, what impact our tariffs

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<v Speaker 2>having on it? And is it different than the rest

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<v Speaker 2>of the company.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, thank you so much for having me and

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<v Speaker 3>great to meet you. And it's an honor to be here,

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<v Speaker 3>especially during National Small Business Week. You know, one of

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<v Speaker 3>the things are really proud to say at Ford Pro

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<v Speaker 3>is that every business every week is Small Business Week.

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<v Speaker 3>But it's always nice when the country takes a step

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<v Speaker 3>back to recognize the contribution of small business. And you know,

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<v Speaker 3>one thing that is not lost on us and in

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<v Speaker 3>these times is that you know, our success is directly

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<v Speaker 3>tied to our customers success, and so in times of uncertainty,

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<v Speaker 3>one of the things that we have found is that

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<v Speaker 3>when you can be simple and transparent, that is what

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<v Speaker 3>can help the country the most. And one of the

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<v Speaker 3>biggest reasons why we've launched from America for America campaign

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<v Speaker 3>because when a customer, especially a small business, walks into

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<v Speaker 3>a Ford dealership, they know the price that they're going

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<v Speaker 3>to get. They're going to pay what we pay our

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<v Speaker 3>employee pricing, and we have found that has really helped

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<v Speaker 3>small businesses navigate these uncertain times.

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<v Speaker 2>How are your small businesses doing? How are your potential

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<v Speaker 2>customers and your customers doing right now?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, you know, in the we're coming off first quarter sales,

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<v Speaker 3>as you just announced, it was our best pickup sale

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<v Speaker 3>quarter in the last twenty years. And so you know

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<v Speaker 3>is you and your audience probably know. You know, our

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<v Speaker 3>full size pickup are the best in class that we've

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<v Speaker 3>had sales leadership there in the last forty eight years,

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<v Speaker 3>and so to have our best quarter at any given time,

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<v Speaker 3>as I think a sign of strength, but certainly not

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<v Speaker 3>one that we take for granted. But what small businesses

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<v Speaker 3>are telling us right now is that you know, in

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<v Speaker 3>these uncertain times, whether it's the transaction price that they're

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<v Speaker 3>going to pay for their truck or their van, they

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<v Speaker 3>also want to know that the company that they're choosing

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<v Speaker 3>to do business with is going to stick with them,

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<v Speaker 3>and especially for small business where they're operating fleets where

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<v Speaker 3>time is money. We're proud to offer a service network

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<v Speaker 3>across the country, seven thirty certified our commercial vehicle centers,

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<v Speaker 3>sixty five national service Elite centers that are opening up

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<v Speaker 3>across the country. And that is what customers, especially small business,

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<v Speaker 3>tells us they need in these times is they can't

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<v Speaker 3>afford any missteps. They can't afford to have that vehicle down.

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<v Speaker 3>And it's probably one of the reasons why Ford van

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<v Speaker 3>and trucks, you know, continue to be operated by more

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<v Speaker 3>small business than any other automaker.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, I think the results that I mentioned kind of

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<v Speaker 2>speak for themselves that it's the most profitable unit at Ford.

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<v Speaker 2>I still, though, I think there are a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>questions about the impact of tariffs, especially given what we

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<v Speaker 2>heard from Ford earlier this week. Do you think that

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<v Speaker 2>tariffs like, what is the impact that tariffs have on

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<v Speaker 2>your business versus the greater Ford business?

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<v Speaker 3>Look it. You know, the customers in small business can

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<v Speaker 3>hear a lot right now, including from us with earnings.

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<v Speaker 3>But I think one important thing they need to know

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<v Speaker 3>is that we have plenty of inventory on the ground

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<v Speaker 3>today and all of that inventory, from our cars all

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<v Speaker 3>the way up through our trucks, from all of our powertrains,

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<v Speaker 3>from gas, diesel, hybrid, even electric, all qualify for this

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<v Speaker 3>promotion and if you didn't catch it, that runs through

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<v Speaker 3>the fourth of July. So despite these uncertain times, like

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<v Speaker 3>I mentioned before, what they need to know is that

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<v Speaker 3>when they're in the market for a vehicle and their

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<v Speaker 3>business is looking to upgrade or replace, Ford pro and

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<v Speaker 3>our Ford dealers are going to be there for them

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<v Speaker 3>and can offer them that confidence in the marketplace.

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<v Speaker 2>Ford said that it's going to produce one hundred thousand

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<v Speaker 2>super duty pickups at a plan in Oakville, Ontario that

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<v Speaker 2>would start next year. Given what we've heard from President

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<v Speaker 2>Trump and has pushed to have more US manufacturing through

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<v Speaker 2>his tariffs, is there a chance that Ford could instead

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<v Speaker 2>build those trucks at one of its US plants.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, look, one of the things that we talk about

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<v Speaker 3>even with our dealers about future investments is that, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>it's nice to have demand for our pickup trucks. And

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<v Speaker 3>we've had that sales demand for quite some time now,

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<v Speaker 3>especially coming out of a supply strain supply constraint environment

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<v Speaker 3>like we saw over the last couple of years, and

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<v Speaker 3>so we're going to look at all options that are

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<v Speaker 3>on the table. But we know what we're finding right

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<v Speaker 3>now is that when customers walk in looking for a

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<v Speaker 3>super duty truck today, you know we are winning in

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<v Speaker 3>the marketplace because of the message that we have. And

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<v Speaker 3>again it comes back to that simplicity and transparency and

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<v Speaker 3>that's one of the reasons that gives us so much

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<v Speaker 3>confidence today and into the future.

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<v Speaker 2>And look like again, the numbers sort of speak for themselves.

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<v Speaker 2>You guys dominate when it comes to commercial truck and

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<v Speaker 2>the van business in the US. You have about a

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<v Speaker 2>forty percent share. That's what you've established. Investors want to

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<v Speaker 2>know about growth. Where will that future growth come from?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, look, we have no signs of no intentions of

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<v Speaker 3>letting our foot off the gas. We have had leadership

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<v Speaker 3>in that space for the last forty years. In the

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<v Speaker 3>commercial space overall, as I mentioned, our full sized pickups

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<v Speaker 3>have led in overall sales for the last forty eight

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<v Speaker 3>years going on forty nine. In fact, in our forty

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<v Speaker 3>ninth year, our lead has even grown versus what it

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<v Speaker 3>was at this point in your forty eight of leadership.

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<v Speaker 3>So what small business and customers are can feel confident

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<v Speaker 3>in is that the franchise of our F series pickup

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<v Speaker 3>trucks is really important to us, and we're always going

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<v Speaker 3>to give them the best, most capable pickup truck that

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<v Speaker 3>is on the market.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, we think a lot about services in telematics.

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<v Speaker 2>That's certainly been an opportunity for companies to grow when

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<v Speaker 2>it comes to software as a service. Ford Pro has

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<v Speaker 2>done well expanding its subscription telematics business to provide logistics

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<v Speaker 2>and other connected services to commercial customers. What is the

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<v Speaker 2>future of that business and then how can forward translate

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<v Speaker 2>that success to retail customers who maybe buy a Bronco

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<v Speaker 2>or an F one fifty.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, you know, it's one of the areas that we're

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<v Speaker 3>we maybe even most excited about in the future of

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<v Speaker 3>ford Pro. You know, we are the modems that are

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<v Speaker 3>being activated in our vehicles are growing every day. We're

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<v Speaker 3>seeing lots of benefit from subscription services that are connecting

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<v Speaker 3>those vehicles and helping provide more efficiencies to our customers.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, one of the things that we benefit from,

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<v Speaker 3>as I said before, is that small businesses purchase FOD

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<v Speaker 3>trucks and vans more than any other automaker. And that

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<v Speaker 3>history that lessons, the lessons that we've learned over time

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<v Speaker 3>help inspire our future innovations. And what small businesses continue

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<v Speaker 3>to tell us is that if we can help provide

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<v Speaker 3>to them more services, more subscriptions to help prevent their

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<v Speaker 3>time being out of market, then then that is a

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<v Speaker 3>value story for them that they want to invest in.

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<v Speaker 3>And so we're going You're going to continue to see

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<v Speaker 3>new news from us into the future, and when that

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<v Speaker 3>can complement the strong history and heras that we have

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<v Speaker 3>in our products, we think that's a real winning story

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<v Speaker 3>for us and for our customers.

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<v Speaker 2>So, Matt, when you think about the small businesses that

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<v Speaker 2>you sell to, really the backbone of the US economy,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm curious how they're embracing evs like the battery powered

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<v Speaker 2>transit than the electric f one fifty lightning? How is

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<v Speaker 2>that happening among commercial customers right now? Like, how is

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<v Speaker 2>selling an EV to a commercial customer different than selling

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<v Speaker 2>maybe the like a mock e to my dad for example,

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<v Speaker 2>which he bought.

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<v Speaker 3>Sure, yeah, no, look at And you know, anytime you

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<v Speaker 3>introduce something new, and we have a history of you know,

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<v Speaker 3>introducing most of the country to automobiles in the first place,

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<v Speaker 3>anytime you introduce something new, you have to be able

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<v Speaker 3>to explain it. And I think what we're finding, especially

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<v Speaker 3>with small businesses that you know, they have very unique

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<v Speaker 3>needs when it comes to powertrain offerings, and you know

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<v Speaker 3>from the size and space that they can store the

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<v Speaker 3>vehicles to how they can use them. And one of

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<v Speaker 3>the things that have resonated the most for us is

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<v Speaker 3>everybody's interested in fuel economy savings. And we just launched

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<v Speaker 3>last week at a conference in California, our consultancy service

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<v Speaker 3>that's going to help small business take advantage of opportunities

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<v Speaker 3>in rebates to go purchase vehicles so that if that

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<v Speaker 3>if electric is of importance to them and they want

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<v Speaker 3>they want to make that investment, we can help them

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<v Speaker 3>maximize the amount of money they can get from federal

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<v Speaker 3>or state rebates and and look, regardless of what a

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<v Speaker 3>small business needs, one of the proof points and pride

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<v Speaker 3>points that we have is that we offer the power

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<v Speaker 3>of choice, gas, diesel, hybrid, electric. We're there for fleets.

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<v Speaker 3>We have the largest fleet in the United States and

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<v Speaker 3>the largest electric fleet in the United States. And so

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<v Speaker 3>whatever their need is, we want to be there for

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<v Speaker 3>them to help sell service and support through the telematics

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<v Speaker 3>and subscription services that we talked about a moment ago.

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<v Speaker 2>Nat, I appreciate you taking some time in joining us.

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<v Speaker 2>That's Matt Atkinson, ford Pro, executive director, North American Sales

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<v Speaker 2>for ford Pro.