Good morning. Welcome to the broadcast of Ford Motor Company's annual meeting of shareholders. I would now like to introduce Ford's Chair of the Board of Directors, Mr. William Clay Ford, Jr. Good morning, welcome. I'm Bill Ford, Chair of your Board of Directors, and it's my privilege to call to order our 71st Annual Meeting of Shareholders taking place today, May 14th. Thank you to everyone who's joined us. It's now just after 8:30 A.M. Let's get started. I now declare the polls open for voting. At this time, I'd like to introduce the company officers who are joining me on our webcast today. Jim Farley, our President and CEO, and a Member of the Board of Directors, Sherry House, our Chief Financial Officer, Steven Croley, our General Counsel and Chief Policy Officer, Sarah Fortt, our Deputy General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary. Also, in addition to Jim and me, the other Board of Directors nominees are attending today's meeting through this live webcast. I just wanna take a moment and thank the Board for the great work they do on our behalf. Before we get to the business of the meeting, I'd like to go over the mechanics of our virtual meeting. We'll conduct the meeting in accordance with the agenda and the rules posted on the virtual meeting website. If you'd like to submit a question during the meeting, you may do so by typing your question in the box located at the bottom left corner of the webcast screen. We'll respond to questions during the Q&A period immediately following remarks by Jim and me. If we're unable to respond to any pertinent questions during the meeting due to time constraints, we'll post the answers to a representative set of questions on our IR website as soon as practical after the meeting and t hey will remain up there for a week after posting. Additionally, if you've not already voted your shares, you may do so by clicking the Vote Here button at the bottom of the webcast screen. The polls will remain open until the conclusion of the Q&A period of the meeting. Okay, now let's take care of the business of the meeting. The agenda for the meeting is shown on the top half of the webcast screen. We'll start with matters to be voted on today, and after that, I'll report on the state of our business, and Jim will share with you where we're taking the company. After Jim's report, we'll show a brief video and then have a Q&A period. Shareholders who have proposals in our proxy will be given three minutes to speak in support of their proposal. Representatives from Broadridge Financial Services have been appointed as inspectors of election for this meeting. The first item to be voted on is the election of directors. The 15 director nominees who've been nominated by the Board of Directors as candidates for election are shown in the proxy statement. Sarah, will you please make the nomination? I nominate as directors of Ford Motor Company the 15 nominees named in our proxy statement. Thank you. The Board of Directors recommends a vote for the director nominees named in our proxy statement. Okay, Proposal 2. The next item is Proposal 2 in the proxy statement, ratifying the selection by the Audit Committee of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the independent registered public accounting firm to audit the company's books for 2026. Joining us today is Maura DePrisco, PwC's current global audit engagement partner for Ford. Sarah, will you please move Proposal 2? I move the adoption of the resolution in the proxy statement relating to the ratifying the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm. Thank you, Sarah. The Board of Directors recommends a vote for this proposal. We'll now proceed to Proposal 3, which relates to a shareholder advisory vote to approve the compensation of the named executives as disclosed in the proxy. Our detailed reasons in support of this proposal are set out in our proxy statement. Sarah, will you please move Proposal 3? I move the adoption of the resolution in the proxy statement related to the approval on an advisory basis of the compensation of the named executives as disclosed in the company's proxy statement. Thank you, Sarah. The Board of Directors recommends a vote for this proposal. We now move on to Proposal 4, which is a shareholder proposal requesting that the board take steps to adopt a recapitalization plan to provide for all of the company's stock to have one vote per share. The board recommends a vote against Proposal 5 for the reasons set forth in our proxy. I now ask the operator to open a line so that Mr. John Chevedden may present the proposal at this time. Mr. Chevedden, please make sure you press star six on your phone to unmute yourself and proceed. Hello, this is John Chevedden. Proposal 4, equal voting rights for each share. Proposal requests that the board take the steps to ensure that all of our company's outstanding common stock has an equal one vote per share in each voting situation. Ford family shares have 36 votes per share compared to the tiny one vote per share for regular shareholders. This dual class voting stock reduces management accountability b y giving insiders the power to retain corporate control wildly disproportionate to their money at risk. This proposal topic has received m ore t han 51% of the vote of the non-family Ford stock in almost every year since 2011. It is important to vote for this proposal to help block the Ford family from finding additional creative ways to further reduce their money at risk at Ford while maintaining the same control over the management of Ford. In spite of such consistent 2011 to 2025 support from regular Ford shareholders for this proposal, Ford management has done absolutely nothing to address this serious issue, not even one small step. Now would be a good time for this transition since Ford stock was at $18 in 2014, and is at only $13 now in spite of a robust stock market. The current Ford corporate structure dates back to 1956 when Ford was making key decisions on the introduction of the Edsel, and it's long overdue for a change. Ford stock has faced pressure due to weak U.S. demand, high warranty costs, and tariffs. Ford's fourth quarter 2025 loss was particularly severe at $11 billion. Part shortage has left thousands of high-profile, high-profit vehicles, including SUVs and trucks, sitting on lots waiting to be completed, forcing Ford to lower its profit and loss forecast. By 2026, Ford had recalled 19 million vehicles in the past year, more than the rest of the U.S. auto industry combined. Ford is the company that complains that it can't find mechanics to repair its vehicles. Please vote yes, equal voting rights for each share, Proposal 4, and the related Proposal 5 which comes next. Thank you. Okay, we'll now proceed to Proposal five, which is a shareholder proposal requesting the company disclose by share class voting results on matters subject to a shareholder vote. The board recommends a vote against Proposal five for the reasons set out in the proxy. I ask the operator to play the recorded statement from Lynn Wilson on behalf of the Comptroller of State of New York. I am speaking on behalf of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which owns approximately 3 million shares of Ford Motor Company. We urge shareholders to vote for Proposal 5 regarding vote disclosure by share class. The proposal urges the Board of Directors to publicly disclose by share class voting results on matters subject to a shareholder vote. To be clear, this proposal is not a request asking the company to modify its current dual class capital structure. It is simply a request seeking more transparency. By disclosing results by share class, the Board and investors gain a clearer understanding of independent support for governance changes or other topics of concern. This type of disclosure is recognized as a best practice with recent similar proposals at Airbnb, Meta, and Tyson receiving majority support from independent shareholders, with the Meta proposal receiving support from 21% of all shareholders. The Board of Directors indicates in the proxy that producing the disclosure is an inefficient use of company resources, we believe providing this additional information to shareholders could prevent the perception of a misalignment of goals and fosters greater trust between independent shareholders and company management. Support for this request will help mitigate risks by enhancing transparency and accountability, and does not impose an undue burden on the company. We encourage Ford stockholders to vote for Proposal 5 on the proxy. Thank you. Thank you. We'll now proceed to Proposal 6, which is a shareholder proposal requesting that the company adopt a bylaw amendment providing that the Audit Committee have sole oversight over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The Board recommends a vote against Proposal 6 for the reasons set out in our proxy statement. I ask the operator to play the recorded statement from Curtis Hill on behalf of the National Center for Public Policy Research. Fellow shareholders, good morning. My name is Curtis Hill. I am Senior Advisor to the Free Enterprise Project for the National Center for Public Policy Research. This morning, we present Proposal 6, DEI ROI Oversight. Proposal 6 is straightforward: amend the bylaws to provide the Audit Committee direct oversight and reporting over Ford's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Specifically, we propose that the Audit Committee examine and determine whether these initiatives have been authorized and maintained in accordance to sound net present value and ROI calculations. The same financial considerations apply to any other major Ford initiative. The Board claims that Ford's DEI initiatives already undergo comprehensive review across multiple committees, insisting that Ford doesn't use quotas or tie pay incentives to diversity goals. For years, Ford has invested in race-based employee resource groups, demographic supplier programs, and DEI initiatives for which profitability has never been objectively measured. Academic research shows no reliable link between demographic diversity and better performance, and quota-based approaches often reduce performance. The White House executive order on restoring merit-based opportunity and the United States Department of Justice policy makes clear that companies engaging in identity preferences carry substantial exposure to risk of illegal discrimination. Proposal 6 makes no changes to Ford's DEI initiatives. It simply requires the Audit Committee apply the same fiduciary scrutiny to DEI spending as it would to any other Ford initiative. Is this program delivering measurable value and quality, innovation, talent, or profit, or are we just checking a box? Ford has historically claimed we've got a better idea. Well, Proposal 6 is that better idea. Real financial accountability and discipline on DEI spending. Confirm the focus on merit, excellence, and results, the principles that built the Ford brand. Fellow shareholders, vote for Proposal 6. Now is the time to drive Ford out of social engineering, forward with clear-eyed business judgment onto what Ford does best. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, we've covered each of the proposals listed in the proxy statement. Before I offer comments on our business, I want to remind you that the polls are open. If you mailed in a proxy or if you voted over the telephone or online, you don't need to vote at this time unless you want to change your vote. To vote your shares online, please click on the Vote Here button at the bottom of the webcast screen. I want to briefly comment on the state of our business. In 2005, Ford became a stronger and more resilient company. We navigated a complex landscape from shifting regulatory frameworks to intensifying global competition. I'm very proud of the results that our team delivered, achieving key strategic goals while creating real value for all of you. We grew revenue for the fifth consecutive year and posted our best U.S. sales this decade, gaining significant market share here at home. That momentum was fueled by our most iconic products from the dominance of the F-Series and Super Duty to the global success of the Ranger and our growing off-road family. We also saw record hybrid sales. At the same time, we're moving beyond the vehicle. Ford Pro is leading the way combining our trucks and vans with the software and charging services that our customers require. We didn't just sell more, we worked smarter. Quality is our top priority, and the progress is real. Last year, Ford was J.D. Power's most awarded brand for initial quality. This translates into value for our shareholders. Our total shareholder return of 42% last year significantly outperformed both our peer set and the S&P 500. Beyond the numbers, Ford's reputation continues to grow. In 2025, we reaffirmed our status as America's automaker. TIME Magazine recently named Ford as America's most iconic company based on a survey of Americans, and we are once again the nation's top automotive producer, adding jobs and bringing economic value to communities across the country. We're doubling down on the American commitment. This past year, we opened our new world headquarters in Dearborn, a modern anchor for a campus designed to break down silos and foster innovation and t his year, we reach another major milestone as we begin battery production in Marshall, Michigan. These investments ensure that the future of American mobility is built right here by Ford. Our roots are deep, and they're global. This past year, we celebrated centennial milestones in Australia and Mexico, honoring a century of partnership in those vital markets. As we look ahead, we're leaning into our core strengths, the best trucks, rugged off-road vehicles, and thrilling performance, while adding technology and services that enrich the ownership experience. In 2026, we'll gain momentum by delivering the first vehicle on our breakthrough UEV platform, a new midsize truck that will offer incredible capability, technology, and value. We'll be launching Ford Energy, a high-growth business in battery storage that expands our reach beyond our traditional portfolio. Scaling Ford Pro's leadership in product software and services to make our commercial customers even more productive. Returning to our roots in Formula One, the pinnacle of our ambitious Ford racing strategy. I've always believed that trust is Ford's most valuable asset. The loyalty of our employees, our customers, our dealers, and you, our shareholders, is the cornerstone of everything we do, and we don't take it for granted. Thank you for that trust and for your commitment to our shared success. Now I'd like to turn it over to our CEO, Jim Farley. Jim? Thank you, Bill, and thank you for your leadership and your vision. Over the past five years, our Ford team has relentlessly built the foundation for a high-growth, high-margin, more capital efficient, more durable business through our Ford+ plan. Our results last year and the first quarter of this year are the direct result of that work and further evidence of the modern Ford taking shape, as Bill said. Last year was a year of significant progress in delivering Ford+ for our customers and for all of you. We faced significant external headwinds, many of which have continued into this year. In areas we control, we executed with excellence, and that has made for strong growth and consistent shareholder value. Strong execution remains our focus this year. It's why we established a new end-to-end organization in product creation and industrialization team to bring our advanced technology, all of our digital efforts, all of our design teams together with our incredible industrial system. This change comes as we execute the most intensive product and software rollout in our history. By 2030, just a few years away, nearly all of our global volume will feature next generation electrical architectures and in-house software. This new organization will be critical in effectively integrating the digital soul of the vehicle, all the software, the silicon, and that great user experience with the world-class industrial execution but i t's just part of our focus on integrating our breakthroughs across the business. When we launch our UEV or Universal Electric Vehicle program next year, it will be a rigorously efficient midsize truck with aerodynamics driven by all of our engineers what we've learned from Formula 1 and w e're leaning into Skunk Works model that produced the UEV to improve all of Ford. UEV is a step change for us in efficiency, affordability, as well as capital efficiency. We're taking the advanced tools and all the physical-based cost modeling behind the UEV into our highest volume internal combustion and hybrid lines that we'll be launching in the coming years. The result is reduced cost, improved quality across the Board as we execute an aggressive product pipeline, namely refreshing 80% of our North America portfolio and 70% of our global portfolio by 2029. We're continuing to deliver strong choice to our customers. For example, 90% of our global nameplates will offer electrified powertrains by the end of this decade. This is an approach that's already paid off for us, as Bill said, with the company on track for $1 billion in cost savings this year, and our internal data showing us fully competitive with Toyota on quality in North America plants, exactly where we want to be. There's no question that this is a turbulent time in our industry and a moment of continued global instability. As we've shown in the last five years, we've built both stability and agility we need as a business to climb above all the noise and execute on our plans. My main message today is this: Ford is a fundamentally stronger, more modern company. We have a foundation. We have a technology platforms. We now have a unified organization to all deliver on this promise, and we are focused on execution, quality, and thrilling our customers. On behalf of all of us at Ford, thank you for your ongoing support. We'll keep working hard to earn your trust, of course, execute our plan, and deliver value for all of you every day. Now, please enjoy a brief video about our business. Ford, 123 years, always an icon. We aren't just one of the world's leading automakers, we're the pulse of the essential economy. Being an icon isn't a title you keep, it is a standard you earn every single day. Get down and drive. We carry that torch with products that power the world's work. At the center of it all, quality. It's the banner we fly, the promise we make. We race to learn. This is Ford racing. We're taking over the Australian Grand Prix. Maybe I'm not how you hope. Hope I get by. Meeting customers where they are. The power of choice, gas, hybrid, or electric, and always fun to drive. With rich and ever-improving digital experiences. We want to give customers choice. It's their choice. This is a world-class team delivering world-class results. Your stock this year to date is up 41%. What a brand. You've been the leader, forever. Owning projects end to end, designing and launching the icons of the next century. Well, today, Ford's undergoing another transformation. This space will allow employees and teams to work together, share ideas, and turn them into our next great vehicles. This moment is the first moment where we can really see the new modern Ford emerge. All for our customers, dealers, and communities. If we could come together working towards the same goal, which is to help those in communities, how powerful would that be? Building together is exactly that. Our friends over at Ford have a big announcement. They're an official partner of Major League Baseball. Donating to Inwood Little League. We have come so far, and we are just getting started. Well, I hope you enjoyed that video. At this point I'd like to answer some of the questions that were submitted online. Once again, I remind you the polls will remain open until the conclusion of the Q&A period. We had quite a few questions sent to us, so let's kind of get going. Here's the first one. Ford is a very large Board, and it seems to lack engineering and automotive expertise and is not very diversified. Well, I would say we actually have an excellent Board. It's got a lot of global experience and you want a Board that is well-equipped to change in a rapidly changing world. To do that, you really need world-class business people on your Board that can help us all make decisions. I think that's exactly what we've got. You know, in terms of specific skill sets, you know, you can hire skill sets, but what's most important, in my opinion anyway, for a Board, is judgment. You know, helping navigate a very uncertain world that we're in. Our Board does that for us, and I'm very happy with it. I don't think the Board is too big. You know, you kind of run into certain issues if you shrink it too much in terms of filling your committees. You know, we have a little bit of flexibility in our Board size, but I actually think we're in a good spot. That's how I handle that one. Future of the EV market. What steps is the company taking to be prepared to reengage aggressively in the growing EV market segment? Regulatory whims can be fickle, but the long-term trend shows a growing electric vehicle market, both in the U.S. and internationally. Jim, maybe I'll have you answer this one. Thanks, Bill. I appreciate this question because obviously very relevant with global events going on right now and the vibrancy of the EV business globally. We are completely committed to electric vehicles, not just here in a home market, but on a global scale. It's essential for our competitiveness as a company, and we continue to learn that not only are EV customers super loyal to EVs, and so it will continue to grow as a market, but as well, it's incredibly important for innovation in our industrial system. Last year, we explained our plan to better align our EV strategy to the market realities and establish a path for Ford Model e, our products, a profit segment for our EV business to reach profitability in 2029. Most OEMs and EVs in the U.S. also adjusted their plans like Ford, we're really focused, as Bill and I said, on the universal electric vehicle platform. We're gonna be launching in 2027. We're gonna be scaling. We'll have a full plant dedicated to the platform, LAP, in Kentucky. This will be an enormously important vehicle for us and platform. We'll start with a mid-size truck, we have lots of plans for other vehicles off the platform at LAP. We're designing this vehicle to be the most affordable and have the lowest operating cost of any EV for customers, and this will be really exciting development for the company. We're not stopping there. Of course, in Europe, we have a great electric lineup, the Capri, the Puma Gen-E, we have the Explorer, we have other vehicles that are hits. We're partnering with Renault, as you may have read, for two new passenger electric vehicles based on their Ampere platform, which is fully competitive with anyone in the market on cost. We have a great brand vision for those vehicles as well. I'm excited to show everyone that. As Bill said, we'll have a full lineup of hybrid, even announcing new EV EREVs coming out, and we'll let the customer choice, and we have the manufacturing and supply chain flexibility to adjust for customers, you know, the speed of the adoption of these lower CO2 powertrains. Yeah, thanks, Jim. You know, I think Jim just hit an important point. We do have a choice of all across our lineup in terms of powertrains and, you know, that's important to where the customer wants to go with it. I think, Jim, you just answered another question, which we've been getting a lot, which is affordability. You know, we've taken real steps, and Jim, you just outlined them, in the last year to really hit that issue hard. You know, obviously the Maverick is here. It's doing well. Jim outlined some of our international products that are coming that are doing well, and this UEV platform will be very affordable, and we think it's gonna hit the market exactly in the right spot. You know, I think that's the one part of our business that we needed to get going on, and we have, and I'm really excited by it. Okay, there's a lot of economic uncertainty, and what impact will tariffs have in the long run? Well, let me just take a crack at that one. You know, first of all, we have very good relationship with the administration. They listen to us, they take our input, and we have dialogue with them on a variety of issues almost every day. We're the most American company, so that really kind of squares nicely with the administration's goal of strengthening American manufacturing and that's what they're trying to do. We're very supportive of that. Obviously there's some things, when that happens that, you know, will cost us, like tariffs. We're well-positioned relative to others on that. We took a deliberate decision to be the most American company. Are there places we could have gone in the world which would have made things less expensive? Yeah, there are. We decided, no, we want to be the most American company. We're very proud of that. It's our heritage, it's our future. That's actually stood us in very good stead as we go through these economic times because our country is rebuilding its industrial base, and Ford is recognized as the heart and soul of that industrial base. You know, as I said in my remarks, look, we make the most vehicles here. We export the most vehicles out of the U.S., and we employ the most hourly auto workers. When we talk about rebuilding the American industrial base, we're here, and we've been doing it, and we're really happy now that others will be joining us. Anything you want to add to that or? I would just say, to your point, all of that credibility we have and the trust we have as a company has allowed us to make adjustments as tariffs have been introduced in our industry. I think Ford is such a trusted voice in the right balance, around a fair marketplace and even playing field that, we've been able to, you know, see the adjustments take place in tariffs. You could see that in our earnings announcements. Yeah. You know, where our initial tariff bill was very large and now it's moderated a lot. I think to your point, that really comes back to who we are as a company and our commitment to America. Yeah. That's great. Thank you, Jim. Okay, here's one that is very topical. It's in the news every day. What is the impact of the war in the Middle East having on our business? Jim, you wanna take that one? Well, first and foremost, just the principles of our company and the values we have, our focus first and foremost is on our teammates in the region, and I'm happy to report that everyone is fine and we've been managing through, you know, their daily lives and making the accommodations so we can continue to operate but keep them safe. When it comes to supply chain, all the business disruptions, look, we have deep expertise in dealing with these kind of events, the pandemic, chip shortages, and we pull out that playbook and use it daily. It's certainly helped us with this latest crisis. Our team is very resilient. To date, our customers have been resilient as well, I'm happy to report that customers in the U.S. continue to find our products very attractive despite some of the costs going up on gasoline. We have a great balance sheet, as Bill mentioned. That gives us a lot of flexibility. I would say, overall, there are some asymmetric impacts to our business in Southeast Asia, of course, Middle East. We've seen some headwinds. They haven't been headwinds that we haven't been able to offset. As Sherry and the team mentioned, we've had some cost increases, we've also had some good news, as you mentioned, Bill, on the revenue side, and our controllable costs so I think so far we're in good shape. We should be very thankful we have a hybrid lineup. Hybrids continue to be more higher and higher demand, like the F-150 hybrid, our highest volume one. That's been a huge asset to give customers choice as they adjust to, you know, their pocketbook. Outside the U.S., you know, I, I think so far even though there's been some headwinds, we've been able to manage those successfully. We'll see how things go. I think we've managed through this very well. Jim, I thank you, and I agree with that. I think this won't surprise our shareholders, we're looking at the duration of this conflict and what effect that will have if it goes on for X amount of time. I want our shareholders to know that we're actively playing scenarios with that. I think the one issue that is in the news every day is the price of oil per barrel, which translates into the price of gasoline at the pump. You know, you talked about the UEV platform that we've got coming and, you know, that obviously is something that if the price of gasoline stays higher for longer, you know, that product will be, I think, in great demand anyway, but I think it'll accelerate the demand for that. You know, thankfully, as you point out, we do have a variety of fuel-efficient powertrains at our disposal today. That will help us a lot regardless of what the external environment is. Okay, Jim, yeah, I'd like you to handle this one too, because there's been a lot in the news about establishing our new Product Creation and Industrialization Group and, you know, maybe you could speak to that a little bit. Sure. You know, when we look at our road to 8% for all of our investors, you know, a critical component of that, of that margin improvement is really the continued execution on world-class quality. The cost of quality and bringing down our material cost of our vehicles and the overall cost to the company. This organization allows us to accelerate that work. It also allows us to bring to market vehicles that enable a higher profitability from our software. These electric architectures and our own silicon design is really mission-critical for that 8% margin walk. We've had great growth on integrated services, especially at Pro, and now we have the chance to take a step forward with these advanced electric architectures. Landing them in the real world is mission-critical for all investors and for the 8% margin. This organization will do that more reliably with the speed that we need. I'm very excited about the team coming together. This is the right moment to do it. We had to make a lot of bets on technology. We had to develop those technologies to the point where they're mature, but now we have to deliver them in scale, and this organization's gonna be able to do that. Yeah. Great. Thank you. Well, here's one, I'll take this one. Ford posted a large net loss in 2025 and took a massive write-down for unsuccessful investments. Where's the accountability? Well, I would say this, I think taking the write-down was exactly the accountable thing to do. The regulations changed virtually overnight on us. When that happened, we could have chosen to do nothing and limped along, but we took what we thought was the right shareholder action, which was to recognize that the market had changed dramatically. We took the write-down so that going forward, you'd have a much healthier business as shareholders. We believe that's happening. There is something else that's happened though, which, you know, wasn't evident immediately when the regulations changed, but Jim, I think, will speak a little more on this later. We found a usage for some of those facilities in terms of battery energy storage, which we think could be a very interesting business for us. Look, no one likes to take a write-down, but it was, I think, the accountable thing to do, recognizing that the business reality had changed. Rather than hope that that wouldn't happen, we took decisive action, and now you have a profitable business going forward, which I think you're gonna be very proud of. Okay, Jim, I think you've already touched on this. I think I have too, but is there anything more you'd like to say about affordable vehicles in the U.S. market? Thank you, Bill. I would just say, we're really excited. If we could bring you into our design studio and see our engineers and our supply chain team working on this whole new affordable lineup at Ford in our home market around the world, I think you would be so excited about the growth opportunity in our traditional vehicle business. We had to get our costs and our quality right so that we can compete with the brands that are successful in that segment and n ow we have that plan to do it. The vehicles will be exciting. They won't be boring commodity products. Everyone will be really proud of the emotional appeal of these vehicles. They're kind of in the oven right now, baking nicely. I think it's gonna really deliver on our promises Ford brand of democratizing technology, you know, with these new hybrid powertrains and electric architectures. In fact, we're happy to say that we will have several new affordable vehicles by the end of the decade in the U.S. alone. Can't wait to show everyone what they look like. We're gonna start with the launch of that UEV pickup truck next year, and we're gonna keep launching products now that we have the cost and quality. That's fantastic. I think I know you can't wait. I can't wait either. Jim, there are a few questions about Chinese OEMs entering the United States and kind of what they're doing around the globe. Could you touch on that a bit? Well, first of all, as America's largest auto producer, as you said, Bill, and the leading brand by revenue, the Ford brand, we are dedicated to a thriving U.S. auto industry and to safeguarding our industrial base, as you mentioned. Protecting this is a matter of America's economic vitality, of course, it's critical for our national security as a country. While we leverage global partnerships, including Chinese OEMs, to grow our business around the world, I would just simply say our commitment to a level playing field here in our home market and safeguarding that home market remains absolute at Ford. Yeah. 100%. Thank you for that. Okay, here's one that's a little maybe lighter. Why is Ford involved in racing? Let me take a crack at that one. There are a lot of reasons. First of all, actually, our company was born on a racetrack. You know, my great-grandfather bet on a race that he raced a professional driver. Nobody else bet on him, I don't think, but he bet on himself. Won the race and took the money and started Ford Motor Company. We've been racing ever since as a company. Why do we do it? Well, I mean, we do it for our brand reputation, that's for sure. People see the Ford Oval all around the world. Not only do they see it, they get emotional about it. If you go to certain parts of the world, like Australia, you'll see people with not just wearing Ford gear, but with Ford tattoos and everything else on them. It just shows how passionate people are. You go to any racetrack, and you see people wearing full colors of whoever their favorite race team is. Disproportionate amount of that is the Ford Oval, b ut also we do it for business reasons. Engineers, our engineering team loves to work on race-related things. Why is that? Because it's cutting edge. There's a lot of tech transfer from what we prepare for race day and then what ultimately comes back to all of you as buyers of Ford products. I think it's very important. I mean, if you look at how finely tuned these race cars are, whether it's the engine themselves, the aerodynamics, the lightweight materials they use, all of those make their way back into our production vehicles. I think it's very important from that standpoint. You know, finally, we're, you know, we're back in Formula 1. While that's, you know, really interesting and fun, it does also two other things for us. One is it brings us to a global audience, and Ford's a global company. The other thing, though, is that Netflix series really changed the demographic of who follows F1. It's a demographic that typically traditional racing hasn't reached very far into. It's a younger demographic, more female demographic. That's been a very nice benefit of Formula 1 and our getting back to Formula 1. For all those reasons, I think it's important that we race and that we continue to race. I'm very proud of how we've done on the racetrack, and I expect us to continue and continue to win. Okay, we'll take one more question. Jim, there's been a lot, particularly in the last 24 hours, written about our energy storage business. It certainly had an effect, apparently, on our stock in the last 24 hours. Maybe you could talk a little bit about kind of what it is and where you think it's headed. Oh, this is super important, as you said. With Ford Energy, we see a path to diversify our revenues at the company and de-risk the core automotive business. Battery energy storage systems have the potential to be a high-growth, high-margin, anti-cyclical market development for Ford. That energy business will provide the United States-assembled battery energy storage systems to utility partners, the data center build-out for our country, large industrial and commercial customers in the U.S., a great low-cost, high-quality option to store energy. We will leverage our domestic manufacturing scale, our domestic supply security, and access to the advanced LFP prismatic battery technology that we have licensed. These will be our plants and our people. Ford Energy is a bankable brand itself. We're committed to at least 20GWh of capacity. We're building out the plants now, as Bill mentioned in Marshall, but also in Kentucky. We will start the production late next year. It's quick. It's around the corner. We are repurposing existing U.S. battery manufacturing capacity in Glendale, Kentucky. Ford Energy's operations will span not just the full battery cell manufacturing, but will include the production of all the electrolyte coils and the assembly of the modules and even the container. We have a great sales and service support team for all of our customers across the U.S. We have seen tremendous interest from customers, and we're actually in the contracting phase for our early capacity as we speak, with several customers so w e're off to a good start, both on the supply side, building the plants, building the cells, getting the machines up and running, as well as the demand creation side. Look, our strong liquidity position enables us to invest in this business and w e've actually said several times that the strength of our balance sheet gives us these chances to invest in these exciting new growth opportunities versus other actions that our competitors are playing for their shareholders. This is really our ability to invest in an exciting $2 billion stand-up business. Our balance sheet allows us to do that with our improved profitability as a company. Katie, bar the door. We are in the middle of it now. That's great. Thank you, Jim. Thank you everyone for your thoughtful questions. As I indicated earlier, the polls for voting will close upon conclusion of the Q&A period. Accordingly, I now declare the polls closed. There were some pertinent questions that we weren't able to address today, and answers to a representative set of those questions will be posted on our investor relations website as soon as practical after the meeting, and they'll remain available until one week after posting. At this time, I'd like to hear the preliminary voting results. Sarah, could you please give us those? Thank you, Bill. We will report the final results on a Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The preliminary results are as follows. With respect to Proposal 1, the election of directors, each of the director nominees received at least 81% of the votes. The vote on the remaining proposals was as follows. On Proposal 2, relating to the ratification of the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm, 96% of the votes cast were in favor. On Proposal 3, relating to approval on an advisory basis of the compensation of the named executives, 96% of the votes were cast in favor. On Proposal 4, relating to consideration of a recapitalization plan to provide that all company stock have one vote per share, 43% of the votes cast were in favor. On Proposal 5, relating to a request to disclose by share class voting results on matters subject to a shareholder vote, 26% of the votes were cast in favor. On Proposal 6, relating to a request to adopt by bylaw amendment providing that the Audit Committee have sole oversight over Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, 1% of the votes cast were in favor. Back to you, Bill. Thank you, Sarah. In view of the results, I declare that each of the nominee for director named in the proxy has been a duly elected director of the company. Proposals 2 and 3 have been adopted, and Proposals 4, 5, and 6 have been defeated. That takes care of the business of the meeting. The meeting is adjourned, and thank you all for joining us. The meeting is now concluded. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.