Ford and General Motors are in talks over a financing deal to help parts supplier First Brands Group secure liquidity while operating under Chapter 11 protection.
According to the Financial Times, the two automakers are among several manufacturers negotiating with the Ohio-based company on an arrangement that would involve advance payments for expected deliveries, giving First Brands short-term cash.
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One source said discussions were close to the “finish line”, though the proposal could still collapse.
Another person involved described such agreements between carmakers and suppliers as “quite unusual, but this is an extreme case”.
First Brands filed for bankruptcy in September carrying $12bn in debt and has since alleged fraud by its founder Patrick James and others, accusations they deny.
The group provides components to both Ford and GM, including windscreen wiper parts for the F-150 pickup.
Ford’s F-series trucks represented almost 40 per cent of its US sales in 2025.
Court filings show First Brands owns 25 automotive brands, many bought over the past decade, and has been consuming cash rapidly during the restructuring process, which can incur hundreds of millions of dollars in professional fees.
Earlier this month, the company warned it could exhaust its funds by the first week of February without further support.
The supplier has said it intends to wind down certain US operations, including its Brake Parts and Autolite units, while pursuing asset sales and new funding from lenders.
Negotiations are taking place as US carmakers’ supply networks face strain from tariffs, competition from China and slower-than-anticipated growth in electric-vehicle sales.
Earlier this month, Ford and China’s BYD discussed a potential battery-supply deal for some of Ford’s hybrid vehicles.
The potential arrangement came as the US carmaker reduces the scale of its electric vehicle (EV) programme while increasing its focus on hybrids.
One option being considered would involve Ford sourcing batteries from BYD for use at its manufacturing sites outside the US.
