U.S. auto sales remain weak in July
RICHMOND, Ind., U.S. auto sales have remained weak in July and reflect the trend in shifting demand toward smaller vehicles, Ford Motor Co’’s president of the Americas said on Tuesday.
“We continue to see industry weakness and at this point our main goal is to make sure we stay on top of the industry signs and react accordingly,” Mark Fields told reporters at an event celebrating the centennial of Ford’s Model T.
Fields also said it was impossible to forecast when U.S. auto sales would bottom out. U.S. auto sales have been tracking at a more than decade low in 2008, pressured by U.S. economic uncertainty and a sharp rise in gasoline prices.
Ford has abandoned a long-standing goal of returning to profitability in 2009 due to pressure from the shift in consumer demand toward cars and away from the formerly highly profitable truck segment.
Ford sales were down 14 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier. The company posted a $2.7 billion loss in 2007.
Ford, which has said it would provide more restructuring details on Thursday when it releases second-quarter results, has not said publicly how many salaried jobs would be cut, only that some of the reductions would be involuntary.
Fields repeated Ford would continue to match its production capacity to consumer demand. The automaker also has been offering buyouts to hourly workers at most of its U.S. plants to reduce its blue-collar work force to match demand.
The carmaker has been looking to simplify a complicated vehicle lineup and reduce development costs, including adopting global versions of its cars. Ford plans to introduce the Fiesta small car to North America in 2010.
Ford said in June that it would add the European version of its Focus compact car to the North American lineup in late 2010 and that other small cars and crossovers from Europe would be part of its product introductions.
The New York Times reported that Ford plans to convert three North American truck plants to car production and the automaker sees its Mercury brand as an integral part of its focus on smaller cars.
Fields declined to address that report directly, saying Ford would discuss details on Thursday.
“As I’ve said before, Mercury attracts a very different customer for us that may not be attracted to the Ford brand,” Fields said. “From that standpoint, we have a large owner base of Mercury buyers and it is an important part of our lineup.”
Views:0
- Volvo Trucks to Cut U.S. Production 2008-12-16
- Mahindra on track to launch U.S. truck in 2009 2008-08-01
- Allison Invests in Autotech Ventures to Access to Global Mobility Startups 2022-02-22
- 100 Parts Stores in 10 Countries! FOTON Parts Sales Jumped in Overseas Market 2022-01-10
- Weichai Ranks No. 1 in 2021 China Auto Spare Parts Industry 2021-07-15
- CIMC Teams up with Shaanxi Automobile to Make a Flagship High-end SPV 2021-07-02
- Auto Shanghai 2021 to Showcase Latest Products And Technologies 2021-04-19
- Auto Shanghai 2021 to Open Its Doors 2021-04-18
- Auto Shanghai 2021: ZF is Driving Intelligence for Software-defined Vehicles 2021-04-16
- Auto China 2020 to be Held Between September 26- October 5 in Beijing 2020-09-09
Submit Your Requirements, We Are Always At Your Service.
- BYD Stopped the Production of Fuel Vehicles
- Geely Began Test Runs of Green E-methanol Vehicles in Danmark
- 2022 SANY Global Dealer Summit Was Held Successfully Online
- BYD and Shell Partner on EV Charging across China and Europe
- Daimler Truck Significantly Increase Sales, Revenue and Net Profit in 2021
- Scania Year-end Report January-December 2021
- Hyundai Motor and Iveco Group Sign MOU to Explore Future Collaboration
- GAUSSIN Enters China, the Largest Truck Market in the World
- Over 1,200 Hydrogen-powered Vehicles Deployed for the Beijing Winter Olympics
- Chinese New Year Holiday Closure Notice
- China's Truck Exports Grew by 30% YOY to 63490 Units in January-February
- China's New Energy Heavy Trucks Grew Despite an Overall Slump
- Heavy-duty Truck sales in China Fell by 54% to 54,000 units in February
- SINOTRUK Achieves Sales of 27,725 Vehicles in January, 2022
- China’s Domestic Tractor Sales Exceed 40,000 Units in January
- 2021 JAC International Pickup Export Performance
- JAC Achieved a Great Result in 2021
- China's Truck Export in 2021 Reached a 10-year Peak
- Heavy-duty Truck Sales in China Fall 57 Percent on Year in January
- China Recorded Sales of 645000 Tractors in 2021