US car giant Ford says it is recalling about 850,000 cars in North America over a "potential issue" with airbags.
Showing posts with label Ford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ford. Show all posts
September 28, 2014
January 04, 2014
Ford, Chrysler close 2013 with more gains in US sales
CHICAGO: Ford and Chrysler closed out 2013 by extending strong sales gains Friday as the booming US auto industry was expected to rack up its best performance in years.
February 20, 2013
Ford, Peugeot and Toyota lead Europe auto sales to new low
PARIS: Ford, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota led European car sales to a new low in January, kicking off 2013 with an 8.5 percent decline, the Association of European carmakers said on Tuesday.
October 05, 2011
Ford strikes 'tentative' pay deal with UAW union
US carmaker, Ford, says it has agreed in principle to a four-year pay deal with the United Auto Workers union.
Ford says the settlement will make it more competitive in its home market.
Exact details are being withheld until the UAW's members have a chance to review the contract.
Ford says the settlement will make it more competitive in its home market.
Exact details are being withheld until the UAW's members have a chance to review the contract.
August 23, 2011
Toyota and Ford to collaborate on hybrid SUVs
Carmakers Toyota and Ford have agreed to collaborate a new hybrid system for SUVs and light trucks.
The two said they will work as equal partners under a memorandum of understanding they have signed.
They will jointly develop a rear-wheel drive powertrain to be available later this decade, which they will then each install in their own separate vehicles.
The two said they will work as equal partners under a memorandum of understanding they have signed.
They will jointly develop a rear-wheel drive powertrain to be available later this decade, which they will then each install in their own separate vehicles.
June 07, 2011
Ford looks to Asia to grow sales by 50% in four years
The US car giant, Ford, has said it wants to boost sales from 5.3 million vehicles a year to eight million - a number that would pull it level with rival car maker, Toyota.
But the trouble with forecasting is that predictions often miss the mark.
That has not stopped Alan Mulally, the chief executive of Ford from making a few bold ones.
But the trouble with forecasting is that predictions often miss the mark.
That has not stopped Alan Mulally, the chief executive of Ford from making a few bold ones.
October 26, 2010
Ford posts record profit
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford Motor reported record third-quarter net income Tuesday, far exceeding analyst expectations and continuing a surge in momentum for the recovering automaker.
Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford (F, Fortune 500) posted net income of $1.7 billion, or 43 cents per share, up from $997 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Ford to report a 38-cent-a-share profit.
Ford's previous best third-quarter net income was $1.1 billion reported in 1997.
The automaker cited a strong product line, momentum in North America and continued success at Ford Credit as areas of growth.
"It's been the same story all year long," said David Whiston, an automotive analyst at Morningstar. "Better pricing in North America, and that offsets the small losses in Europe. The North American market is a real earnings driver."
Ford also announced plans to further strengthen its balance sheet by paying down its revolving credit line by $2 billion and prepay the remaining $3.6 billion in debt owed to a retiree health care trust.
"Ford sales continue to surge due to a stronger product lineup and improved consumer image," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of auto trends at TrueCar.com, in a statement. "Their retail sales are strong and transaction prices have been increasing this year, contributing to an improved bottom-line for the automaker."
Shares of Ford were flat in Tuesday trading, rebounding from a loss of about 1% earlier in the session. The automaker's stock has soared seven fold since February 2009 when it fell below $2 a share.
At the time, there were serious fears that it could follow General Motors and Chrysler down the road to bankruptcy and restructuring.
Ford avoided that fate, but its success left it with far more debt on its balance sheet than either GM or Chrysler, which used their bankruptcies and bailout billions to shed debt.
Now that Ford is once again turning a profit, it is using the surplus cash to pay down its debt, which will result in lower interest payments and eventually an improved credit rating.
"We are clearly ahead of where we thought we could be on improving our balance sheet, repaying our loans, and it's a very positive development," CEO Alan Mulally said during a conference call for investors.
Ford's debt will be reduced by $10.8 billion this year, Mulally said, which should result in savings of $800 million in annualized interest payments.
Ford's profitability has been accompanied by gains in market share. In the third quarter, Ford gained 1.4% in U.S. sales market share, while GM lost ground. And for the year, Ford is ahead of rival Toyota in U.S. sales.
The third quarter is typically weak for automakers as they discount and clear old inventory to make room for new models.
Ford expressed belief that the winning streak will continue, expecting increases in both cash flow and profitability in 2011.
"The key drivers for improvement in 2011 will be our growing product strength, a gradually strengthening economy and an unrelenting focus on improving the competitiveness of all our operations," Mulally said in a statement.
But the automaker noted that fourth-quarter profit expectations are lower than previous quarters due to depreciation expenses on leased vehicles and smaller improvements in the provision for credit losses.
On Monday, Ford said it will create up to 1,200 jobs in the distressed state of Michigan as it ramps up engineering and manufacturing operations to produce more fuel-efficient cars.
Source: www.cnn.com
Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford (F, Fortune 500) posted net income of $1.7 billion, or 43 cents per share, up from $997 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected Ford to report a 38-cent-a-share profit.
Ford's previous best third-quarter net income was $1.1 billion reported in 1997.
The automaker cited a strong product line, momentum in North America and continued success at Ford Credit as areas of growth.
"It's been the same story all year long," said David Whiston, an automotive analyst at Morningstar. "Better pricing in North America, and that offsets the small losses in Europe. The North American market is a real earnings driver."
Ford also announced plans to further strengthen its balance sheet by paying down its revolving credit line by $2 billion and prepay the remaining $3.6 billion in debt owed to a retiree health care trust.
"Ford sales continue to surge due to a stronger product lineup and improved consumer image," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of auto trends at TrueCar.com, in a statement. "Their retail sales are strong and transaction prices have been increasing this year, contributing to an improved bottom-line for the automaker."
Shares of Ford were flat in Tuesday trading, rebounding from a loss of about 1% earlier in the session. The automaker's stock has soared seven fold since February 2009 when it fell below $2 a share.
At the time, there were serious fears that it could follow General Motors and Chrysler down the road to bankruptcy and restructuring.
Ford avoided that fate, but its success left it with far more debt on its balance sheet than either GM or Chrysler, which used their bankruptcies and bailout billions to shed debt.
Now that Ford is once again turning a profit, it is using the surplus cash to pay down its debt, which will result in lower interest payments and eventually an improved credit rating.
"We are clearly ahead of where we thought we could be on improving our balance sheet, repaying our loans, and it's a very positive development," CEO Alan Mulally said during a conference call for investors.
Ford's debt will be reduced by $10.8 billion this year, Mulally said, which should result in savings of $800 million in annualized interest payments.
Ford's profitability has been accompanied by gains in market share. In the third quarter, Ford gained 1.4% in U.S. sales market share, while GM lost ground. And for the year, Ford is ahead of rival Toyota in U.S. sales.
The third quarter is typically weak for automakers as they discount and clear old inventory to make room for new models.
Ford expressed belief that the winning streak will continue, expecting increases in both cash flow and profitability in 2011.
"The key drivers for improvement in 2011 will be our growing product strength, a gradually strengthening economy and an unrelenting focus on improving the competitiveness of all our operations," Mulally said in a statement.
But the automaker noted that fourth-quarter profit expectations are lower than previous quarters due to depreciation expenses on leased vehicles and smaller improvements in the provision for credit losses.
On Monday, Ford said it will create up to 1,200 jobs in the distressed state of Michigan as it ramps up engineering and manufacturing operations to produce more fuel-efficient cars.
Source: www.cnn.com
October 21, 2010
Hyundai: We're more American than Detroit
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- By next year about 80% of the vehicles Korean automaker Hyundai sells in the United States will be built here, the CEO of the automaker's U.S. arm told CNNMoney.
That percentage would likely put Hyundai at the top of the "Made in the USA" rankings among all automakers operating in the U.S., including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Hyundai has been on a tear lately. The 2011 Sonata earned a top safety rating earlier this month, its vehicles have been getting rave reviews and its U.S. sales are booming.
Hyundai was one of the very few automakers to manage a sales increase in 2009, and last month they were up again by nearly half from the year before.
Considering its fast-moving success in the American market, CNNMoney asked Hyundai Motor America chief John Krafcik if he feared a "buy American" backlash.
Krafcik pointed out that Hyundai plans to move production of its popular Elantra from Korea to the automaker's Montgomery, Ala., plant later this year.
"I'm going to build my three best selling cars in the U.S.," Krafcik said. "Ford builds its best selling car in Mexico."
Test your knowledge: Which car is more American?
The Elantra is Hyundai's second most popular model. The Hyundai Sonata mid-sized sedan, Hyundai's biggest seller, and the Santa Fe SUV, which together make up half of Hyundai's U.S. sales, are already built here.
Ford Motor Co. builds the Fusion mid-sized sedan in Mexico. Ford was not able to say what percentage of the cars it sells in the U.S. are built here.
Popular Ford models, such as the Edge SUV and the Fiesta sub-compact, are built in Mexico and Canada. Even though the top sellers are built elsewhere, the bulk of Ford cars sold in the U.S. are built here. Still, they tally up to less than 80%.
Ford's not terribly bothered by the comparison, though.
"I think we're encouraged that, overall, American manufacturing is competitive," said Ford spokesman John Stoll.
Ford has also "in-sourced" a number of manufacturing jobs recently, bringing thousands of jobs back to the U.S. as it works with the United Autoworkers Union to make its older plants more competitive, he said.
Chrysler also didn't provide an exact figure, but some of Chrysler's most popular models, including its minivans and large sedans such as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, are built in Canada. That would put their U.S. production below 80%.
General Motors said between 60% and 70% of the cars it sells in the U.S. are assembled here.
Automakers generally don't break out the percentage of cars they sell that are built in the U.S. because, with free trade agreements, cars built in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are counted together as "North American production."
Playing with numbers. Although Hyundai's 80% goal sounds impressive, the actual number of vehicles it builds domestically pales in comparison to major U.S. automakers.
For example: If GM only built about 66% of the vehicles it sold in the U.S. domestically in 2009 that would mean that GM would have more than tripled the 400,000 cars Hyundai expects to build in the U.S. next year.
Also, production figures like these deal only with "final assembly." In the case of Chrysler, for instance, engines and transmissions for many of the cars it assembles in Canada are built in U.S. factories and shipped north. With most major automakers, various components and parts move back and forth among Canada, Mexico and the United States, making it difficult to point to one place where a car is "built."
Analysts at J.D. Power and Associates don't quite share Krafcik's expectations for U.S. production.
"I don't have it at 80%," said J.D. Power analyst Jeff Schuster. "I have it closer to 70%."
Making Krafcik's "80%" prediction come true would require a big increase in Elantra and Santa Fe sales, similar to the boost that Sonata sales got after that model's recent redesign.
Schuster says sales of the Elantra and Santa Fe should rise significantly with their coming redesigns. The question is: By how much?
It's not about PR, it's about the dollar. Krafcik boasted of Hyundai's commitment to local market production. While it may offer some public relations benefit, that isn't the main reason for such a move, said auto analyst Todd Turner of Car Concepts.
"This corporation doesn't really make decisions based on PR," he said.
For foreign automakers, making cars in the U.S. provides two big benefits. For one, it protects them against changes in the value of their own currency relative to the dollar. Paying to build cars in South Korean Won then selling them in U.S. dollars can be difficult if the dollar loses value against the Won.
Second, it makes it easier to adjust to rapid shifts in consumer demands. If U.S. gas prices shoot up and car buyers start demanding more Elantra's and fewer Sonatas, production can be shifted and deliveries to dealers can start almost immediately. Not so when factories are an ocean away.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer
Source: www.cnn.com
That percentage would likely put Hyundai at the top of the "Made in the USA" rankings among all automakers operating in the U.S., including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Hyundai has been on a tear lately. The 2011 Sonata earned a top safety rating earlier this month, its vehicles have been getting rave reviews and its U.S. sales are booming.
Hyundai was one of the very few automakers to manage a sales increase in 2009, and last month they were up again by nearly half from the year before.
Considering its fast-moving success in the American market, CNNMoney asked Hyundai Motor America chief John Krafcik if he feared a "buy American" backlash.
Krafcik pointed out that Hyundai plans to move production of its popular Elantra from Korea to the automaker's Montgomery, Ala., plant later this year.
"I'm going to build my three best selling cars in the U.S.," Krafcik said. "Ford builds its best selling car in Mexico."
Test your knowledge: Which car is more American?
The Elantra is Hyundai's second most popular model. The Hyundai Sonata mid-sized sedan, Hyundai's biggest seller, and the Santa Fe SUV, which together make up half of Hyundai's U.S. sales, are already built here.
Ford Motor Co. builds the Fusion mid-sized sedan in Mexico. Ford was not able to say what percentage of the cars it sells in the U.S. are built here.
Popular Ford models, such as the Edge SUV and the Fiesta sub-compact, are built in Mexico and Canada. Even though the top sellers are built elsewhere, the bulk of Ford cars sold in the U.S. are built here. Still, they tally up to less than 80%.
Ford's not terribly bothered by the comparison, though.
"I think we're encouraged that, overall, American manufacturing is competitive," said Ford spokesman John Stoll.
Ford has also "in-sourced" a number of manufacturing jobs recently, bringing thousands of jobs back to the U.S. as it works with the United Autoworkers Union to make its older plants more competitive, he said.
Chrysler also didn't provide an exact figure, but some of Chrysler's most popular models, including its minivans and large sedans such as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, are built in Canada. That would put their U.S. production below 80%.
General Motors said between 60% and 70% of the cars it sells in the U.S. are assembled here.
Automakers generally don't break out the percentage of cars they sell that are built in the U.S. because, with free trade agreements, cars built in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are counted together as "North American production."
Playing with numbers. Although Hyundai's 80% goal sounds impressive, the actual number of vehicles it builds domestically pales in comparison to major U.S. automakers.
For example: If GM only built about 66% of the vehicles it sold in the U.S. domestically in 2009 that would mean that GM would have more than tripled the 400,000 cars Hyundai expects to build in the U.S. next year.
Also, production figures like these deal only with "final assembly." In the case of Chrysler, for instance, engines and transmissions for many of the cars it assembles in Canada are built in U.S. factories and shipped north. With most major automakers, various components and parts move back and forth among Canada, Mexico and the United States, making it difficult to point to one place where a car is "built."
Analysts at J.D. Power and Associates don't quite share Krafcik's expectations for U.S. production.
"I don't have it at 80%," said J.D. Power analyst Jeff Schuster. "I have it closer to 70%."
Making Krafcik's "80%" prediction come true would require a big increase in Elantra and Santa Fe sales, similar to the boost that Sonata sales got after that model's recent redesign.
Schuster says sales of the Elantra and Santa Fe should rise significantly with their coming redesigns. The question is: By how much?
It's not about PR, it's about the dollar. Krafcik boasted of Hyundai's commitment to local market production. While it may offer some public relations benefit, that isn't the main reason for such a move, said auto analyst Todd Turner of Car Concepts.
"This corporation doesn't really make decisions based on PR," he said.
For foreign automakers, making cars in the U.S. provides two big benefits. For one, it protects them against changes in the value of their own currency relative to the dollar. Paying to build cars in South Korean Won then selling them in U.S. dollars can be difficult if the dollar loses value against the Won.
Second, it makes it easier to adjust to rapid shifts in consumer demands. If U.S. gas prices shoot up and car buyers start demanding more Elantra's and fewer Sonatas, production can be shifted and deliveries to dealers can start almost immediately. Not so when factories are an ocean away.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writer
Source: www.cnn.com
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