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.”

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