Fuel woes see Ford post $9b loss
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Ford, one of the world's top car-makers, has lost $9 billion in three months, forcing the company to announce a sweeping realignment of its United States operations.
The loss was deeper than analysts had forecast and sent Ford shares down by 7 per cent in pre-market trading.
It has attributed the loss to lacklustre sales of its large sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks, as consumers look for more fuel-efficient models.
Ford's United States president Mark Fields has outlined the planned changes.
"Clearly the market is shifting to a consumer taste towards smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles and also vehicles across the patch more fuel-efficient and that's how we're going to go about finding our future," he said.
Ford says it will now be speeding up plans to build fuel-efficient cars.
The Ford losses are largely due to a re-calculation of the value of the company's current vehicle fleets.
Its large pick-up trucks and SUVs are more difficult to sell with fuel prices so high and therefore worth less.
Ford has written off $US8 billion the bulk of an $US8.7 billion loss.
