Ford Posts $8.7B Loss, Will Make Fewer Trucks

Writedowns lead to ugly quarter
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 24, 2008 9:08 AM CDT
Ford Posts $8.7B Loss, Will Make Fewer Trucks
In this April 23, 2007 file photo, a Ford Sport Trac is shown in production on the line at the Ford Assembly Plant in Louisville, Ky.    (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon, file)

Ford Motor Co. lost $8.67 billion in the second quarter and will retool two more North American truck and SUV plants to build small, fuel-efficient vehicles, the company announced today. The net loss includes $8.03 billion in writedowns due to a decline in the value of its truck and SUV inventory, as well as Ford Motor Credit Co.'s truck-heavy lease portfolio.

Even excluding those items, Ford lost 62 cents per share, more than double what Wall Street expected. Include the writedowns, and Ford lost $3.88 per share. Ford also announced that it will bring six European small car models to North America by the end of 2012, and the next-generation Ford Explorer, which comes out in 2010, will be built on car underpinnings, making it more fuel efficient than the current truck-based model. (More Ford stories.)

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