Motor

Ford sustained profitable growth

Ford Motor Company has entered a period of sustained, profitable growth after weathering a deep economic downturn and years of painful restructuring, chairman Bill Ford said Thursday.

"In 2009 the hard work and sacrifice by so many at Ford began to show results," Bill Ford, the great-grandson of the company's founder, told shareholders at the automaker's annual meeting.

"With a dramatically lower cost structure, more competitive labor agreement, the strongest car and truck lineup in our history and positive contributions from Ford Credit, we returned to profit despite the weakest market for new vehicles in 18 years," Bill Ford said.

"This was one of the greatest financial turnarounds in our 106 year history... and the beginning of a sustained period of profitable growth and product excellence for Ford."

Business conditions were already challenging for the auto industry when the credit froze amid the 2008 financial market meltdown, Ford said. The crisis led to the "unimaginable outcomes" of government-financed bailouts and bankruptcies at rivals General Motors and Chrysler.

"It was during this dark time that Ford Motor Co achieved one of our finest hours," Bill Ford told shareholders meeting in Delaware.

Ford was able to weather the storm after it "put everything on the line to secure financing in 2006 to restructure and to provide us with the resources to survive the economic crisis.

Bill Ford said he was "most proud" of the fact that the second largest US automaker "continued to invest in new products and technology throughout the downturn to ensure we had a strong future when the economy began to recover."

There remains significant concern around the world about the prospects for economic growth as well as the availability and affordability of fuel and the impact of emissions on the climate, he noted.

But while Ford is currently "fighting our way back to prosperity," Ford said he is "confident we'll continue to grow profitably in the future." The fact that our plan is working won't make us complacent or slow us down, but will instead inspire us to move faster and further," Ford said.

"Our mission remains clear and unchanged: deliver great product, a strong business and a better world."

Chief executive officer Alan Mulally reiterated Ford's expectation that it will achieve full-year profitability on a pre-tax basis in 2010 and noted that it is currently "exceeding our own targets" for growth.

"We are more convince than ever that ford has the right plan to lead us through the near term economic and operating pressures and continue to develop profitable growth," Mulally said.

"We expect to see a continuing improvement in 2011." Ford posted a 2.1-billion-dollar profit in the first quarter of 2010, as global sales swelled.

That followed a 2.7 billion dollar profit for all of 2009, Ford's first annual profit since 2005. AFP

China auto sales slow in April

China's auto sales hit the brakes in April compared with the previous month as robust demand for vehicles in the world's top market eased, according to figures released by an industry group.

Vehicle sales in April rose 34 percent year-on-year to 1.56 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The growth rate was slower than the 55.8 percent on year increase in March to 1.74 million units.

Sales in the January-April period rose 61 percent to 6.17 million units, the association said.

Passenger vehicle sales rose 33 percent on-year last month to 1.11 million units - compared with an increase of 63.2 percent in March.

Compared with March, overall auto sales in April fell 10 percent and passenger vehicle sales dropped 12 percent, the association said.

China's auto sales hit 13.64 million units in 2009, overtaking the United States to make the country the world's top auto market as Beijing offered incentives such as lower taxes to boost the sector.AFP

Toyota Prius tops Japan sales

Toyota's Prius hybrid remained the best-selling car in Japan for a 12th straight month in April despite the company's massive safety recalls worldwide, industry data showed Thursday.

The world's biggest automaker sold 26,482 Prius hatchback vehicles at home in April.

Honda's Fit subcompact car was the second-biggest seller, shifting 12,222 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.

The success of the petrol-electric hybrid has been pushed by a government incentive campaign in Japan aimed at helping the sector recover from recession and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Toyota's Prius stayed in pole position at home as the only hybrid in the top 10, despite a global recall in February to fix a brake issue.

The company said earlier this year it would pull roughly 223,000 Prius and other hybrids in Japan and about 147,500 in the United States, and more in other parts of the world due to a problem with the anti-lock braking system.

The brake trouble in Toyota's hybrids is one of a series of recalls of around 10 million vehicles worldwide, mostly for problems with sudden acceleration, which have been blamed for 58 deaths in the United States. AFP

Toyota to suspend production at Thai plant

Toyota Motor will suspend production at one of its plants in Thailand at the end of the month as part of a revamp of its global production and supply network, a spokeswoman said Friday.

The automaker will shift production at Thai Auto Works near Bangkok- which builds the Fortuner sports utility vehicle and the Hilux Vigo pick-up truck - to two other Thai plants after May 31, the company official said. The move will not result in job cuts, she said, adding that Thai Auto Works has 950 employees and an annual capacity of 50,000 units. AFP

Nissan recorded $ 460 m profits

Japan's number three automaker Nissan Motor posted a return to the black and forecast profit to more than triple this fiscal year on hopes for its new electric car and emerging market demand.

Nissan saw a 42.4 billion yen (460 million dollar) annual profit as cost-cutting efforts and sales growth in emerging markets, particularly China, helped turn around a huge 233.7 billion yen loss from the year before.

"Although we are still in crisis-mode, we are well on track to complete recovery," Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn told a news conference, cautioning however that the market remained "volatile and uncertain".

The automaker said it expected net profit to surge 254 percent to 150 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2011.

Nissan, which announced 20,000 job cuts at the height of the financial crisis, joins rivals Toyota and Honda in forecasting rising profits, painting a more upbeat outlook for a sector that was ravaged by the global downturn.

The Japanese auto industry has also faced a string of reputation-tarnishing safety recalls, with Toyota issuing notices for around 10 million of its vehicles, Nissan recently recalling around 700,000 and Honda more than 400,000.

However, given strengthening demand as key markets recover, analysts said Nissan's annual profit target was on the modest side. AFP