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Ford has posted a loss of $1.4 billion (£0.96 billion) for the first three months of this year as it struggles with falling sales.

This was an improvement on the fourth quarter of 2008 (when it lost £4 billion), but compares with a net income of $70 million (£48m) in the first quarter of 2008.

After announcing the figures the manufacturer said it was still on track to meet its financial targets and the loss was better than analysts had predicted.

Ford has managed to launch a...Read the full article

Any figures on how Ford Europe contributed to this - are they also making a loss now or still in profit?

According to motorauthority.com, Ford of Europe posted a pre-tax loss of $550 million.

Orangewheels:

Any figures on how Ford Europe contributed to this - are they also making a loss now or still in profit?

Europe: For the first quarter, Ford Europe reported a pre-tax loss of $550 million, compared with a profit of $739 million a year ago. The decline was largely explained by lower industry volume and a reduction in dealer stocks. First quarter revenue was $6 billion, down from $10.2 billion a year ago. These declines reflect the economic weakening in most European markets.

http://media.ford.com/images/10031/1Qfinancials09.pdf

Things are so bleak that a loss of $1.4b almost sounds like good news.

Ford make good practical cars, but that doesn't help them when it come to the Economical climate. Their financial targets are well away from their current standards but, like I say they make practical cars and therefore they can get through this and I have faith in Ford. They have a good management as a company. The only reason why they are struggling is because the Public are scared to spend and are cutting down on accessories and focusing on only what they need. And a car right now isn't so essential. That's why we've got this "scrap your old car" scheme.

'Passengers. I have some good news for you. We're not sinking quite as fast as I feared.' Edward Smith. Captain, RMS Titanic.

aceman:

The only reason why they are struggling is because the Public are scared to spend and are cutting down on accessories and focusing on only what they need.

 

 If Ford are to turn things around they need to counter this by selling the same model more widely. Unfortunately all their previous attempts to sell a global model have not been completely successful.Hopefully this time conditions are right for world models to succeed or Ford will be in real trouble. 

jerry99:

 If Ford are to turn things around they need to counter this by selling the same model more widely.

Yes, I agree with that but I was just stating this wouldn't have happened if we weren't in an economical downturn. But yes Ford need to sell the same model more widely to get back on track.