Ford Motor Co. reported a 48% year-over-year drop in its U.S. vehicle sales on March 3 amid a deepening economic downturn.
The automaker also announced plans to slash second quarter production by nearly 40% to 425,000 vehicles from 685,000 vehicles in the second quarter of 2008.
Truck production will fall to 290,000 trucks units from 448,000 trucks in 2008 while car production will be slashed to 135,000 vehicles from 237,000 a year earlier.
"A key element of our strategy to build our reputation and improve resale values is to align our production with consumer demand," said Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president for sales and marketing.
"Our disciplined approach to the market in these challenging times helps us to minimize costly incentives which erode brand value."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
