Ford Motor (F) said on Apr. 24 that it firmly believes it has enough cash to get through this year without any government loans. It posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss of $1.4 billion, a performance that sent the automaker's shares up more than 17% in early trading.
Deep cost-cutting in Ford's engineering and product development as well as debt reduction and deals with the United Auto Workers that will lower costs in the future moved Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) to issue a "buy" recommendation on Ford stock before trading opened on the New York Stock Exchange.
Gaining Market Share

Ford shares have been on a tear since the start of the year, rising more than 70% through the close of trading on Apr. 23. Data collected by Edmunds.com shows a spike since last fall in General Motors (GM) and Chrysler shoppers now considering Fords, especially to the F-Series truck and Fusion sedan models.
"Our results in the first quarter reflected the extremely difficult business environment and weak demand for autos around the world," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Despite the challenges, Ford made strong progress on our transformation plan by gaining share with strong new products, slowing operating-related cash outflows, reducing outstanding debt, lowering our structural costs, and reaching new agreements with the UAW."
The automaker posted a $70 million profit in the same quarter the previous year, well before the stock and credit markets began their deep slide.
Perhaps most important to Ford's financial health is its shoring up of cash reserves, which stood at $21.3 billion at the end of the first quarter. By contrast, GM and Chrysler are essentially out of cash reserves, which is why they need government loans or a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to survive.
Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said the company's $3.7 billion cash burn for the quarter will be the highest for the company this year. But he expects the rate of cash depletion to slow throughout the rest of the year. The automaker is projecting to cut its expenses by $4 billion this year to offset lower vehicle sales and revenue.
"Ford, in part, is benefitting from their rivals' bad news," says independent marketing consultant Dennis Keene. "Every time a new story comes out, on a daily basis, about GM and Chrysler going down, Ford gets a mention as a stronger company that hasn't taken any taxpayer loans."
Reaching Break-Even

Ford, while unquestionably stronger than its crosstown rivals, still faces stiff challenges to achieve its goal of operating at break-even by 2011.
Its sales were off 44% through March, while total industry sales were down 38%. Ford's revenues fell to $10.2 billion in the first quarter from $17.1 billion the year before. That is a breathtaking drop for any company, but is especially hard on an auto company, with its high fixed costs.
The possible bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler are also threatening the operations of hundreds of auto suppliers. Disruptions from suppliers to Ford could cause chaos in its production. CEO Mulally said he is confident that the White House auto industry task force is on top of the supplier issue and will act to provide credit and liquidity to those companies.
Ford cut $1.9 billion in costs in the first quarter, almost half its goal for the full year. Besides head count, Ford has been rapidly reducing the amount it spends developing vehicles, though its quality has been rising against rivals such as Toyota and Honda. Higher-quality scores recognized by outside observers like <cite>Consumer Reports</cite> are helping bump up retail demand for Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles.
Ford also has the strongest flow of new products among the U.S. carmakers over the next two years, having focused its resources on pumping up the lineups of its core Ford and Lincoln brands.
Detroit Downturn's Winner

"We continue to see Ford as a net beneficiary of the significant structural shifts in the industry, and the stronger operating performance give us greater confidence the company can navigate through the industry trough," says Goldman Sachs auto analyst Patrick Archambault.
Ford's losses were spread across the globe; the U.S. is far from the only economy in trouble. It lost $637 million in North America and $550 million in Europe. Ford earned $63 million in South America and $96 million in the Asia-Pacific region.
Ford's Volvo unit posted a pretax loss of $255 million. The carmaker is attempting to sell the Swedish company, having already sold off Land Rover, Jaguar, and Aston Martin to focus on Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. Chinese automakers and European private equity firms are the most likely buyers.

Ford S-Max

WAYNE, Michigan (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. will invest $550 million to convert its old Michigan Truck Plant into a facility that will build small compact modern cars, the car maker said Wednesday.

The retooled facility, which once built sport utility vehicles like the Lincoln Navigator, will now build Ford's next-generation Focus, expected to roll off the line next year.

The plant will also build a new battery-electric version of the Focus for the North American market. That vehicle is expected to debut in 2011.

The struggling automaker says roughly 3,200 jobs will be created in Michigan because of the plant conversion.

The majority of Ford's investment will be spent on manufacturing at the site and the remainder on engineering and launch costs.

PRESS RELEASE

Six Ford vehicles among industry's top 10 for having highest customer brand loyalty

/PRNewswire/ -- Ford Motor Co. vehicles accounted for six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty, according to recent industry analyses from Experian Automotive.

Ford Fusion, Ford Edge and Ford Five-Hundred owners showed the industry's highest brand loyalty, returning to buy a Ford Motor Co. vehicle 62.4 percent, 57.9 percent and 56 percent of the time, respectively. The Ford Freestyle (51.9 percent) was fifth, the Ford Escape (49.4 percent) was seventh, and the Ford Focus (47.57 percent) came in ninth. "

Ford had an outstanding performance for brand loyalty in the second quarter of 2009," said Jeff Anderson, director of Consulting and Analytics for Experian Automotive. "With six of the top 10 vehicles for customer brand loyalty, Ford is showing that its products are passing the most important test: turning happy customers into repeat buyers." Other top-finishing vehicles included the Toyota Prius (52 percent) in fourth place, the Chevrolet Impala (51.7 percent) in sixth place, the Toyota Camry (47.8 percent) at number eight and the Toyota Corolla (47.56 percent) in 10th place.

"Brand loyalty is a critical element of success, even survival, in today's challenged auto industry," said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. "The ability to retain customers is an important indicator of product success and commitment to developing long-term customer relationships. As automakers are scrambling to maintain market share, holding onto current customers has never been more important."

These loyalty findings, along with analysis of other industry trends, were the result of Experian Automotive's latest quarterly industry study looking at results from the first half of 2009. A recorded presentation of Experian Automotive's full industry analysis can be viewed at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/309875578.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford Motor reported its first full-year profit since 2005 and said it expects to be profitable again in 2010.

The automaker, which has outpaced the turnaround at both its domestic and some overseas rivals, said Thursday that it earned $2.7 billion in 2009. The company was helped by special items that added $2.6 billion to its bottom line during the year.

But even without that assistance, Ford (F, Fortune 500) essentially broke even after taxes. That's far better than the loss of 31 cents per share that analysts had forecast for 2009. Ford lost $7.3 billion, or $3.20 a share, on that basis in 2008.

May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. is preparing to wind down the Mercury line, created in 1939 by Edsel Ford, after sales plunged 74 percent since 2000, said two people familiar with the plan.

The automaker’s top executives are preparing a proposal to kill Mercury to be presented to directors in July, said the people, who asked not to be indentified revealing internal discussions. Mercury, losing two of four models next year, will be starved of products and promotion, the people said.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally emphasized the automaker’s namesake brand as he revived the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy. The timing of Mercury’s demise depends on how fast executives can convince the brand’s dealers, who also sell Lincoln models, to close or merge with Ford showrooms, they said.

“Mercury is a forgotten brand,” said John Wolkonowicz, an auto analyst with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Many Americans probably already think it has been discontinued. Mercury was too similar to Ford from the very beginning......”

Ford Motor Co. used to flood Beau Boeckmann with more cars than he knew what to do with. Now, he’s not getting enough.

Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Ford in Los Angeles, asked for 100 Fusion sedans in July. He received 7.

“I am begging for inventory across the board,” said Boeckmann, whose dealership is the automaker’s top-selling U.S. store. “I couldn’t sleep a year ago because I thought, ‘We have a year’s supply of these cars!’ And now I’m worried about our inventory again because we don’t have enough.”

With Ford, General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC kicking a decades-long habit of building more cars than customers want, dealers are howling that they can’t get enough models to drive sales back to pre-recession levels. This newfound discipline preserves the automakers’ profit per vehicle and draws praise from investors. At the same time, it cuts retailers’ volumes......

Ford signed an agreement to explore the possibility of exporting U.S.-made vehicles to China earlier on Thursday. “Ford Motor Company is evaluating opportunities to import vehicles to China from the U.S., subject to our business plan and to Chinese regulatory approvals governing vehicle imports,” the automaker said in a statement.

Ford is a relative latecomer to the Chinese market, but is expanding its efforts through partnerships with Changan , Mazda and Jiangling. Ford is currently building a $300 million joint factory with Jiangling.

No word on what U.S.-built model or models Ford might export to China.

Appropriately, Ford partner Changan announced a new Michigan-based R&D center this week.

Hyundai ousted traditional top dogs Honda and Toyota for No. 1 in brand loyalty in the second quarter says a shopping analysis Kelly Blue Book's KBB.com. It's the first time Hyundai has led for a full quarter since KBB began tracking brand loyalty.

That's like lapping the leaders for Hyundai, which first overtook them in February. Hyundai also a keeping momentum at a time when overall brand loyalty fell for the most brands in the past year, says KBB, which blames the economy, recalls, fuel prices and more alternatives. The analysis defines loyalty as shoppers researching the brand they own for their new car.

The top five in brand loyalty for Q2 2011:

Hyundai, 52.3%
Honda, 49.7%
Toyota, 47.7%
Ford, 45.4%
Subaru, 44.8%
Also bucking the drop in brand loyalty: Hyundai corporate sibling Kia. It was one of just two other brands to show a rise in customer loyalty vs. the quarter a year ago. The other rising brand was Mini Cooper. KBB cited the same reasons for their loyalty success as it did for Hyundai.

KBB's analysis says Hyundai is keeping customers with aggressive marketing efforts and new products."Hyundai's product renaissance is benefitting the company not just by attracting an all-new customer base, but by helping them to retain" current Hyundai owners," said Arthur Henry, market intelligence manager for Kelley Blue Book. It's "testament to the power of attractive vehicle designs and intriguing marketing."

KBB also found luxury brand loyalty rising again:

After declining the past few years, in part due to a better economy and more stable gas prices, KBB sees prior luxury owners shifting back to brands they bought when the economy was booming. Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW all saw loyalty rise Q1 to Q2 although all remain down from last year.