Ford Focuses On Smaller Cars

The Ford Motor Company, which for two decades led America’s shift to gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks, is changing its operations to begin producing smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The company’s new strategy, to be unveiled Thursday, involves converting three of its North American plants from making trucks to cars and producing six of its smaller European car models for the American market. Ford CEO Alan R. Mulally plans an unprecedented overhaul of the company’s operations in reaction to soaring gas prices and concern over climate change. “We don’t have a sustainable company if we don’t do this,” Mulally recently told his management team. Ford, the U.S.’s second largest automaker behind General Motors, has seen its sales slump 14 percent this year as consumers scramble to buy smaller cars. The company lost a combined $15.3 billion in 2006 and 2007. For more than a decade, 60 percent of Ford’s sales have come form SUVs and trucks; 8 of its 14 North American plants now build trucks, SUVs, and vans.