Ford s US business prompted Jaguar and land Rover sale
Although this was a dramatic improvement on the $5.2bn loss in the same period last year, its domestic performance last month was flat and it has announced a 7 per cent year-on-year cut in US production for the first quarter of 2008. Apart from exiting the prestige sector, Ovenden said Ford s clear desire to focus on the blue oval meant that it had no need for a sub-brand either - the equivalent of Vauxhall s budget Chevrolet business.
He said the used car market offered a better alternative to a cheap sub-brand and argued that at the budget end of the market you ll never beat the Koreans . Ovenden said the growing environmental and economic concerns of consumers meant smaller cars would become more dominant but claimed: Luxury needn t mean big Mini has proven this. Ford has signalled its desire to move upmarket and Ovenden said: We want to keep our heartland but there s no reason we shouldn t sell upwards.