General Motors is bankrupt. Chrysler is bankrupt. Ford is increasing production.
The Wall Street Journal reports, "Ford Motor Co. is preparing an effort to gain market share while its two main rivals are bogged down in bankruptcy and restructuring." The company "plans to increase production of cars and trucks in the third quarter by about 10% from the level of a year ago, a company official said. It will be Ford's first significant production increase in almost two years."
Mark Fields, president of Ford's North American operations, told the Journal "This is not a case of 'Gee, let's stick it to them.' We have been watching our inventory levels and we've seen our market share grow. This is really just us working our plan."
There is some risk in the move. Autoblog explains, "While many calls have been trumpeted to increase car sales because customers want more fuel efficient products, Ford is actually decreasing its car production from 184,000 units to 150,000. The big volume increase falls squarely into the truck category. The move to increase truck production is a gamble for Ford, considering the fact that gas prices are inching upward."
But, the Journal explains, "Ramping up production can be seen as evidence of Ford's cautious but growing confidence in the state of the U.S. auto market, which saw one of the most severe downturns in its history last year and may now be poised for a rebound."
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