Ford reports $3 billion Q3 loss; plans further cost cuts

Mumbai: Ford Motor Co today reported a $2.98 billion quarterly operating loss and said it would cut salary expenses by another 10 per cent as part of a plan to prune costs by 15 per cent.
 
Detroit rival General Motors Corporation also reported losses while world No 1 automaker Toyota Motor Corp today warned its annual profits would hit a 13-year low this year.

GM and Ford saw the worst fall in sales with US auto sales plunging to the lowest in a quarter century in October.

The plummeting sales of both Ford and General Motors have made them fit cases for federal rescue packages, according to AutoNation Inc, the nation's largest seller of domestic cars and trucks.

AutoNation, which owns 311 dealerships in 15 states, said its net income during the quarter fell to a $1.4-billion loss from a $72.1-million profit in the same quarter a year ago.

AutoNation's net income from GM, Ford and Chrysler stores alone plummeted 57.4 per cent.

Elsewhere, premium car maker BMW of Germany and rival Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars, also registered sharp fall in October sales amidst continued weakness in US and western European markets.

BMW reported an 8.3 per cent decline in group sales at 113,005 vehicles in October while Mercedes-Benz Cars saw volumes fall 18.1 per cent to 82,500 units.

Porsche is also expected to report a fall in its pretax profit in the fiscal year ending July, even as the credit crisis force consumers to postpone or altogether abandon purchases and freeze car sales around the world.