Professor Murmann's Blog: Ford Turnaround

Ford Turnaround

Ford has tried to regain a competitive position a number of times without success. Will the company succeed this time as its struggles for survial. Read article on WSJ.com.

April 24, 2008: In Surprise, Ford Swings to Profit in First Quarter

Update: Feb 4, 2009:  Turning Around the Turnaround

The first month of 2009 was at least as miserable for automakers as the second half of 2008, sales figures being released Tuesday show.
The Ford Motor Company said its sales dropped 39 percent in January. But Ford, the only one of the three Detroit automakers that is not borrowing billions of dollars from the federal government to avoid going bankrupt, said its share of the retail market, which excluding sales to fleet operators, increased for the fourth consecutive month. That is the company’s longest streak since 1995.

Toyota said its sales fell 31.7 percent in January. Volkswagen said its sales declined 11.6 percent, and Mercedes reported a 35.5 percent decrease.
Executives at Chrysler projected that the industry’s sales in the United States fell about 35 percent, to an annualized rate of less than 10 million vehicles for the first time in 26 years. That would be well below most automakers’ and analysts’ forecasts for the year but still about in line with expectations for the first part of the year. Tight credit markets and the economic recession, now in its 14th month, are still keeping many customers away from dealerships and preventing some potential buyers from being able to get the vehicle that they want.

Excerpted from NY Times