Auto sales remain weak in July: Ford exec : US Business

RICHMOND, Indiana (Reuters) - Auto sales have remained weak in July and reflect the trend in shifting demand toward smaller vehicles, Ford Motor Co's president of the Americas said on Tuesday.

"We continue to see industry weakness and at this point our main goal is to make sure we stay on top of the industry signs and react accordingly," Mark Fields told reporters at an event celebrating the centennial of Ford's Model T.

Fields also said it was not possible to predict when U.S. auto sales would bottom. U.S. auto sales have been tracking at a more than decade low in 2008, pressured by U.S. economic uncertainty and a sharp rise in gasoline prices.

"We don't know," Fields said. "We have assumptions, but clearly we continue to see weakness in the marketplace."

Fields also said Ford remained on target to complete $5 billion of operating cost reductions and trimming salaried expenses by August 1. The company had said previously it would cut 15 percent of its salaried costs.

"July is continuing the trend that we have seen in terms of the market being slower than last year, continuing with the segment shifts," Fields said.

Last month, Ford warned that 2008 results would be worse than 2007. It has also abandoned its longstanding goal of returning to profitability in 2009.

Ford also stepped up its restructuring, announcing plans to cut production of larger trucks and SUVs and increase production of cars and crossovers, including the strong-selling Focus. Ford plans to add the European version of the Focus to its North American lineup in 2010.

Fields repeated that Ford would continue to match its production capacity to consumer demand. The automaker also has been offering buyouts to hourly workers at most of its U.S. plants to reduce its blue-collar work force to match demand.

Ford has said it will provide more restructuring plan details when it releases second-quarter results on Thursday.

(Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

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