Ford says Jaguar sale 'not an option'

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Ford says Jaguar sale 'not an option'

Auto manufacturer has no plans to sell luxury car brand; firm expects European operations to post a profit in '06.

March 1, 2006: 10:02 AM EST

GENEVA (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it has no plans to sell its loss-making British luxury car subsidiary Jaguar Cars and said it expects profits overall for its European businesses in 2006.

"No, it is not an option," Lewis Booth, the head of Ford of Europe and the car manufacturer's Premier Automotive Group (PAG), told reporters when asked if a Jaguar sale is possible.

Booth said he sees sales at Jaguar stabilizing at about 85,000 units a year, but declined to repeat Ford's previous forecasts that it will break even by 2007.

Shares of Ford (Research) edged higher in early trading in New York.

"We are going to do what we said we would do and continue to work on the cost side," Booth said on the sidelines of the Geneva car show.

Ford said in December it had injected another £1.2 billion into Jaguar to cover heavy losses and investment writedowns, the second recapitalization in two years.

Ford bought Jaguar in 1989 for £1.6 billion but has struggled to make money with the brand, part of PAG. PAG also includes Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin, which are all expected to turn a profit this year.

Ford last year cut 1,150 Jaguar jobs in England, scaled back production at the Browns Lane plant in Coventry and shifted output to another factory near Birmingham.

Booth said both PAG and Ford of Europe would be profitable in 2006 but declined to give more detailed forecasts.

Ford is on a new product offensive in Europe, where it is facing stiff competition from Asian car manufacturers. Booth predicted strong growth in Russia and Turkey, but its biggest market in the UK faces tougher conditions.

"The UK is a bit of a worry at the moment," Booth said.

Ford has said it will slash up to 30,000 jobs and shed more than a quarter of its production capacity in North America as it struggles with a deepening financial crisis, prompted by decades of U.S. market share losses.