Ford Motor Gained Market Share in August, Fields Says

Ford Motor Co. gained U.S. market share in August, and its new Fiesta small car is being shipped to customers after a quality issue with some parts was fixed, said Mark Fields, the carmaker’s president for the Americas.

“We’ll have another good month in terms of market share growth,” Fields told reporters today in Dearborn, Michigan, where Ford is based. “We’re seeing the industry kind of firm up. At this point, we don’t see a double dip recession.”

Ford, the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy, earned $4.7 billion in the year’s first six months, the largest first-half profit since 1998. Sales of redesigned models such as the Taurus and Fusion sedans helped propel the automaker’s U.S. sales up by 23 percent this year compared to an industrywide gain of 15 percent.

Ford began selling the Fiesta subcompact model in June. Some deliveries were delayed by two to four weeks, according to Said Deep, a Ford spokesman. The delay was because of a “part- quality issue” and wasn’t significant, Fields said, without identifying the part.

The second-largest U.S. automaker also this year is introducing redesigned versions of its Edge and Explorer sport- utility vehicles, Focus compact and Mustang sports car, as well as new Super Duty versions of its F-series pickup line.

Ford rose 8 cents to $11.32 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 13 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Dearborn, Michigan, at Knaughton3@bloomberg.net

Enlarge image

Ford Motor Gained Market Share in August

Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg

New Ford Fiesta compact sedans sit in the showroom at Galpin Ford, Ford Motor Co.'s top selling dealership in the U.S.

New Ford Fiesta compact sedans sit in the showroom at Galpin Ford, Ford Motor Co.'s top selling dealership in the U.S. Photographer: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg