Ford Vehicle

Men examines Lexus cars in a new dealership in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 7. Japan’s Lexus open its world’s first ‘Lexus Gallery’ in the country with Southeast Asia’s largest economy, where it expects to sell as many as 200 cars next year, up from around 50 this year.- Reuters DETROIT (Reuters): Ford Motor Co. posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss last Thursday and said it was nearing a deal to sell its British luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover.

Ford, which has struggled with declining sales and falling U.S. market share, also said it was moving ahead of its own targets for its turnaround. The number-two U.S. auto-maker said it was on track to reduce its expected cash burn by $5 billion and to post a narrower loss in the current quarter as it targets a return to profitability by 2009.

Ford also said it was taking Volvo off the auction block and would integrate the Swedish luxury brand more closely into purchasing and development efforts executives stopped short of ruling out an eventual sale. “Our plan now is to not sell it and to focus on improving especially the cost structure and the position of the brand,” Chief Executive Alan Mulally said.

“It’s what we’ve decided for now is our focus.” selling jaguar, land rover By contrast, Ford said it expected to wrap up a deal to sell Jaguar and Land Rover by early next year, disbanding its stable of European premium brands that have been inconsistent performers for the automaker. Ford posted a third-quarter net loss of $380 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5.2 billion, or $2.79 a share a year earlier, when it took large restructuring charges.