Ford Vehicle

The pace at which Ford developed and introduced new vehicles “had fallen to almost last” place among major automakers, Mulally said. The company has begun developing new models globally, using a single set of components to produce a family of cars that can be sold around the world. The first product of that change will be a set of subcompact cars the automaker will introduce in Europe, North and South America and Asia from 2008 to 2010.

The American car from that program “will be a design statement, packed with features to make it relevant to young buyers” at an affordable price, said Mark Fields, Ford executive vice president and president of North and South American operations. The small car becomes even more important with $4-a-gallon gasoline likely in the near future, Fields said.

He added that Ford is working to boost sales and production of fuel-efficient cars and crossover SUVs and reduce its dependence on large pickups and conventional SUVs. “We are absolutely committed to improving our fuel economy,” Mulally said. “Most of our emphasis has been on trucks and SUVs, and every once in a while we’d make a car,” he said, describing Ford’s strategy in the 1980s and ‘90s. “Now, we’ve got a laser-like focus” on fixing the car side of the business.

Fields said there’s some evidence that’s working with the 2008 Taurus, the revamped version of the disappointing Five Hundred sedan the company introduced three years ago. The new Taurus has been selling at a lower rate than the Five Hundred did last year, but Fields blames that largely on lower incentives and a reduction of sales to rental companies like Hertz and Avis.