NEWS
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FOR RELEASE AT 12 P.M. JAN. 11, 2001
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FORD SETS 2001 FINANCIAL MILESTONES
DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 11, 2001 - Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F], after finishing
2000 with record sales, goes into 2001 with its strongest brand and product-line
up ever. In keeping with Ford's shareholder and consumer focus, the company
today released its financial milestones for 2001.
"The year 2000 was a tremendous year. The Ford Motor Company rewarded
shareholders by distributing $12 billion in cash and securities," said President
and CEO Jacques Nasser. "The Ford Focus became the best-selling car in the
world, the F-Series was the world's top-selling truck, and the Ford Explorer
finished as America's most popular SUV for the 10th year in a row.
"Putting customers first and leveraging our competitive advantages are the basic
building blocks of our strategy," Nasser said. "One of those advantages is open
communications, and that tradition continues today with our 2001 financial
goals. Even though we face a more challenging industry environment in the U.S.,
these milestones demonstrate that Ford, aided by e-commerce initiatives, intends
to deliver another year of growth and strong financial results that support our
consumer-focused, shareholder driven strategy."
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The 2001 milestones are:
Total Company Milestone
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o Revenue Grow by $5 billion
Automotive Milestone
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o North America Achieve 4 percent-plus return on sales
o Europe Achieve 1 percent-plus return on sales
o South America Improve results
o Asia-Pacific Achieve profitability
o Total costs Down $1 billion (at constant volume and mix)
o Capital spending Contain at $8 billion or less
Automotive Related Milestone
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o Ford Credit Improve returns and grow earnings by 10 percent
The 2000 milestones will be updated when Ford releases its fourth quarter and
full-year 2000 earnings on Jan. 18.
Ford Motor Company is the world's second largest automaker, with approximately
335,000 employees in 200 markets on six continents. Its automotive brands
include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and
Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and
Hertz.
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Statements included herein may constitute "forward looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including,
without limitation: greater price competition in the U.S. and Europe resulting
from currency fluctuations, industry overcapacity or other factors; a
significant decline in industry sales, particularly in the U.S. or Europe,
resulting from slowing economic growth; currency or commodity price
fluctuations; economic difficulties in South America or Asia; higher fuel
prices; a market shift from truck sales in the U.S.; lower-than-anticipated
residual values for leased vehicles; labor or other constraints on our ability
to restructure our business; increased safety or emissions regulation resulting
in higher costs and/or sales restrictions; work stoppages at key Ford or
supplier facilities; and the discovery of defects in vehicles resulting in
recall campaigns, increased warranty costs or litigation.
