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DETROIT - Ford Motor chief executive Alan Mulally said yesterday that the automaker could announce the sale of its premium British brands Jaguar and Land Rover by the end of the year.
"We will probably have something to announce by the end of this year, toward the first part of next year," Mulally told reporters at a ceremony marking the formal signing of the four-year labour contract reached last month with the United Auto Workers union.
Ford has narrowed the auction of Jaguar and Land Rover to three bids. The remaining bidders include Indian carmaker Tata Motors and rival Mahindra & Mahindra, which has teamed up with buyout firm Apollo.
The US automaker has been exploring a sale of the brands since June. The brands have been valued by a Merrill Lynch analyst at as much as US$1.5 billion ($1.97 billion) combined.
Mulally was joined at the signing ceremony by Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jnr and UAW president Ron Gettelfinger at the automaker's headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
The Ford chief said the automaker was keeping an eye on the slowing US economy and would adjust production of vehicles according to market demand.
US vehicle sales are on track to finish the year with the lowest tally since 1998.
With concern mounting about the risk of recession, many analysts are now expecting a continued slide in US vehicle sales through 2008, which would mark the third consecutive year of lower sales.
Ford set its targeted first-quarter production at 685,000 vehicles, a 7.4 per cent reduction from year-ago levels.
- Reuters
