Earnings, sales down for Ford in 2014

Associated Press

DEARBORN, Mich.

Ford Motor Co. is putting a tough year behind it and promising big things despite a bumpy global market.

The Dearborn-based automaker’s net income fell 56 percent to $3.2 billion in 2014. Sales were down slightly, to 6.32 million cars and trucks, and revenue dropped 2 percent to $144.1 billion.

Ford repeatedly had warned that earnings would be lower as it invested for the future. The company spent heavily to introduce 24 vehicles worldwide, including a redesigned Mustang and the new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup truck. Ford plowed money into five new plants in Asia and racked up expenses for closing plants in Europe and Australia. It also launched the Lincoln luxury brand in China.

All that effort puts 2015 on track to be “a breakthrough year,” Ford President and CEO Mark Fields said Thursday. Boatloads of Mustangs are steaming toward China, and the redesigned Edge and Explorer are hitting the U.S. market just as SUV sales are soaring. Ford says the new F-150 is already the fastest-selling vehicle on its lots.