Ford profits halve as rivals book a good quarter

FORD has posted a huge slump in its global third-quarter earnings as demand in its home markets in North America dried up.

The carmaker posted a flat US$1.0 billion ($A1.3b) result for the quarter, down more than 56 percent on the record number it pulled for the same three-month period last year.

The slump comes off the back of fewer sales of cars and SUVs in North America, a US$600m blowout in the cost of recalls, mainly to fix faulty door latches, and expenses relating to the launch of a new aluminium-bodied Super Duty pick-up truck.

The only shining light for the second-largest US car brand’s quarter appears to be the Asia-Pacific region, which pushed its earnings to a record high of US$131m, a US$109m million turnaround from a year ago.

Ford’s struggle is in stark contrast to rival and market heavyweight General Motors, which this week posted a record US$2.8b third quarter result. In contrast, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted a €606 million ($A870 million) Q3 result, up €100 million over the same period last year, prompting it to raise its full-year earnings forecast.

Significantly, Fiat Chrysler has raised its share of the US market by 12.5 percent in the quarter, seemingly mostly at the expense of Ford.

Adding to Ford’s pain is Californian electric car maker Tesla, which this week posted a record US$22m profit for its third quarter – the second time the company has signed off a quarter with its books running with black, not red, ink.

Part of Tesla’s record-breaking result came from selling pollution tax credits to other carmakers.