Ford 2002 Annual Report Download - page 7

Chairman’s Message
5
Starting Our Second Century
For 100 years Ford Motor Company has been an
integral part of the automotive industry and the lives
of people around the world. The dedication and
talent of our employees, dealers and suppliers, and
outstanding leadership spanning generations has
enabled us to accomplish great things.
I believe that no company has had as profound an
impact on people’s lives around the world over the
past years as Ford. From Henry Ford and his origi-
nal vision to Henry Ford II and the Whiz Kids and
then to the strong leadership of the 1980s and 1990s,
Ford has stayed true to the idea of building great cars
and trucks with high quality at an affordable price.
All companies experience their share of triumphs
and setbacks, especially those who have been in
the business for a century. The last few years have
been difficult. But we articulated a plan to revitalize
our business, and we made solid progress on that
plan in 2002.
We are proud of what we’ve accomplished so far
but not satisfied. Our progress to date has not been
reflected in our stock price. We are accelerating our
efforts so that we can continue to improve our results.
Last year we substantially narrowed our net loss to
$980 million from $5.45 billion in 2001. Revenue for
2002 was $162.6 billion, up more than one percent
from the previous year. Full-year automotive cash
flow was positive. And liquidity was strong at year-
end, with $25 billion of automotive gross cash and
marketable securities, including $2.7 billion of finan-
cial assets held in a trust to fund future employee
benefit obligations.
These improvements were the early results of a plan
I outlined in January 2002 aimed at revitalizing the
company. Our plan focuses on the fundamentals
that drive success in our business: great products
built with high quality at a low cost and strong
relationships with employees, suppliers and
dealers. For the year we exceeded nearly all the
commitments of our plan and put ourselves on
track to reach our mid-decade target of an annual
$7 billion pre-tax profit.
Our successes in 2002 included improving our
capacity utilization in North America by 10 percent,
reducing our non-product costs by $2 billion and
divesting nearly $1 billion in non-core assets. The
only plan milestones for the year that we didn’t meet
or exceed were in Europe and South America, where
because of difficult market conditions we improved
our operations but did not meet our targets.
In addition to our achievements in reducing costs,
we had notable successes in improving quality
in 2002. In the J.D. Power and Associates Initial
Quality Study, Ford was up 12 percent, outpacing
the industry average of 10 percent. In their APEAL
survey, which measures customer satisfaction, we
won the most awards of any manufacturer with five
segment-leading products.
We also did well improving our quality in non-
product areas. Ford Credit won two top awards in
the J.D. Power and Associates Consumer Finance
Satisfaction study, and Ford Financial brands were
rated first in eight of the 10 categories in the survey.
And Ford Motor Company dealers improved signif-
icantly in the Sales Satisfaction Index, outpacing
the industry average and moving into a virtual tie
for first place.
To fulfill our commitment to delivering great
products, we began the biggest wave of new vehicle
introductions in our history in 2002. That included
a new Ford Crown Victoria and Expedition, Mercury
Grand Marquis, Lincoln Navigator and Town Car,
Volvo XC90, Land Rover Range Rover and, in
Chairman and CEO Bill Ford with the new F-150
inside the Dearborn Truck Plant at the Rouge Center