Ford boss doubts peak return for car production
Alan Mulally, Ford Motor's chief executive, has said he doesn’t expect the US market to return to the highs before the recession.

He told the FT: "I think that we will not return to the peaks of production that we've seen in the past, which is why we've moved very aggressively.”

Ford had asked for $9bn from the US government in case its global markets collapsed further, but didn’t need immediate emergency federal aid like its US rivals General Motors and Chrysler.

Mulally is expecting consolidation among manufacturers this year and is expecting Ford’s car sales to fall for the first two quarters of 2009 before picking up in the second half of the year.

Ford is still considering whether to sell its Swedish Volvo brand and said it is still considering all options which might not lead to a sale.

To view the FT’s video interview with Mulally click here.