The American auto industry can only do so much to compete in the crowded global marketplace without support from the U.S. government, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President Mark Fields said Wednesday.
“We don’t need the full force of the federal government behind our efforts,” Fields said in a morning speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.”All we are seeking is the certainty that allows us to make the investments we’re already making.”
Fields called on legislators to pass a permanent research and development tax credit for automakers and level the playing field with foreign competitors such as Japan and Korea by ending cumbersome trade barriers. He also asked lawmakers to invest more in ethanol pumps at gas stations across the country.
Ford has more than 1.6 million ethanol-fueled cars on the road, said Fields, but there are only 700 ethanol pumps at U.S. gas stations. There are four pumps in Maryland, one in Northern Virginia and none in the District.
Ford, along with U.S. car manufacturers General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler, has faced intense competition in recent years from overseas automobile car companies. Ford posted a net loss of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2006 and dealt with plant closures and layoffs. The company has launched “The Way Forward,” a turnaround plan to get back to profitability by 2008 through initiatives such as launching a product line of alternatively fueled cars.
Fields, who was in town Friday to lobby lawmakers, acknowledged that some of the damage to Ford is likely irreparable.
“The jobs we are losing probably aren’t coming back,” he said.
