GM market share up; Ford vows to break even

General Motors Corp. reports earnings of $1.5 billion on revenues of $177.3 billion in 2001 — a year rife with unprecedented retail challenges. GM's results are down from earnings of $5 billion and revenues of $183.3 billion in 2000. The No.1 auto maker earned $255 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $609 million in like-2000. Halting eroding North American market share — up to 27.6% from 27.5% a year earlier — plus profits from the Asia/Pacific region, helped smooth out the bottom line.

Ford Motor Co. faces a first-quarter loss, but over the full year, on the strength of its “revitalization plan,” the auto maker will break even, says Ford's Chief Financial Officer Martin Inglis. The world's No.2 auto maker in 2001 suffered its first annual loss — $5.45 billion — since 1992. The loss in 2001, capped by a net loss of $5.07 billion in the fourth quarter, is in stark contrast to the $3.47 billion profit it reported for 2000. The negative result reflects a $4.1 billion after-tax charge — the cost of implementing its turnaround plan (see story, p.40).