Ford Motor Co. will increase first-quarter production in the United States 13 percent from year-earlier levels to meet projected increases in retail sales and will pay dealers to offset the costs of deliveries of vehicles with complicated technologies.
Ford told dealers at its make meeting that it will consider ramping up production with third shifts at its U.S. plants to respond to higher sales.
Dealers say they have had difficulty getting F-series pickups, especially.
Stan Moffitt, owner of Moffitt's Ford-Lincoln in Boone, Iowa, said, "They'll be building more vehicles. Production is going to ramp up -- as much as they can."
Ford is running many of its plants on overtime but recently has slowed or stopped production at some factories because of parts shortages.
Ford is short of the 2011 Ford Explorer and Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers and the Ford Fiesta subcompact specifically, said Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of global marketing, sales and service.
Ford also said it will pay dealers to help offset the cost of educating consumers about Sync and MyFord Touch. Sync technology enables drivers to align their Bluetooth phones to the vehicle and use voice commands for phone calls and infotainment. MyFord Touch is Ford's voice-activated and touch-screen technology that controls climate, entertainment, phone and navigation
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