Re Agreements

Ford Motor Co
22 December 2003



 
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  FORD ANNOUNCES NEW AGREEMENTS WITH VISTEON, INCREASES 2003 EARNINGS GUIDANCE

9 a.m. Conference Call Also to Cover New Contributions to Ford's Pension Funds 
and VEBA, and Other 2003 Fourth-Quarter Special Items

Visteon Agreements:

• Deliver near-term price reductions and provide a basis for fully competitive 
  pricing to Ford over time.

• Build on the 2003 UAW-Ford negotiations that provided a framework for 
  competitive wages and benefits for Visteon's future UAW employees.

• Result in net pre-tax charge of about $1.6 billion to Ford's 2003 fourth-
  quarter financial results. This largely non-cash special charge primarily 
  reflects the transfer from Visteon of certain post-retirement health care 
  and life insurance benefit liabilities. 


Other Fourth-Quarter Items:

• Non-cash, pre-tax charges of about $150 million expected for the disposition 
  of several non-core businesses.

• New contributions of $1 billion to Ford's U.S. pension fund and $6 billion to 
  its Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust. 


Earnings Guidance:

• Increasing full-year 2003 earnings guidance from $0.95-to-$1.05 per share to 
  $1.05-to-$1.10 per share from continuing operations, excluding special items.
  


DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 22 - Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) today announced it has 
signed new agreements with Visteon Corporation -- its largest supplier and 
former automotive components subsidiary -- that improve the competitiveness of 
both companies.

The agreements primarily address pricing and sourcing arrangements between Ford 
and Visteon, as well as costs related to approximately 20,000 UAW-represented 
Ford employees working at Visteon. These employees were assigned to Visteon as 
part of Visteon's June 2000 spin off from Ford.


'The agreements we signed with Visteon will enable our largest supplier to 
deliver parts and components to Ford at more competitive prices,' said 
Don Leclair, Ford Motor Company's chief financial officer. 'That's good 
business, because our ability to compete relies, in part, on partnering with our 
suppliers. With the UAW's strong support, we have laid the foundation for a 
stronger Visteon, and, thus, a stronger Ford Motor Company.'

The principal highlights of the agreements include:


Purchasing and Supply Elements (North America):

• A payment of $150 million from Visteon to Ford on the automaker's 2003 
  purchases. This is in lieu of further price reductions for 2003. In addition, 
  Visteon has committed to a schedule of annual price reductions over the next 
  four years and other actions that should enable Visteon to achieve fully 
  competitive prices over time.

• All new Ford business sourced to Visteon will be at competitive prices and 
  terms. Ford will provide labor differential relief for UAW workers at 
  efficient manning levels.

• Ford agreed to look to Visteon first for new business at UAW-represented 
  Visteon plants. However, Ford can seek alternative sourcing solutions if 
  Visteon is not competitive.

  
Cost-Sharing Elements:

• Ford will assume about $1.65 billion of Visteon's total estimated $3 billion 
  post-retirement health care and life insurance benefit liabilities (OPEB) 
  related to UAW-represented Ford employees at Visteon.

• Visteon and Ford will share equally up to $200 million in costs to upgrade 
  Visteon's information and technology systems as it completes its separation 
  from Ford's IT systems.


Other Elements:

• As job openings occur, Ford employees assigned to Visteon will return to Ford 
over time. As agreed to in concept by the UAW (the final terms presently are 
being negotiated between Visteon and the UAW), Visteon will fill future job 
openings with UAW-represented workers earning Tier I UAW supplier-level wages.

• The timeframe for Visteon to fund its remaining post-retirement OPEB 
  liability - which begins in 2006 - will be extended to 2049 from 2020.

• Visteon's contributions to potential profit-sharing payments for 
  UAW-represented Ford employees will be capped at $2,040 per employee.

• Ford and Visteon will share equally future Visteon capital investments for 
  select products. Payments from Ford to Visteon will be made over a seven-year 
  period for each investment.

• Ford will accelerate payment terms to Visteon over the next three years, after 
  which terms will return to normal.

• A Ford-Visteon governance council will be established to monitor the 
  relationship between the two companies, as well as manage implementation of 
  the agreements.


Financial Impact to Ford Motor Company:

• A net pre-tax charge will be incurred in the 2003 fourth quarter of 
 $1.6 billion, or $0.52 per share.

• The charge includes approximately $1.65 billion of transferred OPEB liability 
  and $100 million of IT separation costs, offset partly by the $150 million 
  payment on 2003 Visteon purchases by Ford.

• The OPEB liability transfer will have minimal impact on Ford's near-term cash 
  flow, because the additional liability will not be fully due for about 50 
  years.  Ford's health care expense will increase by about $100 million 
  annually, beginning in 2004.


Other Fourth Quarter Matters:

• Ford will take a non-cash, pre-tax charge of approximately $150 million for 
  disposition of several non-core businesses. These operations are being 'held 
  for sale.' Additional charges of about $100-to-$150 million for disposition 
  of non-core businesses are anticipated during 2004.

• The fourth-quarter charge for our previously announced restructuring of Ford 
  Europe will be about $450 million. The remaining expected charges (about 
  $100-to-$150 million) associated with these restructuring actions will occur 
  in the first half of 2004.

• The effect of all fourth-quarter special items on earnings per share is 
  expected to be £0.72.

• Ford will contribute $1 billion to its U.S. pension funds and $6 billion to 
  its Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust. Of the 
  contribution to the VEBA trust, $2 billion will be set aside for long-term 
  investments.


Increased Earnings Guidance:

• Excluding special items, the Company increased its full-year 2003 earnings 
  guidance from continuing operations from its $0.95-to-$1.05 per share range to 
  a new range of $1.05-to-$1.10 per share.

'The increase in our 2003 earnings outlook primarily reflects continued strong 
cost savings, strong unit revenue from the new F-150 and other vehicles, and the 
ongoing strength of Ford Motor Credit's operating results,' Leclair said.



Conference Call Scheduled

Investors and media can hear Ford CFO Don Leclair discuss today's announcements 
via conference call at 800-901-5217 (617-786-2964 for international dial-in) or 
on the Internet at http://www.shareholder.ford.com. Supporting presentation 
materials will be available at the same Internet address. The presentation will 
begin at 9:00 a.m. EDT, Dec. 22.

Ford Motor Company, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., is the world's second 
largest automaker, with approximately 335,000 employees in 200 markets on six 
continents. Its automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, 
Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo.  Its automotive-related services 
include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz. Ford Motor Company celebrated its 
100th anniversary on June 16, 2003.


EARNINGS PER SHARE RECONCILIATION

                                                                  ESTIMATED 2003 
EARNINGS PER SHARE                                                FULL YEAR
 
From Continuing Operations, Excluding Special Items               $1.05 - $1.10 

Special Items                                                             (0.72) 

Cumulative Effect of Accounting Changes                                   (0.14)

Discontinued Operations                                                   (0.01)

    Net Income                                                    $0.18 - $0.23


Statements included or incorporated by reference herein may constitute 'forward 
looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation 
Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, 
and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from 
those stated, including, without limitation:

•   greater price competition in the U.S. and Europe resulting from currency 
    fluctuations, industry overcapacity or other factors;

•   a significant decline in industry sales, particularly in the U.S. or Europe, 
    resulting from slowing economic growth, geo-political events or other 
    factors;

•   lower-than-anticipated market acceptance of new or existing products;

•   work stoppages at key Ford or supplier facilities or other interruptions of 
    supplies;

•   the discovery of defects in vehicles resulting in delays in new model 
    launches, recall campaigns or increased warranty costs;

•   increased safety, emissions, fuel economy or other regulation resulting in 
    higher costs and/or sales restrictions;

•   unusual or significant litigation or governmental investigations arising out 
    of alleged defects in our products or otherwise;

•   worse-than-assumed economic and demographic experience for our 
    post-retirement benefit plans (e.g., investment returns, interest rates, 
    health care cost trends, benefit improvements);

•   currency or commodity price fluctuations;

•   a market shift from truck sales in the U.S.;

•   economic difficulties in South America or Asia;

•    reduced availability of or higher prices for fuel;

•    labor or other constraints on our ability to restructure our business;

•    a change in our requirements under long-term supply arrangements under 
     which we are obligated to purchase minimum quantities or pay minimum 
     amounts;

•    a further credit rating downgrade;

•    inability to access debt or securitization markets around the world at 
     competitive rates or in sufficient amounts;

•    higher-than-expected credit losses;

•    lower-than-anticipated residual values for leased vehicles;

•    increased price competition in the rental car industry and/or a general 
     decline in business or leisure travel due to terrorist attacks, act of war 
     or measures taken by governments in response thereto that negatively affect 
     the travel industry, and

•    our inability to implement the Revitalization Plan.


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