DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) - Ford expects to close the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in early 2008 and is intent on selecting a bidder that shows a commitment to investing in the luxury nameplates, a senior Ford executive said on Tuesday.
"First and foremost in our minds is to make sure that we sell to a buyer that looks to grow (the brands)," Mark Fields, Ford's president for the Americas, told reporters at a presentation at a Ford training facility. "We're still going through the process."
Fields said it was unlikely that Ford could close the deal in the remaining weeks of this year.
"It's most likely going to be in the first quarter," he said.
India's Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and private equity firm One Equity Partners have emerged as bidders for Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford is spinning off the storied British luxury brands in order to focus on restructuring its loss-making North American operations.
Merrill Lynch has valued the Jaguar and Land Rover brands at up to $1.5 billion (730 million pounds) on a combined basis.
Indian newspapers reported last week that final bids for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands had ranged between $1.5 billion and $2.2 billion.
Separately, Ford's Fields said the No. 2 automaker was ready to cut production further to keep inventories in line if the U.S. market weakens more sharply than Ford has forecast.
Ford has forecast that U.S. demand for light trucks and cars could dip below 15.5 million units on an annualized basis over the next six months.
Pressured by tighter credit and a slumping housing market, U.S. vehicle sales this year are on track to slip to 16.1 million units, the lowest annual tally since 1998.
"That's cause for concern, of course," Fields said.
He added: "If we need to make changes and things go outside our plan, we will make changes."
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