Ford Motor Co has room for steady growth in its share of the North American and European auto markets, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Wednesday.

Ford, the only large U.S. automaker not to reorganize in 2009 under a government-supported bankruptcy, has increased its market share in the United States this year as rivals General Motors Co GM.UL and Chrysler stumbled toward bankruptcy.

As Ford continues to bring on small and mid-sized vehicles “I think we have room to grow, profitably of course, in the United States,” Mulally said in a meeting with industry analysts that was webcast.

Ford also has room to grow in Russia and Europe, he said.

“Two very large mature markets, so growth will be steady, but not real dramatic,” Mulally said of the U.S. and Europe. “If you look at Asia-Pacific we have a lot of room to grow.”

Ford, which has posted losses totaling about $30 billion for the years 2006 through 2008, expects to be at least break-even in 2011 consistent with a gradual recovery in the economy that would also bring an increase in industry sales.

The automaker expects U.S. auto industry sales to slump in September to levels seen earlier in 2009 with the U.S. government “cash for clunkers” incentive program exhausted.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said he expected September U.S. auto industry sales to range from an annualized rate of 9 million to 9.5 million vehicles.

Ford typically includes medium and heavy duty trucks in its U.S. auto industry sales forecasts.

Ford Fusion Hybrid

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings for the Ford Fusion Hybrid are 41 miles per US gallon (5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg) for city and 36 miles per US gallon (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg) for highway. When driving on electric-only mode (EV mode) the Fusion can achieve 47 mph and up to 2 miles of continuous EV driving. In city driving a full tank delivers 700 miles (1,126.5 km).

History and development

The hybrid electric version of the Fusion was announced at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, along with the public introduction of the original 2006 Fusion. At that time Ford announced that the hybrid version was scheduled to be introduced in early 2009 for the 2010 model year, for a suggested retail price of US$27,270. The new Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Sport officially debuted at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2008.

The Fusion Hybrid was made available for press testing in December 2008 and launched to the U.S market in March 2009. During the same month two other new hybrid models also came on sale, the Honda Insight and the Mercury Milan. During the few days that were available to the public, Ford’s new Fusion and Milan hybrids sold a combined 451 units, representing 3.0% of all Fusion and Milan models sold in March 2009.

According to Ford, the vehicle was built to have a fuel efficiency of 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway by EPA standards. On December 2008, Green Car Congress staff reported they had obtained in-city mileage of 43.1 mpg on the streets of Los Angeles. In addition, a Los Angeles Times reporter informed in December 2008 that he had obtained 52 mpg in mixed city-highway driving with little difficulty.

The Fusion is the first new hybrid vehicle the Ford brand offered in five years, and is the second hybrid vehicle after the Ford Escape Hybrid. The Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids join the Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid for Mexican-built hybrid vehicles.

 Design and technology

Fuel economy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rated the fuel economy for the 2010 Fusion hybrid at 41 miles per US gallon (5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg) city, 36 miles per US gallon (6.5 L/100 km; 43 mpg) highway. This model gets better fuel economy than the Toyota Camry Hybrid (32 miles per gallon city, 33 highway), the Nissan Altima Hybrid (35 miles per gallon city, 33 highway), and the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid (26 miles per gallon city, 34 highway), viewed as its competitors in the mid-size sedan segment. However, the 2009 Toyota Prius still has the best fuel economy in vehicles considered mid-size by the EPA with 48 miles per gallon city and 45 highway.

On a single-tank publicity stunt conducted on April 2009, a Fusion Hybrid managed 81.5 miles per US gallon (2.89 L/100 km; 97.9 mpg) on a 1,445.7 mile trip.

Tax credit

The Fusion Hybrid qualifies for a maximum hybrid tax credit of US$3,400 if purchased by March 31, 2009. The credit drops to US$ 1,700 if purchased by September 30, 2009, to US$850 if purchased from October 2009 and March 31, 2010, and is scheduled to phase out by April 1, 2010.