Share this article Related articles Ford shares closed up 0.3% at $34.30 after closing at $32.35.
Ford shares have surged over the past two weeks as Ford CEO Mark Fields is looking to ramp up sales at a time when the economy is struggling and President Donald Trump is facing calls to cut federal spending.
Ford is hoping to make good on that call.
Ford shares have gained more than 60% this year and are up about 80% since the end of the year.
Ford stock has been trading above $32 for several months, but it closed below $32 Wednesday.
Ford, which has been battered by recent firings, is seeking to return to profitability.
Fields, who has been the chief executive officer of the automaker for just over a year, has been searching for ways to get the company to sell more vehicles.
Ford has sold nearly 4 million vehicles this year, up from about 3.6 million a year ago.
The company has been under pressure from analysts and investors to do more with its massive inventory of vehicles and the threat of a potential federal recall over the ignition switches used in its vehicles.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday that Ford’s U.N. sales fell 1.6% in November, down from 2.7% in October and down from 4.1% in September.
Ford said it expects sales of SUVs to decline 3% in the third quarter, down slightly from 4% in 2018.
Ford also said its sales of trucks fell 1%, but the company has not released sales figures for that segment.
Ford has about 5.3 million vehicles in production, up 1.2 million from the year before.
Fields said Ford is currently making deliveries of about 2.2 dozen vehicles a day.
Ford expects to produce nearly 700,000 SUVs this year.
Ford is also seeking to expand its global sales, according to the company.
Fields announced in December that Ford would start selling vehicles in the U.K. next year.
The automaker has also announced that it is planning to begin selling vehicles globally in 2018 and said it will launch its first global assembly plant in China this fall.
Analysts are looking for Ford to get into the $50 billion U.H. Khan market, which is a sector of the auto industry that includes cars, trucks and SUVs.
Ford’s global sales are up 8% this past year.