Car giant Ford saw unit sales drop in the last three months of 2004 as demand for new vehicles slowed.

Total vehicle sales in the three months to the end of December reached 1,751,000, down 133,000 units on the same period last year.

Sales for the year were 6,798,000, an increase of 62,000 units from 2003.

The slowdown in global demand hit Ford's profits, with its automotive sector reporting a pre-tax loss of $470 million, against a profit of $13 million in the final quarter of 2003.

Ford said the decline primarily reflected unfavourable volume, mix and currency exchange.

Europe was the least successful region with Ford Europe and Premier Automotive Group posting a combined pre-tax loss of $324 million, a decline from a pre-tax profit of $176 million a year ago.

Ford's sales followed more upbeat figures from the world's biggest car manufacturer, GM, which announced a 4.3 per cent rise in global automotive sales yesterday.

Worldwide production totalled 9.1 million units in 2004, up from 8.8 million in 2003.