The Ford motor company today reported a $5bn (£3.5bn) loss for the fourth quarter of 2001 as it notched up its first annual loss since 1992.

The world's second-biggest car maker lost $5.45bn for the whole year, mostly because of heavy costs related to its recently announced restructuring plan.

Ford announced last Friday that it would take a $4.1bn charge for a restructuring program that will involve closing five plants in the US and eliminating 35,000 jobs worldwide.

Revenue fell to $41.15bn in the quarter from $42.59bn a year ago. On a worldwide basis, the company's car business lost $803m in the fourth quarter compared to a $762m profit during the last three months of 2000.

In north America, Ford's car operations lost $916m in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared to a profit of $740m in the same period a year earlier.

In a difficult year, Ford stumbled on product launches, made several recalls and was embroiled in a high-profile dispute with the Firestone tyre company over the quality of tyres supplied for its vehicles.

Ford plans to introduce an average of 20 new models a year through 2006 and put more emphasis on its high-margin brands - Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin.

The carmaker is killing off four slow-selling models by the end of the year: Lincoln Continental, Mercury Villager and Cougar and Ford Escort.

The company's problems led to the first Ford family member taking control of its day-to-day operations in 22 years. Jacques Nasser resigned as president and chief executive officer in October under pressure to be replaced by chairman William Clay Ford, great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford.

"This was a challenging, difficult year for Ford and our financial performance was unacceptable," Mr Ford said. "As outlined in our revitalisation plan, we are committed to regaining our momentum and getting back on track."