VW says it passed Ford for 3rd place ranking

Ford Motor Co. lost its third-place spot in the global sales rankings for the first half of the year. So says the Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen delivered 3.31 million vehicles during the first half of 2008, up 7.2%. Ford delivered 3.22 million cars and trucks through June, down from 3.42 million vehicles during the same period a year ago.

Ford’s numbers do not include Mazda vehicles, with the exception of the Mazda 6, which is built in Flat Rock. Ford, which has lost $8.6 billion in the first half of the year, said in a statement it remains focused on returning to profitability.

Coming up: Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s group vice president for global manufacturing and labor affairs, is to speak Thursday at Credit Suisse’s annual Global Automotive Conference in New York.