Ford's US sales plunged 42% in January, as the woes facing the country's beleaguered "Big Three" carmakers show no signs of improving.
The company said it sold 90,596 vehicles in its home market last month, down from 156,391 a year earlier.
Ford's bleak sales update comes just a week after it reported a record $14.6bn (£10bn) annual loss for 2008.
Its US rivals General Motors and Chrysler are also expected to report a sharp fall in January sales later.
Government support
American car sales have slumped as consumers have cut back on making large purchases as US recession has deepened.
The decline has also hit sales of foreign cars in the US. Toyota's January US sales were down 32% from a year earlier.
General Motors (GM) and Chrysler were last month given a $17.4bn bail-out from the White House, after they warned that they were running out of cash.
The financial situation at Ford is not as bad, although it has secured a $9bn government credit line that it will be able to access in the future if needed.
GM said on Tuesday that it would offer voluntary redundancy to 22,000 US employees as it seeks to cut costs.
Industry-wide US car sales fell 185 in 2008 to 13.2 million vehicles.
Sales for 2009 are expected to drop near 10.5 million, analysts say.
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