Ford also announced its fourth-quarter financial results, which topped Wall Street's estimates. Still, the outlook appeared to spook investors, which sent shares in the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker down 5.1% in after-hours trading. The stock closed 1.5% lower during regular trading.

Ford has been grappling with stubbornly high warranty expenses and sluggish cost-cutting efforts. In the July-September quarter, the company took $1billion (€960,000) in accounting charges to write down assets for a cancelled three-row electric SUV.