Ford: Car sales may shrink

US motor giant warns it could be facing its slowest Chinese performance in 17 yrs

Automakers may sell fewer vehicles in China this year for the first time since at least 1998 as demand slows in the world's largest market, according to the low end of Ford Motor Co's revised projection.

Ford is estimating industrywide sales to be between 23 million and 24 million units this year, Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said on Tuesday, compared with the 23.5 million sold last year. The low end of that forecast would represent the first decline in at least 17 years, according to official sales data. Before 1998, only production figures were available.