Ford has reported a third-quarter loss of $284m (£160.8m).

In the same period last year, Ford made a profit of $266m (£150.1m).

The company reported a loss from continuing operations of $191m (£108m) and a worldwide automotive pre-tax loss of $1.3bn (£735.2m).

The company’s sales are suffering from high gasoline prices that have hit demand for SUVs.

Chairman and chief executive officer, Bill Ford said: "As our results indicate, we face many challenges in this competitive and difficult environment.

"We have demonstrated throughout the year that we will continue to take the actions necessary to return our core business to sustainable profitability. We understand the issues, our priorities, and have the right team in place to get the job done."

This year’s third quarter combined pre-tax loss for Ford Europe and PAG automotive operations was $163mn (£92.2m), an improvement of $41m (£23.2m) compared with a loss of $204m (£115.4m) for the year-ago period.