Ford is to speed up its North American cost cuts just six months after laying out plans for 30,000 job losses and the closure of more than a dozen plants.

Announcing a surprise second-quarter loss on Thursday, the world’s third biggest carmaker also warned it would struggle to regain market share in North America in the face of shrinking demand for large pick-up trucks, a mainstay of its product line and profits.

“The speed and magnitude of the market shift is putting increasing pressure on our costs,” said Bill Ford, chairman and chief executive. “We need to go farther and faster.” He reiterated his target of returning the North American operations to profitability by 2008.

Under the Way Forward plan announced in January, Ford aims to close 14 factories – including seven assembly plants – by 2012.

Mr Ford said on Thursday that the accelerated plan would be unveiled by mid-September. As a start, Ford plans to cut North American truck production by 45,000 units in the third quarter, while raising car output by 5,000.

The second-quarter loss was $123m, or seven cents a share, compared with earnings of $946m, or 47 cents, a year earlier. Special items reduced earnings by four cents a share.

Pre-tax losses from automotive operations rose to $808m from $245m a year earlier. The loss in North America narrowed to $797m from $907m, mainly because of cost reductions. But revenues dipped to $19.2bn from $19.9bn.

The luxury car division, which includes Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, slipped to a $162m pre-tax loss from a $17m profit. The setback was due partly to a dip in Volvo’s market share ahead of new model launches.

Ford Credit, the carmaker’s financing arm, reported net income of $441m, down from $740m, reflecting higher borrowing costs and lower receivables, among other items.

While attention has focused in recent months on the financial woes of General Motors, Ford’s bigger Detroit-based rival, analysts have expressed growing concern about Ford’s long-term prospects.

Ford is widely viewed to have a weaker line-up of new products over the next few years. Critics have also pointed to weak management. While GM shares have soared this year, Ford has lost about a fifth of its value. Its shares fell further by Thursday lunchtime to $6.24, off 9 cents since the start of the session.

Ford’s F-Series pick-ups are North America’s top-selling vehicle, and make up more than a quarter of its US sales volumes.

But the overall market share of big pick-ups fell to 12.7 per cent in the first quarter, from 13.5 per cent in the previous three months.