Ford on track to sell 2.2 million cars in U.S. this year

Ford Motor Co is on track to sell 2.2 million cars under its main brand this year, up 7 percent from 2011, the automaker said on Saturday, but the company has acknowledged losing market share as it struggled to keep up with consumer demand.

It marks the second straight year the No. 2 U.S. automaker has surpassed the 2 million threshold.

The projected sales jump for the Ford brand falls short of the overall industry's gains, which many analysts expect to exceed 13 percent in 2012.

This year is the third in a row that industry sales have climbed by double digits, as American automakers rebound from a deep recession that pushed Ford's rivals, General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC, into bankruptcy in 2009.

Earlier this year, Ford said it expected to lose market share in the United States because it could not build enough cars and trucks to satisfy consumer demand. Consumers also are buying fewer pickup trucks than in past years.

Last year, Ford sold just under 2.1 million cars and trucks under its main brand in the United States. When adding its upscale Lincoln brand, Ford sold more than 2.1 million cars last year.

(Editing by Dan Wilchins, Steve Gorman and Peter Cooney)