FORD Motor Co, the second-biggest United States auto maker, said its finance unit plans to reduce vehicle leasing because of declining resale values for large pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

The drop in those values "has made leasing vehicles less economical than in the past," Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford said last Friday in a US regulatory filing.

The Ford Motor Credit unit "is planning to reduce lease originations while still offering leasing to consumers who prefer this product," the firm said.

Ford joins competitors such as General Motors Corp and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG in cutting back on such contracts, while Chrysler LLC's finance arm stopped offering them on August 1.

Ford posted a record US$8.7-billion net loss in the second quarter, which included writing down the value of unprofitable truck leases by US$2.1 billion, Bloomberg News said.

US gasoline prices, which averaged a record US$4.11 a gallon on July 15, have damped demand for pickups, SUVs and vans. That has reduced the value of such vehicles coming off leases.