NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 20, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'BB+' issue-level rating and 'cnBBB+' Greater China credit scale rating to Ford Motor Co.'s 1 billion renminbi (RMB; about $158 million) senior unsecured notes due 2015. At the same time, we assigned our recovery rating of '3' to the notes, indicating our expectation that lenders would receive meaningful (50% to 70%) recovery in the event of a payment default. The notes represent the company's first renminbi-denominated bond issuance. The 'BB+' corporate credit rating and stable outlook on the Michigan-based automaker remain unchanged and reflect, among other things, Ford's prospects for generating free cash flow and profits in its global automotive manufacturing business
