AUTOS

Ford to Boost Product Offerings by 50%: Chairman Alex Trotman told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Norfolk, Va., that it will add 16 new or redesigned models to its five-year worldwide vehicle plan, boosting the total to 48 from 32. The products will include both new cars and trucks as well as substantially redesigned models. But Trotman said he wants to bring the new vehicles to market without a huge increase in spending by the nation’s second-largest auto maker. New, more efficient product development methods will allow Ford Motor Co. to save several billion dollars over its old methods, he said. Trotman said the auto maker is counting on continued cost reductions from its new global Ford 2000 organization, formed Jan. 1 to combine its North American and European automotive units.