Ford loses $3.1 billion, hit by investment and chip shortage

Clearly, the demand for our new products is very strong, Lawler said, "yet we continue to have issues with the supply of chips, which constrained us, and in particular here in North America, it hit us disproportionately on our large vehicles".

The chip shortage has caused Ford and General Motors to close multiple North American factories for a week or two at a time, including plants that build popular full-size pickups.

Ford said it sold 966,000 vehicles in the first quarter, down 9 percent from a year earlier.

Lawler said the company also faced inflationary pressure from suppliers, but it was able to recover that in higher vehicles' prices. He said he couldn't rule out additional pricing if inflation continues to run high.

The first-quarter loss of $3.11 billion compared with a profit of $3.26 billion in the same period last year. Revenue skidded 9 percent lower than a year ago, to $34.48 billion. Ford said it earned 38 cents a share in the latest quarter after adjusting to exclude one-time items.

Analysts expected Ford to earn an adjusted 37 cents per share on revenue of $34.53 billion, according to a FactSet survey.

The company based in Dearborn, Michigan, stood by its target of achieving full-year earnings before interest and taxes of $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion.

The shares rose 3 percent in after-hours trading after gaining 1 percent during the regular session.