S&P Global Ratings on Aug. 11 affirmed Ford Motor Co.'s BB+ issuer credit rating with a negative outlook, taking its rating off CreditWatch.

The rating agency downgraded the carmaker March 25 over its credit metrics and pandemic concerns and placed it on CreditWatch for a review for a further downgrade.

The rating was affirmed as Ford performed better than expected in the second quarter. Increased pricing and lower costs helped offset the margin impact of a severe volume falloff.

"We believe the company's liquidity position remains strong and will enable it to navigate sales volatility in 2020 if light-vehicle demand falters," the agency said. As of June 30, Ford had $39.3 billion in cash on hand.

The negative outlook reflects "at least a one-third chance" that Ratings could downgrade Ford within the next 12 months due to the anticipated impact of the pandemic on the automaker's operations.

Ford could be downgraded if its debt-to-EBITDA ratio exceeds 4x or if the auto industry downturn will make it unlikely for the carmaker to reach EBITDA margins above 5% in 2021.

Ford shut down its factories in North America for six weeks in the quarter. Revenue for the period ended June 30 was $19.37 billion, down from $38.85 billion in the year-ago period.

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