Mumbai: Angry shareholders at Ford Motor Co.'s annual general meeting have voted in favour of a resolution seeking to strip the Ford family of their super-voting rights even as losses mounted for the world's third largest automaker.

Nearly 27.4 per cent of the shareholders voted in favor of a resolution seeking to strip the family's special Class B shares of their super-voting power.

Excluding Ford family stock, about half of Ford shareholders endorsed the resolution, according to shareholder John Chevedden, who introduced the resolution.

While a similar resolution a year ago had won 23 per cent of the vote, more shareholders appear to be losing their patience with the Ford family's century-long leadership of the company.

Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jr. and chief executive Alan Mulally defended their strategy and sought more time to deliver results. They also defended the family's continuing control of Ford.

"Our turnaround is going to take time, but we're determined to make it happen," Bill Ford told shareholders. "The long-term success of the company and the benefit of all shareholders has always been and continues to be the primary purpose of our involvement. The ongoing success of Ford Motor Co. is my life's work."

Bill Ford and other members of the Ford family control the automaker through their exclusive ownership of the company's 70.9 million Class B shares, each of which has the voting power of more than 17 regular shares.

While these shares account for less than 4 per cent of the company's outstanding stock, they represent a 40 per cent voting stake.

Ford Motor Co posted a record $12.6 billion loss for 2006, but reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, trimming its loss to $282 million compared to $1.4 billion a year ago.

Mulay said the quality of Ford products is now equal to Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. However, the company continues to lose ground to foreign rivals in the key North American market.

The company's North American automobile business posted worse results than last year, due largely to a continuing loss of market share and rising interest costs associated with Ford's restructuring plan.