DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. last month announced it has decided not to pursue the sale of Hertz Equipment Rental Corp.

“U.S. capital spending is not recovering as quickly as anticipated, thereby delaying the recovery we expected in the equipment rental industry,” said Martin Inglis, Ford's group vice president for business strategy. “As a result of these sector-specific factors, we have chosen not to pursue the sale of HERC until valuations become more favorable.”

Ford announced in mid-April that it was considering selling the Park Ridge, N.J., equipment rental firm, No. 3 on the RER 100. Although it hired J.P. Morgan to advise it on the possible sale, sources close to the situation told RER Reports that Ford never circulated a “book” on the company. Industry sources said that several major manufacturers and large rental companies were seriously considering efforts to acquire HERC.

Meanwhile, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford announced plans to sell Kwik-Fit, the European maintenance and repair business it bought in 1999 for $1.6 billion, to a European private-equity group for $500 million. It also announced that it completed the sale of Collision Team of America, a U.S.-based chain of collision-repair shops.