Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally says Ford doesn’t need a partnership with another automaker as it works to expand globally and turn around its struggling operations.

“Any kind of linkup would be a distraction,” Ford’s president said Tuesday night at a dinner with reporters on the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The show opens to the public Friday after two days of media previews.

Mulally said he believes Ford will still be on its own in five years. Ford posted a third-quarter loss of $380 million. A bright spot was a strong performance in Europe and South America.

“Ford has tremendous assets around the world, and the most important thing Ford does is integrate Ford,” he said.

Carlos Ghosn, who heads the Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. and France’s Renault SA, said late last month that he remains interested in a partnership with a major U.S. automaker, although he is not in talks or aggressively looking just yet.

Ghosn did not mention by name any of the three biggest U.S. automakers _ Ford, General Motors Corp. or Chrysler LLC. But talks between Ghosn and GM stalled a year ago without a deal, and the private equity company Cerberus Capital Management LP just acquired a majority stake in Chrysler.

Mulally said Ford also isn’t interested in a private equity buyout.

Jim Farley, who became Ford’s marketing chief this week after a nearly 20-year career at Toyota Motor Corp., said one way for Ford to expand globally is to bring the Lincoln brand to emerging markets such as China and Russia.

Farley said he wants to “open the lid on all those stories about Ford’s progress that are secrets.”

“I’m really excited about that as a marketing person, because frankly, Americans love an underdog,” he said.

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Ford Motor Co.: http://www.ford.com