Ford Motor Co.’s top executives on Thursday vigorously defended the automaker’s plan to discontinue all of its North American sedans as a way to better meet customer needs by “reinventing the American car” rather than a retreat in response to falling sales, according to Automotive News.

During the company’s annual shareholders meeting, CEO Jim Hackett and Executive Chairman Bill Ford were questioned repeatedly about the decision to ax the Fiesta, Fusion, Taurus and all but a wagon variant of the Focus in the U.S. over the next few years

“This doesn’t mean we intend to lose those customers,” Hackett said. “We want to give them what they’re telling us they really want. We’re simply reinventing the American car.”

The company has said that utility vehicles and pickups will represent roughly 90 percent of its mix in North America by 2020.

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