Detroit ? Ford Motor Co., aiming to focus more on building cars and trucks, said Monday it would sell its Hertz Corp. rental car business for $5.6 billion in cash.

Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford, the nation’s second-biggest automaker, said it would sell all shares of common stock in Hertz, its wholly owned subsidiary, to a private equity group composed of Clayton Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity in a deal valued at $15 billion, including debt.

Ford announced in April it was considering shedding Hertz, which it has owned since 1994, to concentrate on its core automotive business. The infusion of cash should help the automaker, which has been struggling with falling sport utility vehicle sales, growing U.S. health care costs and other issues. Ford’s second-quarter profit fell 19 percent to $946 million.

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by year’s end.