Ford Motor Company, which is struggling to regain its ranking as
the world's second largest auto maker from Toyota Motor Corp, has
seen its sales in China jump 30 percent year on year last year.
It also plans to continue to invest in China as it maps out a
new strategic growth in the world's second largest auto market this
year.
The US car maker delivered a combined 216,324 units made up of
domestically-made models and imports under the Ford, Lincoln,
Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover brands in China, Ford Motor China said
in a statement yesterday.
Ford's sales growth outpaced the 20-percent forecast and also
followed an 86-percent jump in 2006 from the 2005 level.
Ford's Chinese passenger car joint venture, Chang'an Ford Mazda
Automobile Co Ltd, posted record high wholesale deliveries of
217,100 vehicles, an increase of 60 percent from a year
earlier.
Strong sales of Ford Focus and a series of new products,
including S-MAX sport utility vehicle in March and new Mondeo in
November, have helped Chang'an Ford Mazda to be among the top 10
best selling car makers in China since April.
Mei-Wei Cheng, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor (China) Ltd, said
the car maker is happy with the growth in China because it is built
on a sustainable base.
"We will continue to invest in China and expand our operations
to prepare for the next phase of our strategic growth program,"
Cheng said. "We plan to continue to grow at a fast pace to further
strengthen our position in China's auto market."
Although Ford's sales increased rapidly in China over the past
two years, it still trailed overseas peers like General Motors Corp
and Volkswagen AG which drove into the country much earlier than
Ford.
Ford has been seeking growth in Asian countries such as China
and India to offset the slow demand at home and declining US car
sales. A booming economy in these countries has made cars
affordable to consumers.
The Dearborn, a Michigan-based car maker, has just launched a
new Ford Transit light commercial vehicle and will begin selling a
small compact car based on its new Verve sedan which debuted at the
2007 Frankfurt Auto Show.
(Shanghai Daily January 10, 2008)
