Changan Ford Automobile Co., a joint venture in which Ford Motor Co. owns a 50 percent stake, has cut the prices of Mondeo and Fiesta auto parts by an average of 10 percent due to declining costs.

Changan Ford said in a press release Monday that it was able to cut the prices by up to 35 percent because of economies of scale in parts production.

Ford also launched six updated models Monday with price cuts of up to 20, 000 yuan (US$2,415.46) compared with their older versions, the company said.

The three Fiesta and three Mondeo models also had had improvements to their interiors and gave more options to customers, the statement said.

Sales at Changan Ford, a 50-50 joint venture between Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., jumped nearly twofold to reach 50,000 vehicles last year, when the company launched Mondeo models in China.

Changan Ford’s latest move comes as competition in the growing local market intensifies, with a number of other foreign-branded carmakers, including the U.S.’ General Motors Corp., cutting prices to gain market share.

General Motors last week cut the prices of some of its Excelle and Regal models by up to 30,000 yuan, days after Japanese rival Honda Motor began offering sedans at a 7 percent discount, local media reported.

Chinese car prices have headed south for years as foreign automakers ramp up capacity to grab a slice of the fast-growing market, squeezing margins for the likes of Volkswagen.

Global automakers including Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. are investing more than US$13 billion in China to triple annual production to about 6 million cars by 2010.

(Shenzhen Daily March 9, 2005)