Key Takeaways From Ford's January Sales in China

The automaker plans to launch 50 new vehicles by 2025

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Feb 09, 2018
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The U.S.'s second-largest automaker, Ford (F, Financial), is off to a lackluster start this year with its January sales in China dropping 18% year over year to 75,990 vehicles. This was much lower than the wider China market, which was up 11.6% for the month.

While the Michigan-based company has had a rough ride, its rivals are witnessing astounding growth in the Asian economy. For 2017, Ford’s China sales plunged 6% while the industry as a whole grew 3%.

JMC and Lincoln show strength

The company said its Changan Ford Automobile (CAF) joint venture sold approximately 47,000 units in January, which represents a decline of 29% from the same period in 2017. Its Jiangling Motors Corp. (JMC) joint venture sold roughly 23,000 vehicles during the same period, up 13% from last year.

Ford said Lincoln sales in China jumped 7% for the month. The Lincoln Continental stole the show with sales climbing 136% from the prior-year period. The company said the new Lincoln Navigator, which launched in January, is also performing well. While sales of the MKC dipped 15% to 1,385 units, MKX sales surged 8% year over year to 1,165 units.

In the JMC segment, Tourneo, Transit and the JMC pickup proved to be the sales drivers. While Transit and Tourneo sales totaled 3,241 units (up 14% year over year) and 389 units (up 95%), pickup sales climbed 26% to 6,580 units. In contrast, sales for the Everest and Yusheng S330 decreased 4% and 78% respectively.Â

The cumulative sales of Escort, Focus, Taurus, EcoSport, Kuga and Edge came in at 46,888 units, down 29% from January 2016.

Last word

The company is hoping to change its fortunes in China this year by focusing on electric commercial cars and vans. Peter Fleet, the president of Ford Asia Pacific and the chairman and CEO of Ford China, said he is pleased with the fact the company is performing well in the Lincoln and JMC sectors. He remains optimistic the company will see growth in these two segments.

“As we reposition our Ford business in China, SUVs, luxury and commercial vehicles are key priorities of our strategy this year,” he said. “We are pleased that our focus on these areas continues to generate positive results for both JMC and Lincoln.”

Ford has some long-term plans for expansion in China. In December, the company announced it hopes to roll out 50 all-new vehicles by the end of 2025, which would include eight SUVs and 15 electric vehicles.

The competition is well and truly on with domestic automakers launching new models to grab a sizable portion of the market share, which puts foreign automakers at a disadvantage. It will be interesting to see how Ford counters these challenges.

Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stock mentioned in this article.