Ford Motor Co. (F, Financial) reported its China sales for September on Friday. The company sold a total of 64,383 vehicles during the month, a 43% decline on a year-over-year basis.
The Blue Ovalâs sales for the nine-month period, which ended in September, stood at more than 585,000 units, down 30% from the prior-year period.Ă
Highlights
Changan Ford Automobile's (CAF) sales plummeted 55% to 35,540 units. The joint venture's year-to-date sales amounted to more than 335,000 units, down 41% year over year. Jiangling Motor Corp. (JMC) witnessed a monthly sales decline of 15% to 22,094 units. Its year-to-date sales totaled approximately 198,000 vehicles, down 6% from last year.Ă
Lincoln sales for the month soared 1% to 5,476 units. Sales were up 21% for Navigator and 28% for MKZ. Sales of imported Ford brand vehicles dipped 16% to 1,273 vehicles.
The F-150 Raptorâs monthly sales were 224 units, gaining a mammoth 409%. On the other hand, Mustang sales through September totaled 2,534 vehicles, down 19% on a year-over-year basis. Explorer sales amounted to 7,593 units, down 23%.
In a statement, Peter Fleet, president of Ford Asia Pacific and chairman and CEO of Ford China, discussed the company's plans for growth.Ă
"We are intensely focused on our sales turnaround plan in China, which includes an aggressive cadence of product introductions to meet the needs of our Chinese customers, including the launch of the highly anticipated all-new Ford Focus," he said. "We believe the new products, which have been custom-designed and developed with Chinese customers in mind, will help us to regain momentum in the worldâs largest auto market."
Expansion plans in China
As part of its sales turnaround plan in China, the Michigan-based automaker will introduce several new products.Ă
The new Ford Territory will be introduced next week in Qingdao. The midsize SUV was made in collaboration with Jiangling Motor.Ă
Fordâs all-new Focus will also hit the market soon.
In September, subsidiary Ford Smart Mobility signed a definitive joint venture agreement with Zotye to provide electric vehicle mobility solutions to Chinese fleet operators and drivers in its growing ride-hailing market.
âThis new JV will enable us to move even faster in delivering smart solutions to cities and improving the commuter experience as part of our âIn China, For Chinaâ strategy,â Fleet said.
Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stocks mentioned in this article.
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