Ford China sets H1, June sales records

Ford China first half sales reach 407,721 wholesales, up 47 percent

Driven by continued strong demand for the all new Ford Focus, Ford Kuga and Ford Transit, Ford China's sales soared in the first half of 2013, with 407,721 wholesales sold for the year, up 47 percent compared to the first half of 2012. Record first-half results were buoyed by a record June, when Ford sold 75,254 wholesales, up 44 percent compared to the same period last year.

"Our performance demonstrates that we continue to build momentum in China," said John Lawler, chairman and CEO of Ford China. "In the first half of 2013, we introduced four new passenger cars, significantly refreshed the Fiesta and Transit, set sales records, and launched a new engine and assembly plant. We are so pleased to continue serving Chinese customers with a growing portfolio of high quality, safe, fuel-efficient vehicles packed with smart technologies that they love and value."

Ford's passenger car joint venture Changan Ford set records in the first half, selling more cars in the first half of 2013 than it ever has, with 286,680 wholesales sold, up 66 percent compared to the first half of 2012. In June, CAF sales reached 54,862 wholesales, up 48 percent compared to the same period last year.

Leading CAF sales was the Ford Focus, which sustained its sales momentum in June, with 31,499 wholesales sold, up 16 percent from June 2012. Ford the first half of the year, Ford sold 185,697 wholesale units of the Focus in China, an increase of 69 percent from 2012.

Chinese customers continue to be excited by Ford's full lineup of class-leading SUVs, including the all-new Ford Kuga, which sold 9,248 wholesale units in June, with 37,412 wholesales sold since its launch earlier this year. The Ford EcoSport -- launched in April -- also continued to turn heads, with 5,661 wholesale units sold last month. With Ford Kuga, Ford EcoSport, Ford Edge and Ford Explorer all available in China today, Ford now competes in every segment of the country's growing SUV market.

Ford saw a fivefold increase in sales of its imported passenger vehicles -- the Ford Focus ST, Ford Edge and Ford Explorer -- in the first half of 2013, with 10,811 wholesale units sold compared to 2,222 in the first half of 2012.

Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China Jiangling Motors Corporation also delivered its best first half performance, with 110,230 wholesales sold, an increase of seven percent. June sales were up six percent with 16,022 wholesales sold. Despite a contracting commercial vehicle market, first-half sales of the Ford Transit jumped 21 percent from a year earlier, with 32,553 wholesales sold.

To meet growing demand for our passenger cars, last month Ford launched its US$500 million engine plant in Chongqing. With initial production capacity of 400,000 units a year, the new plant more than doubles Ford's existing engine production capacity and will initially manufacture Ford's 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost and 1.5-liter four-cylinder engines.

Ford also announced plans last month to take its JMC partnership to the next level, launching its new Xiaolan Assembly Plant, equipped to manufacture 300,000 units a year, more than doubling JMC's existing production capacity. The first vehicle to come off the Xiaolan production line was the seven millionth Ford Transit produced globally. Ford and JMC also announced plans for a brand new engine plant and for the introduction of two all-new Ford products, including a new Ford SUV.