Dave Schoch, CEO Ford China, at the Chinese Explorer Launch in 2012.
Ford Motor Company’s sales in China during the first two months of 2016 increased 18% compared to the same period last year, with 194,182 vehicles sold. However, Ford sold 63,350 vehicles in February, down 9% compared to February 2015.
Thus the rocky road in China continues for Ford, one that started in the last century when it submitted a Taurus as a car to be built in China. GM proposed a more prestigious Buick model and got the approval from the Communist Party, thereby locking Ford out of what is now clearly the world’s largest auto market for years. It’s been playing catch-up ever since with GM and Volkswagen well ahead in the sales and profit races.
Year-to-date sales for Changan Ford Automobile (CAF), Ford’s passenger car joint venture in western China, totaled 160,119 vehicles, up 29% compared to last year. CAF sold 48,263 vehicles in February, down 10 percent from 2015. The Ford Escort continues to be a top-seller for Ford, with 13,173 vehicles sold in February, up 15% compared to February 2015.
Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), Ford’s commercial vehicle investment in China, sold 14,054 vehicles in February, up 3% compared to February 2015. Year-to-date sales totaled 31,309 vehicles, down 13% compared to last year.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
