All New Focus Lifts Ford China Sales Up 24% in April

SHANGHAI, China, May 8, 2012 – Strong demand for the all new Ford Focus lifts Ford China’s April sales by 24 percent.

 

Sales of the all new Ford Focus topped 9,400 in its first few weeks on sales last month, bringing Ford China’s April wholesale total to 54,881, a 24 percent increase from April 2011.

 

“The all new Ford Focus is a winner on so many levels,” said Dave Schoch, chairman and CEO of Ford China.  “It is dynamic and sporty inside and out, it is loaded with new technology including Mandarin voice-recognition connectivity, it gets great fuel economy, it is one of the safest vehicles on the road, and it is priced to offer incredible value for money.  We are delighted to add the new Focus to our lineup in China and look forward to bringing more great vehicles to Chinese customers that they want and value.”

 

The all new Ford Focus is the first of 15 new vehicles Ford and its partners are bringing to China.  The all new Focus is built on Ford’s global c-platform and offers Ford’s global technologies and attributes, customized in China for Chinese consumers, like Mandarin Sync voice command.

 

Ford’s passenger car partner Changan Ford Mazda Automotive Ltd. (CFMA) launched the all new Focus in April. CFMA began producing the new Focus in a new facility and announced its price range of RMB 119,900 – 169,900 (USD 19,000 – 27,000) at Auto China in Beijing.

 

CFMA sold 34,108 Ford brand wholesale vehicles this month, an increase of 30 percent from April 2011.

 

Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC) Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, sold 20,773 wholesale vehicles this month, an increase of 16 percent from April 2011.

 

Ford China has sold 176,274 vehicles year-to-date in China.

 

In April, as part of its aggressive expansion, Ford announced a new manufacturing facility in Hangzhou and an expansion in its operations in Chongqing, which will double its passenger car capacity in China to 1.2 million units by mid-decade.

 

"These are incredibly exciting times for Ford in Asia,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa.  “So far, Ford’s investments in China and across Asia represent its largest and most rapid global expansion in fifty years.  This expansion will help us realize an increase in global sales by about 50 percent from 2010 to about 8 million vehicles annually by mid-decade. Building this plant helps lay the foundation for that growth and reconfirms our commitment to China, which is expected to have sales of about 30 million vehicles by 2020.”

 

At Beijing’s Auto China 2012, Ford unveiled three new SUVs for China: the EcoSport, Kuga and Explorer. Ford also unveiled the high performance Focus ST. The new vehicles feature Ford’s sleek design, leading fuel efficiency, and cutting-edge smart technologies, bringing Chinese consumers more choice for vehicles they will love to drive.

 

Editor’s note: All sales figures quoted are based on wholesale numbers.