Ford China Continues to Set Sales Records, July Sales Jump 71 Percent, Annual Sales Rise 50 Percent

SHANGHAI, China - Setting a record for July, Ford sold 72,834 wholesale units, an increase of 71 percent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date sales continued to climb, with 480,555 wholesales sold, up 50 percent from January to July 2012.

Strong demand for the Ford Focus again led sales in July. With 32,920 wholesale units sold, Ford Focus sales grew 77 percent in July. Year-to-date sales for the Ford Focus reached 218,617 wholesale units, up 70 percent compared to the same period last year.

Demand for the Ford EcoSport and Ford Kuga - two great Ford SUVs launched in China earlier this year -” also continued to rise. Sales of the urban Ford EcoSport reached 5,991 wholesale units in July, bringing total sales since its launch to 25,467 wholesale units. July sales for the technology-packed all-new Ford Kuga remained strong at 9,495 wholesale units, with 46,907 units since its launch.

Ford China also experienced growing demand for its imported passenger cars - the Ford Focus ST, Ford Edge and Ford Explorer - with 2,344 wholesale units sold in July compared to 1,192 in July 2012, an increase of 97 percent. Year-to-date sales for imported passenger cars reached 13,155 wholesale units compared to 3,414 in the first seven months of 2012, a increase of 285 percent.

Changan Ford Automobile, Ford'™s passenger car joint venture in China, turned in superb sales in July with 53,947 wholesales sold, a 105 percent increase from July 2012. Year-to-date sales hit 340,627 units, up 71 percent from a year earlier.

Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), Ford'™s commercial vehicle joint-venture, also enjoyed steady sales growth in July, with 16,543 wholesale units sold, up 10 percent from 15,062 in July 2012. As of the end of July, JMC sales in China total 126,773 wholesale units for the year, up eight percent from 117,676 units in the first seven months of 2012.

Ford continued its winning performance on the racetrack last month. At the halfway-point of the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC), the Changan Ford Racing Team currently sits in first place after a decisive victory at the race in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. The Changan Ford Racing Team currently holds a 28 point-point lead in CTCC.