Ford on Tuesday said it would begin selling its first passenger car in China by the end of March, entering a booming market already crowded with big foreign rivals, Associated Press (AP) reported.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The first four-door Fiesta sedan would roll off the assembly line Saturday in a ceremony to be attended by top Ford executives, the report said.
AP said the car is similar to a vehicle of the same name already sold in Europe, but modified for the China market with automatic transmission and a stronger suspension for rougher roads.
Ford officials in Beijing refused to disclose the car’s price until the unveiling Saturday but a spokeswoman told AP it would be targeted at families in China’s increasingly wealthy urban areas.
AP said that Ford plans to build up to 50,000 vehicles a year at the new $US98 million factory in the central city of Chongqing, where ownership is split 50-50 with Chinese partner Changan Automobile as part of a joint venture launched two years ago. Since 1997, Ford has built commercial vans in another joint venture, AP added.
Ford is joining China’s passenger car market at a time when other foreign automakers are also upping their stake in a country that’s one of the global economy’s few bright spots, AP noted.
