Ford on Monday said it had sold more than 13,000 Fiesta sedans and more than 4,000 Mondeos in China last year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
According to Dow Jones, Ford, a latecomer to the China market, started producing and selling cars in the country last year and the sales figures represent 10 months of sales.
The Fiesta and Mondeo models, designed by Ford Europe, are produced by a joint venture between Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., the listed arm of China’s fourth largest car manufacturer. The joint venture is expected to post a loss for 2003, Dow Jones said, citing Changan’s third quarter earnings report.
Over the weekend, Ford reportedly said that it had started to produce Mondeos locally with more than 40% of the parts procured in China. Last year the Mondeos were imported in kit form and assembled in China.
Dow Jones noted that Ford last year said that it had agreed with Changan Automobile Group to expand investment in their joint venture by up to $US1.5 billion in the next few years to tap China’s booming car market. The increased investment will help expand production to 150,000 vehicles a year, up from the present annual output of 20,000 units.
