Ford Motor Co. (F) set a new sales record in China in 2013 with annual sales of 935,813 wholesale vehicles. This translates into a 49% surge from 626,616 vehicles sold in 2012.
Ford’s December sales in China also increased 35% to 94,838 vehicles, compared with 70,510 vehicles in the year-ago month. Meanwhile, the automaker’s passenger car joint venture Changan Ford Automobile (CAF) also witnessed a 42% increase in wholesale vehicle sales in Dec 2013 to 70,098 units, compared with 49,212 units in Dec 2012.
CAF also set a sales record of 678,951 wholesale vehicles in 2013. This signifies a 62% surge from 418,500 wholesale vehicles sold in 2012.
Further, Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), sold 230,006 wholesale vehicles in 2013., which also touched a record high. Sales surged 15% from 200,008 vehicles in 2012. Ford increased its stake in JMC to 32% from 30% during the year.
The strong sales of Ford in China were driven by the popularity of the expanded product lineup, including the Ford EcoSport, the Ford Kuga, the new Fiesta, and the new Mondeo. The increased imported vehicle offerings, including the Ford Focus ST, the Ford Fiesta ST, and the Ford Explorer, also boosted sales. The combined sales of these four nameplates and the Ford Edge surged 231% to 26,856 vehicles in 2013 from 8,108 units in 2012.
Ford’s bestseller in 2013 was the Focus, which sold 403,640 units, up 36% from 296,360 units sold in 2012. Additionally, the new launches during the year, Ford Kuga, the Ford EcoSport, and the All-New Ford Mondeo, have a sales volume of 95,891, 59,680, and 35,747 wholesale units, respectively.
Ford is one of the largest automobile producers in the world along with General Motors Company (GM), Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC). Currently, Ford has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment