Ford moving fast to catch up in China with a strong strategy to narrow the gap between VW and GM. Ford is putting in place 110 new dealers in China in 2012. Ford currently has about 400 dealerships in China and targets to have an addition of 680 dealerships in China within three years. In April this year, Ford’s sales in China rose 24% to 54,881 units, driven by the demand for the new Focus. On the first few weeks that it has been offered, a total of 9,400 Focus units were sold.
Ford and its joint venture partners will launch 15 vehicles in China in the next few years. Last April, the redesigned Focus became available and was launched by Ford’s partner, Changan Ford Mazda Automotive Ltd. This vehicle was personalized to fit the local market. For instance, it features Ford’s Sync voice recognition in Mandarin. So far this year, Ford’s sales in China have reached 176,274 vehicles. Ford is aiming to boost local production of the vehicles and hopes to partner with a big Chinese company. Nonetheless, Ford is building on its commitment with a series of new investments. Ford said in early April 2012 that it will expand its Chongqing plant in southwest China. In mid-April this year, Ford said it will invest USD760 million for the construction of a factory in Hangzhou outside Shanghai with capacity of 250,000 units by 2015.
