What did Ford executives eat in the first quarter of 2012? It seems Ford has finally put itself in gear and put its foot to the floor in the Chinese market and launched 4 new SUV’s for the Chinese market, the new Ford Focus and also the Ford Focus ST this week in Beijing. Ford’s head of sales, Nigel Harris, was on stand by to show off the Focus ST to a very impressed Chinese audience. Pricing for the Focus ST hasn’t been announced yet, but we are guessing it to be in the 200,000RMB and rising price segment.

“The new Focus ST is a really exciting car for Ford, being the first performance model to build upon the design and technology strengths of our One Ford strategy,” said Nigel Harris, vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford Motor China. “It’s a car built for driving enthusiasts around the world – and in China – and they will not be disappointed.”

The Focus ST makes use of the same 2.0L Ecoboost engine that is installed in the Ford Mondeo but tuned to 184kw of power and delivers 360Nm of torque to the front wheels. Currently the ST uses a six speed manual, Chinese might not be entirely happy with changing their own gears, but it will open the car to pure petrol heads.