The partnership between Chang’an Auto and Ford Automobile is planning to expand beyond the borders of the Peoples Republic of China over the next couple of years as Ford and Chang’an explore possiblities together in other markets.
Recently GM and SAIC teamed upto take on the Indian auto market that will see SAIC assist GM in understanding developing market requirements and will possibly see the Wuling brand launched in India, the Chang’an Ford partnership is likely to follow a similar outline.
In recent years, Chang’an have jumped from nowhere to becoming one …

Chang’an Ford are getting ready to launch the SVP Ford Fiesta, a special limited edition sports model, and echoes the Ford Focus SVP that was launched earlier this year.
The Fiesta SVP will launched in the middle of September and will be available with manual and automatic gearboxes, pricing is expected to be 92,900 and 100,900rmb for the automatic models. Ford will only be selling 2000 of the SVP units, and there will be a choice of three colors.

Ford had a strong month in August this year, with Ford seeing a 24% sales increase in sales over August 2009. Ford delivered a grand total of 368,103 new passenger vehicles from January to August this year, a 42% increase over 2009 sales.
The Ford Focus continues to be Ford’s big seller in China with 13,039 units delivered in August alone, and marks the sixth month in a row where the Focus has sold more than 10,000 units, and the millionth China built Ford was delivered a customer in Lanzhou last …

Chang’an Ford, GM, and VW sales figures are strong indicators for the Chinese car market, if either of them report sales being down then you can bet that the market will be down as a whole. It appears that Ford did well in July with steady growth, with 18,255 vehicles leaving Ford dealerships across China during July alone.
The Ford Focus still makes up for a large percentage of Chang’an Ford sales, with Ford managing to sell 11,413 of the 2011 models in July. The Fiesta is still proving to be …

Ford are on the verge of signing a deal with joint venture partner Jiangling (English name JMC) to produce the Ford Maverick in China, which will be the first time that Ford have produced a Chinese built SUV in China.
Later this month JMC will have a board of directors and shareholder meeting where future product development and production capacity will be discussed, the Ford Maverick is likely to be a major topic of discussion as it further expands on the Ford joint venture and partnership.
Jiangling produces Ford’s business range of …

It seems that Ford’s recall is nearly three times the size of Toyota’s recall, but seems to be without the furor that was attached to the Toyota RAV4 recall in China. Ford’s recall is less problematic than a stuck accelerator pedal or non working brakes, instead it appears to be a firmware update to the car’s ECU.
Ford’s Chinese company has announced a voluntary recall of about 230,000 Focus cars after reports of engines stalling at low speeds.
According to Ford, the cars require a software update to cope with fluctuations …

Let’s be honest here, overly American styled cars have never sold well in China, we just need to look at sales of the Chrysler Sebring, the Dodge Caliber and just about everything else from Americas automotive empire, aside from the Jeep Cherokee of course, and to a lesser extent the 300C. The Ford Edge has plenty of American styling, its massive bold chrome grill screams ‘USA‘, and obviously fits in well with the rest of the US Ford line up, but it appears to be a fish out of water …

Chang’an Motors have seen some amazing growth in the past few years for their self developed vehicles, and last month alone they beat both FAW and Dongfeng in monthly sales. Chang’ans joint venture with Ford has also seen some excellent sales thanks to the popular Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo models. Now Chang’an and Ford are teaming up together to start on a new project that will see them create a new brand and a new range of models for the low priced segment of the Chinese automotive segment.
Luo Ming Gang, …

The Ford Edge is about to imported into the PRC after its showing off at the Beijing Auto Show next month, there are currently Ford Edge’s on the roads in China, but these are gray market imports. These models were given the Chinese name ‘Ai Hu’, but the new Chinese name for the Edge is rumoured to be 锐界 (Rui Jie).
The Edge will be made in Canada and exported to the PRC, which is likely to push the price up high due to import tariffs. The model is actually the …

Mazda currently has two JV’s in China, previously they were in partnership with Haima, but Haima were eventually taken over by FAW and then Mazda set up another JV with Chang’an.
Mazda Motor Corp., 11 percent owned by Ford Motor Co., plans to increase production capacity in China to meet growing demand in the world’s biggest car market.
“We need to expand current capacity when we look into next year and the year after,” Chief Financial Officer Kiyoshi Ozaki said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. Ozaki declined to say …

From Freep.com
Ford Motor Co. is talking to its partners in China about changing the structure of the three-way Changan Ford Mazda venture in the world’s hottest car market, Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s new president for Asia Pacific and Africa, told the Free Press Monday.
He also said that Ford, a latecomer to the Chinese market, aims to significantly boost its 2% market share there. “Clearly we believe that we should have a stronger presence than 2% of the market,” he said. “We need to grow our business in Asia.”Hinrichs, 42, is a …

From Ford:
CHONGQING, December 2nd, 2009 – Changan Ford Sales Company today reported sales of 22,738 Ford brand vehicles in November, an increase of 152 percent from the same month a year ago, extending its year-over-year monthly sales growth to ten consecutive months.
Through the first eleven months of 2009, Changan Ford has achieved total sales for Ford brand vehicles of 210,982 units, up 47 percent from the same period last year.
Continued strong sales from the all-new Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus helped drive the impressive November sales performance. Ford Fiesta …

The Ford Focus is one of Ford China’s best selling models, and to give sales an extra boost in the final quarter Ford are planning on releasing an ‘SVP model’ Focus which has already been leaked onto the internet:
Other markets, specifically the Oceanic markets have previously received SVP Focus models, but this is the first time that the SVP model has been launched in China. The Focus SVP is a 2.0L model with a 5 speed manual gearbox, same as the standard Focus 2.0L but the difference being that the …

Turbo equipped cars in China are few and far between, it appears that VW are the biggest leader in the “T” segment, and their partners SAIC are also doing well with the introduction of their own 1.8T and soon to be 1.5T engine.
Ford are not wanting to be left behind in the turbo era are planning to begin production of Ecoboost technology in the Chinese marketplace for use on Focus, C-Max, and Kuga models, with the latter models more than likely going into production late next year once the …

With SouEast getting ready to launch the most recent generation Mitsubishi Lancer sedan in China in November, it comes as no suprise to learn that the Lancer hatchback is also highly likely to be built in China.
The Chinese built Lancer EX sedan will be launched next month (November 2009) and is expected to sell around 5000 units per month which might put Mitsubishi back on track in the PRC. The addition of a Lancer hatchback would only boost sales further, the hatchback Lancer has already been spotted in China which …

Chang’an Ford are doing some sterling business in China this year, with sales hitting new records in a tightly packed market. It should be noted that Ford are the only American car company in China that are hitting volume sales, and are certainly holding their own against the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese auto makers.
Ford garnered sales of 119,338 in the Chinese market in the third quarter, with sales of Ford branded cars being up 107%. Fords, JMC (Jiangling Motor Company) sub company posted sales of 82,718 units through September, …

So says Reuters:
SHANGHAI, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N) and its Chinese partner will announce plans on Friday for their third car manufacturing plant in China, where sales may soon outpace its existing capacity, an industry source said on Tuesday.
Ford, which competes with General Motors [GM.UL] and others globally, produces the Focus, Mondeo and other sedan models in China in a tie-up with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co (000625.SZ) and Japan’s Mazda Motor (7261.T).
The new plant, to be based in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, will have annual …

Not only GM are doing big business in China, it seems Ford can rake the customers in as well. It’s a real shame that the third member of ‘The Big Three’ cant even get a third of these sales in China.
Although when Ford are producing cars like the Fiesta and the Mondeo, its no surprise they have sales like these:
From a Ford press release:
CHONGQING, September 2, 2009 – Changan Ford Sales Company today reported record August sales in China for Ford brand vehicles totalling 21,127 units, a 111 percent increase …

From Fords Press Release:
CHONGQING, AUGUST 11, 2009 – Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. (CFMA), Ford Motor’s joint venture in China, today celebrated the 400,000th Ford Focus rolling off the line at its manufacturing facility in the southwestern city of Chongqing.”We’re proud to celebrate the production of the 400,000th Ford Focus, which was launched here in China four years ago,” said Jeffrey Shen, President of CFMA.  “With its outstanding styling and drivability, world-class engineering and safety, Ford Focus is firmly established as a star product in China’s highly competitive mid-sized …

From Chang’an Ford:
Changan Ford Sales Company (Changan Ford)  today reported a robust 54% sales growth of Ford brand vehicles in July to 19,486 units.  In addition to being a record result for July, the strong results also mark the sixth straight month of year-over-year growth for Changan Ford, which credits its continued sales success to increasing consumer acceptance of Ford products and rapid improvement in distribution capability across China.”We’re pleased to see Changan Ford carry on its strong growth momentum into a record July,” said Nigel Harris, general manager of …

Although Fords home market might be in a bind at the moment, the Chinese market is on the up in a serious way according to half year performance figures released by Ford this morning:

Ford Motor Company’s joint-ventures and wholly-owned entities in China posted best-ever first-half sales of 197,212 units, or 14% year-on-year growth
Ford Motor’s passenger car joint-venture, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile (CFMA), delivered record first-half sales of 140,386 units, or a 20% year-over-year increase.
Ford Motor’s commercial vehicle investment in China, Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), posted record sales of 53,327 units, …

Since the death of the Ford Sierra, the Ford Mondeo has quickly become the class standard for the sales rep mobile across Europe. Some sales reps aspire to the BMW, some go for the latest Opel Insignia, but the vast majority opt (or, at least, their fleet manager opts) for the safety of a Ford Mondeo, hence the term ‘Mondeo Man’ came into conception. It seems that every 30 something British male drives a Mondeo, even James Bond got into a Mondeo in the Bond film before last, when …

From the Shanghai Daily:
BEIJING, March 9 –  Ford Motor Co expects sales in its Chinese venture to grow at least 10 percent this year after the government stimulus plan in the automotive industry begins to take effect, a company executive said yesterday.
Ford expected its three-party venture – Chang’an Ford Mazda Automobile Co Ltd – to have faster sales growth than the industry average this year as it promotes small cars, said Nigel Harris, general manager of the venture’s sales branch.
Chang’an Ford Mazda …

The Chinese A-Class segment consisting of super minis is a super tough market for any manufacturer to enter, but Ford seem content on entering the segment, and giving it a good shake up with their funky new Fiesta .
The segment in question is a fierce one with prices ranging from as low as 30,000rmb to 100,000rmb, and as can be seen here, the market is largely controlled by Chinese manufacturers. Chang’an Ford are aiming the tech packed Fiesta at younger Chinese buyers, especially younger office workers.
The Fiesta will come in …

The Ford S-Max was launched into China in 2007, except it wasnt given a Chinese name until now. The lack of a Chinese name was highly unusual for a car launched in China that came with an English name, Ford listened to its consumers and held a competition to give the S-Max a Chinese name, with the lucky winner taking home a new 5 seater S-Max.
The chosen name was actually very simple, 麦柯斯, (Mai Ke Si) which is essentially a phonetic translation of ‘Max’.
Ford apparently had 61357 people enter a …