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Chang'an Ford aims high on compact car strategy
By Lu Nengneng |
December 24, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AFTER trying to play catch-up in China all these years, American carmaker Ford is making some progress to narrow the gap with its long-standing rivals.
The mass-market brand was late to the China game when setting up its first joint venture there in 2001. And it picked the wrong model to localize its production - the small Fiesta instead of large sedans the Chinese market was enamored of.
As a result, Ford is still no match of its arch competitors General Motors and Volkswagen in terms of sales in China, but it is forging ahead in the market faster than some of those early comers.
Chang'an Ford, the joint venture between the American carmaker and its Chinese partner Chang'an Automobile, increased its China deliveries this year by 27 percent to 369,288 units as of November, which has been the third consecutive month for the carmaker to set new monthly sales record.
That stayed way above the average 7.1 percent growth of China's passenger car segment and also far outpaced the 13.7 percent by Shanghai Volkswagen, which is among the top three car sellers in the country.
Though being ranked somewhere near the 10th in China, Chang'an Ford has set its mind on the fourth spot, which is currently occupied by Beijing Hyundai. Luo Minggang, vice executive president of Chang'an Ford, said he believes the goal is within reach.
"We have always said Chang'an Ford has driven into the fast lane, and we were not just talking," said Luo. "It was backed up by our products and production capacity."
This year has seen the roll-out of new Ford Focus in China and the debut of two Ford sports utility vehicles, Kuga and EcoSport, which will hit the market next year, followed by the new Fiesta.
Most of the new models are small-displacement compact ones, some of which are equipped with the new 1.0 turbo-charged engine.
The time is ripe for Chang'an Ford to put small vehicles back in fashion. Luo said they will be the future trend of China's auto industry, which focuses on fuel efficiency to save energy.
Being confident that its product strategy will work, the company is busy ramping up its manufacturing capacity. This year, it has broken ground on a new vehicle assembly plant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and launched its second plant in China's southwester city of Chongqing, where another vehicle assembly plant, an engine plant and a gearbox plant are under construction.
The mass-market brand was late to the China game when setting up its first joint venture there in 2001. And it picked the wrong model to localize its production - the small Fiesta instead of large sedans the Chinese market was enamored of.
As a result, Ford is still no match of its arch competitors General Motors and Volkswagen in terms of sales in China, but it is forging ahead in the market faster than some of those early comers.
Chang'an Ford, the joint venture between the American carmaker and its Chinese partner Chang'an Automobile, increased its China deliveries this year by 27 percent to 369,288 units as of November, which has been the third consecutive month for the carmaker to set new monthly sales record.
That stayed way above the average 7.1 percent growth of China's passenger car segment and also far outpaced the 13.7 percent by Shanghai Volkswagen, which is among the top three car sellers in the country.
Though being ranked somewhere near the 10th in China, Chang'an Ford has set its mind on the fourth spot, which is currently occupied by Beijing Hyundai. Luo Minggang, vice executive president of Chang'an Ford, said he believes the goal is within reach.
"We have always said Chang'an Ford has driven into the fast lane, and we were not just talking," said Luo. "It was backed up by our products and production capacity."
This year has seen the roll-out of new Ford Focus in China and the debut of two Ford sports utility vehicles, Kuga and EcoSport, which will hit the market next year, followed by the new Fiesta.
Most of the new models are small-displacement compact ones, some of which are equipped with the new 1.0 turbo-charged engine.
The time is ripe for Chang'an Ford to put small vehicles back in fashion. Luo said they will be the future trend of China's auto industry, which focuses on fuel efficiency to save energy.
Being confident that its product strategy will work, the company is busy ramping up its manufacturing capacity. This year, it has broken ground on a new vehicle assembly plant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and launched its second plant in China's southwester city of Chongqing, where another vehicle assembly plant, an engine plant and a gearbox plant are under construction.
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