Ford Says China April Sales Up 37% On Year

Ford Motor Co. F +0.71% and  its joint ventures in China sold 75,331 vehicles in the country in April, up 37% from a year earlier, thanks to strong demand for its Focus and newly launched Kuga models, the U.S. car maker said Wednesday.

Sales of Ford-brand passenger cars at Changan Ford Automobile Co., a 50-50 joint venture between Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. rose 55% to 52,713 units.

Meanwhile, Jiangling Motors Corp. , in which Ford owns a 30% stake, sold 20,731 units last month, it said.

In the first four months of the year, Ford’s sales in China totaled 261,927 units, up 49% from a year earlier, according to its statement.

To accelerate its growth in China, Ford plans to introduce 15 new vehicles in the country by 2015. The company has said it plans to double its production capacity in China to 1.2 million vehicles by 2015, making this the company’s most rapid expansion anywhere in 50 years.

MarketWatch