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Ford Motor Co.， the second- largest U.S. automaker， has been on a roll in China with the soaring popularity of its vehicles.
According to the latest data， the automaker sold 1，007，425 vehicles in the country during the first 11 months of 2014， up 20 percent from the same period a year earlier.
“Topping the one million unit mark in car sales is a significant milestone for Ford Motor in China， which demonstrates the appeal of high-quality， safe， fuel-efficient and smart Ford vehicles to Chinese customers，” says John Lawler， Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China.
Besides， at the end of November of 2014， several new vehicle models were released through Ford Motor’s passenger-car joint venture Chang’an Ford Automobile Co.， Ltd. and its commercial-vehicle partner Jiangling Motors Corporation， Ltd. （JMC） to meet the needs of Chinese consumer.
However， as a late entry to the world’s largest auto market dominated by big players such as General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG， Ford Motor still has a long way to go to achieve its ambition of being the top-selling car brand by 2020.
Ford’s car sales in China are only about one-third of those of General Motors whose sales in the country reached 3 million vehicles in 2013.
On Nov. 14， 2014， General Motors announced that it sold its 3 millionth vehicle in China in 2014， marking the second consecutive year that the big player has reached the milestone， a month earlier than 2013.
Insiders believe Ford Motor’s first step to realizing its ambition should be to establish cooperation between Chang’an Ford and JMC and balance their development.
All-out efforts for “1515 Strategy”
In 2011， Ford Motor laid out a plan for its development in China， called as“1515 Strategy”， with a goal of beefing up its product lineups by 15 new vehicle models and 20 transmission models by 2015.
With the 2015 deadline for the high-profile “1515 Strategy” looming， Ford Motor is making all-out efforts to achieve its goal.
At the recently-concluded Guangzhuo Auto Show， Chang’an Ford showcased three new models， namely All New Ford Escort， All New Ford Edge and All New Ford Taurus， all deemed as the most promising models among the stellar introductions at the show.
“During the past four years when the ‘1515 Strategy’ was implemented， Chang’an Ford witnessed its fastest-ever sales growth. In 2011， we only have four models， namely Mondeo， Focus， Fiesta and S-MAX， but with years of development， our product lineups have been well improved. In 2015， in addition to vehicle models available for now， All New Ford Escort， All New Ford Edge and All New Ford Taurus will hit the Chinese market，” Luo Minggang， executive vice-president of Chang’an Ford， says in a statement. “In 2015 when the ‘1515 Strategy’will enter the home stretch， Chang’an Ford will achieve a growth rate of no less than 30%， with several new cars entering into the market.”
It is noteworthy that JMC， which has always played a supporting role in Ford’s layout in China， also gain a new opportunity by launching its first Ford brand SUV at the same time when Chang’an Ford introduced new models.
“As Ford Motor’s latest mid-sized seven-seat SUV model， the All New Everest will be produced and sold through JMC in the Chinese market， and it is an important product under the ‘1515 Strategy’ for Ford Motor’s rapid development in China，” says John Lawler.
In Lawler’s opinion， the introduction of the All New Everest will beef up Ford Motor’s SUV lineups in China， enable a closer cooperation between Ford Motor and JMC and help exploit emerging market segments.
Under Ford Motor’s plan， the All New Everest will be produced in JMC’s Xiaolan Factory located in Nanchang City， the capital of Jiangxi Province， and sold through its dealers.
Ramped-up cooperation with JMC
With the releases of new car models in succession， Ford is spurring the passenger-car market with the joint efforts of JMC and Chang’an Ford.
“Introducing the All New Everest into the Chinese market through JMC is a good case in point that proves a closer cooperation between Ford Motor and JMC，” says Chen Yuanqing， President of JMC.
“Chinese consumers have a strong demand for off-road SUVs like the All New Everest， which is also deemed as one of the drivers for the introduction of the vehicle model. With the entry of the All New Everest， JMC’s Ford prod-uct lineups will be further-expanded， and the Nanchang-based automaker will make its first foray into the Chinese passenger car market.”
In fact， it is not easy for JMC to introduce the Ford SUV model.
According to data， Ford Motor is the largest shareholder of JMC with a 32% stake in the latter. However， as JMC positioned itself as a commercial vehicle maker， Ford Motor had never introduced any SUV models into its joint venture in China with JMC for more than a decade.
Moreover， Chang’an Automobile Co.， Ltd.， Ford Motor’s another partner in China， has been seeking to deepen its strategic partnership with the Dearborn， Michigan-based automaker， with an ambition to introduce all Ford-branded passenger cars into their 50-50 joint venture Chang’an Ford.
Therefore， Ford Motor had many scruples to introduce a passenger car model into JMC. However， JMC did not give up. After several rounds of negotiations with Ford Motor about the introduction， JMC successfully convinced Ford Motor to allow it to produce the new Ford-branded SUV. Synergetic development
In fact， with JMC stepping into passenger car market， Ford has more confidence in promoting its rankings in China’s auto market.
In recent years， Ford has fared well with a remarkable growth in Chinese market. In 2013， its sales in the country totaled 936，000 units， a whopping rise of 49% from a year earlier， outstripping the annual sales of Toyota Motor to rank fifth among foreign carmakers in China， according to data.
In the first ten months of 2014， Ford Motor’s sales in China were 906，600 units， a year-on-year rise of 22%. However， with a double-digit growth， the U.S. automaker still saw a huge disparity compared with the top three automakers by sales in the country， namely General Motor， Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor.
According to data， over the same period， General Motor’s sales were 2.87 million units， up 10.7% from a year earlier， while Volkswagen’s sales grew 13.8% on a yearly basis to 2.3 million units. Hyundai Motor also saw a yearon-year growth of 8.4% in sales to 1.42 million units.
On the other hand， Ford Motor has pulled within the striking distance with the fourth-ranked automaker by sales in China， Nissan Motor， whose sales during the first ten months of 2014 declined 9% from the same period a year earlier to 1.04 million units.
Analysts say that with the support of Ford-branded SUV products and a promise from Ford Motor for more new model introductions， JMC is set to brace for a new round of rapid growth， which will in return bring new energy to Ford Motor for its future development in China.
However， Ford Motor will find it embarrassing to distribute resources to its Chinese joint ventures with the two partners， JMC and Chang’an Automobile， for a long time， given the fact that it had wrestled with the question whether to introduce a passenger car model into JMC for years， which has proved difficult for the foreign automaker.
According to insiders， compared with Chang’an Ford， Ford Motor has a closer relationship with JMC as the U.S. automaker is the largest shareholder of the latter.
The reason why Ford Motor had hesitated to introduce products and technologies into JMC lay in the U.S. automaker’ scruples to arouse the discontent from Chang’an Automobile. After all， Ford Motor’s current development in the country mainly lies in the role played by Chang’an Automobile.
Not only in sales but also in profit contribution to Ford Motor， JMC can not mention in the same breath with Chang’an Automobile. In addition， form the perspective of Chang’an Automobile， there is nothing wrong with trying to deter JMC from obtaining more car models and resources. In recent years， it was quite common to see internal strife in some other international car giant’s Chinese joint ventures. Therefore， Chang’an Ford needs to nip in the bud what it considers as causes of such disputes.
On the other side， for JMC， a commercial carmaker that has been seeking to enter the passenger car market for a long time， the introduction of the All New Everest provides a much-needed boost to its future development and it is just a start.
Currently， Ford Motor is firing on all cylinders to catch up with the pace of big players in China such as General Motor and Volkswagen.
In the coming period， a peaceful development between the two joint ventures will boost odds of success for Ford Motor who aims to become one of the top three foreign automakers in China.
Otherwise， if Ford Motor fails to balance the development of its Chinese joint ventures and cause much controversy for the distribution of car models and resources， the U.S. automaker’s development in China will fall into a deadlock.
According to the latest data， the automaker sold 1，007，425 vehicles in the country during the first 11 months of 2014， up 20 percent from the same period a year earlier.
“Topping the one million unit mark in car sales is a significant milestone for Ford Motor in China， which demonstrates the appeal of high-quality， safe， fuel-efficient and smart Ford vehicles to Chinese customers，” says John Lawler， Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China.
Besides， at the end of November of 2014， several new vehicle models were released through Ford Motor’s passenger-car joint venture Chang’an Ford Automobile Co.， Ltd. and its commercial-vehicle partner Jiangling Motors Corporation， Ltd. （JMC） to meet the needs of Chinese consumer.
However， as a late entry to the world’s largest auto market dominated by big players such as General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG， Ford Motor still has a long way to go to achieve its ambition of being the top-selling car brand by 2020.
Ford’s car sales in China are only about one-third of those of General Motors whose sales in the country reached 3 million vehicles in 2013.
On Nov. 14， 2014， General Motors announced that it sold its 3 millionth vehicle in China in 2014， marking the second consecutive year that the big player has reached the milestone， a month earlier than 2013.
Insiders believe Ford Motor’s first step to realizing its ambition should be to establish cooperation between Chang’an Ford and JMC and balance their development.
All-out efforts for “1515 Strategy”
In 2011， Ford Motor laid out a plan for its development in China， called as“1515 Strategy”， with a goal of beefing up its product lineups by 15 new vehicle models and 20 transmission models by 2015.
With the 2015 deadline for the high-profile “1515 Strategy” looming， Ford Motor is making all-out efforts to achieve its goal.
At the recently-concluded Guangzhuo Auto Show， Chang’an Ford showcased three new models， namely All New Ford Escort， All New Ford Edge and All New Ford Taurus， all deemed as the most promising models among the stellar introductions at the show.
“During the past four years when the ‘1515 Strategy’ was implemented， Chang’an Ford witnessed its fastest-ever sales growth. In 2011， we only have four models， namely Mondeo， Focus， Fiesta and S-MAX， but with years of development， our product lineups have been well improved. In 2015， in addition to vehicle models available for now， All New Ford Escort， All New Ford Edge and All New Ford Taurus will hit the Chinese market，” Luo Minggang， executive vice-president of Chang’an Ford， says in a statement. “In 2015 when the ‘1515 Strategy’will enter the home stretch， Chang’an Ford will achieve a growth rate of no less than 30%， with several new cars entering into the market.”
It is noteworthy that JMC， which has always played a supporting role in Ford’s layout in China， also gain a new opportunity by launching its first Ford brand SUV at the same time when Chang’an Ford introduced new models.
“As Ford Motor’s latest mid-sized seven-seat SUV model， the All New Everest will be produced and sold through JMC in the Chinese market， and it is an important product under the ‘1515 Strategy’ for Ford Motor’s rapid development in China，” says John Lawler.
In Lawler’s opinion， the introduction of the All New Everest will beef up Ford Motor’s SUV lineups in China， enable a closer cooperation between Ford Motor and JMC and help exploit emerging market segments.
Under Ford Motor’s plan， the All New Everest will be produced in JMC’s Xiaolan Factory located in Nanchang City， the capital of Jiangxi Province， and sold through its dealers.
Ramped-up cooperation with JMC
With the releases of new car models in succession， Ford is spurring the passenger-car market with the joint efforts of JMC and Chang’an Ford.
“Introducing the All New Everest into the Chinese market through JMC is a good case in point that proves a closer cooperation between Ford Motor and JMC，” says Chen Yuanqing， President of JMC.
“Chinese consumers have a strong demand for off-road SUVs like the All New Everest， which is also deemed as one of the drivers for the introduction of the vehicle model. With the entry of the All New Everest， JMC’s Ford prod-uct lineups will be further-expanded， and the Nanchang-based automaker will make its first foray into the Chinese passenger car market.”
In fact， it is not easy for JMC to introduce the Ford SUV model.
According to data， Ford Motor is the largest shareholder of JMC with a 32% stake in the latter. However， as JMC positioned itself as a commercial vehicle maker， Ford Motor had never introduced any SUV models into its joint venture in China with JMC for more than a decade.
Moreover， Chang’an Automobile Co.， Ltd.， Ford Motor’s another partner in China， has been seeking to deepen its strategic partnership with the Dearborn， Michigan-based automaker， with an ambition to introduce all Ford-branded passenger cars into their 50-50 joint venture Chang’an Ford.
Therefore， Ford Motor had many scruples to introduce a passenger car model into JMC. However， JMC did not give up. After several rounds of negotiations with Ford Motor about the introduction， JMC successfully convinced Ford Motor to allow it to produce the new Ford-branded SUV. Synergetic development
In fact， with JMC stepping into passenger car market， Ford has more confidence in promoting its rankings in China’s auto market.
In recent years， Ford has fared well with a remarkable growth in Chinese market. In 2013， its sales in the country totaled 936，000 units， a whopping rise of 49% from a year earlier， outstripping the annual sales of Toyota Motor to rank fifth among foreign carmakers in China， according to data.
In the first ten months of 2014， Ford Motor’s sales in China were 906，600 units， a year-on-year rise of 22%. However， with a double-digit growth， the U.S. automaker still saw a huge disparity compared with the top three automakers by sales in the country， namely General Motor， Volkswagen and Hyundai Motor.
According to data， over the same period， General Motor’s sales were 2.87 million units， up 10.7% from a year earlier， while Volkswagen’s sales grew 13.8% on a yearly basis to 2.3 million units. Hyundai Motor also saw a yearon-year growth of 8.4% in sales to 1.42 million units.
On the other hand， Ford Motor has pulled within the striking distance with the fourth-ranked automaker by sales in China， Nissan Motor， whose sales during the first ten months of 2014 declined 9% from the same period a year earlier to 1.04 million units.
Analysts say that with the support of Ford-branded SUV products and a promise from Ford Motor for more new model introductions， JMC is set to brace for a new round of rapid growth， which will in return bring new energy to Ford Motor for its future development in China.
However， Ford Motor will find it embarrassing to distribute resources to its Chinese joint ventures with the two partners， JMC and Chang’an Automobile， for a long time， given the fact that it had wrestled with the question whether to introduce a passenger car model into JMC for years， which has proved difficult for the foreign automaker.
According to insiders， compared with Chang’an Ford， Ford Motor has a closer relationship with JMC as the U.S. automaker is the largest shareholder of the latter.
The reason why Ford Motor had hesitated to introduce products and technologies into JMC lay in the U.S. automaker’ scruples to arouse the discontent from Chang’an Automobile. After all， Ford Motor’s current development in the country mainly lies in the role played by Chang’an Automobile.
Not only in sales but also in profit contribution to Ford Motor， JMC can not mention in the same breath with Chang’an Automobile. In addition， form the perspective of Chang’an Automobile， there is nothing wrong with trying to deter JMC from obtaining more car models and resources. In recent years， it was quite common to see internal strife in some other international car giant’s Chinese joint ventures. Therefore， Chang’an Ford needs to nip in the bud what it considers as causes of such disputes.
On the other side， for JMC， a commercial carmaker that has been seeking to enter the passenger car market for a long time， the introduction of the All New Everest provides a much-needed boost to its future development and it is just a start.
Currently， Ford Motor is firing on all cylinders to catch up with the pace of big players in China such as General Motor and Volkswagen.
In the coming period， a peaceful development between the two joint ventures will boost odds of success for Ford Motor who aims to become one of the top three foreign automakers in China.
Otherwise， if Ford Motor fails to balance the development of its Chinese joint ventures and cause much controversy for the distribution of car models and resources， the U.S. automaker’s development in China will fall into a deadlock.