FORD Motor Co. has appointed a new head of China operations to help turn around flagging sales in the world’s largest auto market, filling a post that had been vacant since January after the firm’s previous China chief suddenly quit.

Chen Anning, a former chairman of Chery Jaguar Land Rover in China and who also worked for Ford previously, will become the U.S. automaker’s new CEO from Nov. 1.

The move comes at a pivotal time for Ford which has seen China sales slide sharply this year. “Success in China is critical as we reposition our global business for long-term success,” Ford CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement.

Ford China will also become a stand-alone business unit, reporting directly to global headquarters. Chen will report to Jim Farley, president of global markets.

“As the largest vehicle market in the world, China commands its own leadership and focus,” said Farley, adding the reorganization would increase the speed of decision-making and help the firm be closer to customers.

Chen’s predecessor Jason Luo resigned abruptly in January this year after leading the U.S. automaker’s China operations for roughly five months.

Ford’s vehicle sales fell 43 percent in September from a year earlier and are down 30 percent in the first nine months of the year.

By comparison, industry-wide sales are up 1.5 percent for the year to date with rival Toyota Motor Corp. logging a 12.5-percent gain.

“China is absolutely essential to Ford’s profitability and growth,” Farley said.

China is Ford’s second-biggest market by sales volume, behind the United States.

Industry insiders said Chen’s arrival would help Ford in the market — including mending bridges with its partners in the market Changan Automobile Group and Jiangling Motors Group, but that success was no sure thing.

Jiangling Motors said it welcomed the appointment. “We are very pleased to see that Ford is paying more and more attention to the Chinese market and better implementing its ‘In China, for China’ strategy,” a company spokesman said.(SD-Agencies)