FORD Motor’s China ventures reported year-on-year sales growth for June as the world’s biggest auto market continues to recover from coronavirus-induced lows. The U.S. automaker’s Chongqing-based venture with Changan said yesterday its sales jumped 7.7 percent from a year earlier. It did not disclose the number of vehicles sold. Ford’s new sport utility vehicles (SUV) models including Escape, Edge and Explorer are selling well and contributed to growth in past months, it said in a statement. Jiangling Motors Corp. (JMC), in which Ford owns a stake, said in a filing last week that it sold 39,192 vehicles last month, up 67 percent year on year. JMC sells Ford-branded SUV and vans as well as JMC-branded commercial vehicles. The ventures also saw sales up in April and May, putting the Dearborn, Michigan-based company on track for its first quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2017. It said the aging model lineup caused the sales slide. Ford’s rival General Motors said its sales in China dropped 5.3 percent between April and June from the corresponding period last year. China’s overall figure, which includes passenger and commercial vehicles, rose 4.4 percent in April and 14.5 percent in May, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), adding that it expected auto sales to grow 11 percent in June. Japanese automaker Nissan Motor said Friday its sales in China grew 4.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 136,929 vehicles. (SD-Agencies) |