Shanghai, China, October 11, 2010 – Ford Motor China announced sales of 132,976 units for the third quarter, boosting its total sales from January to September to 419,073 units, an increase of 40 percent from the same period last year.  The company closed the month of September with sales of 50,970 units, an increase of 26 percent from the previous year.  The robust growth in sales was driven by sustained strong customer demand for Ford passenger and commercial vehicles in the world's largest auto market.

Changan Ford Mazda Automobile (CFMA), Ford Motor's passenger vehicle joint-venture in China, sold 286,113 units in the first three quarters, an increase of 32 percent from a year ago.  Ford Focus, a highly popular nameplate in its class among Chinese consumers, achieved total sales of 123,111 units by the end of September, an increase of 25 percent; while the new Ford Fiesta continues to lead its segment with a 67 percent year-on-year increase to 53,849 units for the first nine months. Ford Mondeo and Ford S-MAX also reported steady double-digit sales growth for the first three quarters.

Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, recorded sales of 132,960 units for January-September, representing a 61-percent jump over the same period last year as a result of strong contribution from the industry- leading Ford Transit.

"Our strong sales performance to date indicates that the Ford brand, representing quality, fuel economy, safety and smart technologies combined with great value to consumers, is catching on among the increasingly demanding car buyers in the world's most competitive auto market,” said Robert Graziano, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China.

He added, “We have made great progress in broadening the Ford product portfolio in China and expanding our distribution network so we can maintain our growth momentum in this exciting market.  By the end of this year, we will be introducing Ford's award-winning mid-size SUV Ford Edge and the EcoBoost-equipped Ford Mondeo to China to about 340 Ford full-service dealerships, nearly 100 of which are new dealerships added this year."

Ford's EcoBoost engine increases vehicle fuel efficiency by 20 percent and reduces CO₂ emission by 15 percent, offering better performance than larger displacement engines. With Ford Edge, Chinese consumers will be among the first to enjoy the smart MyFord Touch^TM driver connect technology powered by the voice-activated SYNC.

To accelerate future growth, Ford continues to make investment to expand its production capacity in China. Over the past 12 months, through its joint ventures in China, Ford has announced new investments of USD 1.3 billion, bringing its total investment in China to over USD 3 billion.  In September, CFMA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chongqing Municipal Government to build a USD 500 million (RMB 3.4 billion) engine plant in Chongqing to increase its annual engine production capacity to 750,000 units by 2013.

Ford's production in China will also be ramped up with the two new assembly plants set to come on line in 2012 - one in Chongqing with CFMA, and the other in Nanchang with JMC.

Editor's note:
1- All Sales figures quoted are based on wholesale numbers.
2- As sale of Volvo operations was completed on August 2, 2010, this report does not include sales data for the Volvo brand.