Ford on track with accelerated China growth plan

Mark Fields, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company.[Provided to China Daily]

Ford Motor Company, the only major US automaker that didn't receive a government bailout in 2009, has proved its products' popularity in the world's largest growth auto market.

On track to bring 15 new vehicles to China by 2015 as part of its accelerated growth plan, Ford broke its annual sales record in 2014 by selling over 1.1 million vehicles in the market.

Sales for the Ford Escort, a new vehicle designed specifically for Chinese customers, reached 35,000 in the first two months of 2015.

The company has clearly grown rapidly in the past few years.

In 2014, Ford's sales in China grew by 19 percent with 1,114,669 vehicles sold; the yearQ before, sales leapt 49 percent, reaching 935,813 in vehicle sales, up from 626,616 in 2012.

Growing capacity

Meeting rapidly growing customer demand, in November 2014, Ford opened its fifth assembly plant in China and third in Chonqing, making the city its largest manufacturing location outside southeastern Michigan.

Ford is on track to more than double its production capacity in China from 600,000 to more than 1.4 million this year.

With its sixth plant opening in Hangzhou very soon, the automaker is also seeking to expand its presence in eastern China.

Located at the Qianjin Industrial Park, Dajiangdong District, the new plant will contribute to Ford's further growth in China and globally.

The company plans to increase its global sales by 45 to 55 percent to approximately 9.4 million vehicles per year by 2020.

With the launch of the Hangzhou plant, the total annual capacity of Ford's China passenger vehicle joint venture, Changan Ford, will be 1.4 million vehicles.

Ford's aggressive growth plan is also supported by the rapid expansion of its dealer network to more than 850 dealer sales points today.