Ford sales down in May

A visitor at the Ford booth at the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Shanghai on June 29. Li Fusheng / China Daily

US carmaker Ford Motor Company and its two partners sold nearly 88,000 vehicles in China during May, down 3 percent year-on-year.

Its passenger car joint venture Changan Ford Automobile sold 59,000 vehicles in the month, down 12 percent compared to May 2016.

Sales of all seven models fell last month, with its small SUV EcoSport seeing a 38 percent dive year-on-year. Changan Ford's sales in the first five months totaled 289,728 units, a 22 percent fall from the same period last year.

By contrast, another joint venture Jiangling Motor Corporation had its best-ever May, selling more than 22,000 vehicles. Its sales till May reached 118,887 units, a 16 percent rise year-on-year.

Ford's premium arm Lincoln, which also had its best-ever May in China, sold 4,112 vehicles in the month, a 73 percent increase compared to May 2016.

By the end of May, Lincoln had sold 20,376 vehicles in China, doubling its sales from the same period last year.

Peter Fleet, vice-president of marketing, sales and service at Ford Asia Pacific, said: "We remain on track to deliver sales growth in the second quarter."

Fleet will succeed Dave Schoch, 66, as president of Ford Asia Pacific next month to lead all of Ford's operations and partnerships in the region.

The appointment is part of Ford's global management reshuffle after Jim Hackett replaced Mark Fields as Ford President and CEO late last month.