Ford’s January China sales up 36%, sets monthly record

Ford Motor Co. set a new monthly sales record in China last month as sales soared 36 percent.

The Dearborn automaker said Friday it sold 130,832 new vehicles there in January, due to record sales for the Ford Escort, the new Ford Mondeo and Ford’s sport utility vehicle lineup.

“We are honored that customers are responding so positively to our vehicles,” John Lawler, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China, said in a statement. “The combination of great performance and great value is clearly bringing more people into Ford showrooms.”

Changan Ford Automobile, Ford's passenger car joint venture, also broke sales records, with 111,856 vehicles sold, up 58 percent compared to January 2015 thanks to the Escort, Mondeo and Ford SUVs. Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, sold 17,255 vehicles in January, down 24 percent compared to the same month last year.

Ford last year sold a record 1.1 million vehicles in China, up 3 percent from the previous year.

Changan Ford Automobile broke its annual sales record with 836,425 vehicles sold, a 7 percent increase from 2014. Jiangling Motors Corp. reported a 6 percent decline in annual sales.

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