Ford China Jan-Sept vehicle sales rise 7 pct

SHANGHAI, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Ford Motor's vehicle sales in China climbed 7.13 percent in the first three quarters from a year earlier, slowing from 30 percent growth in the same period last year as a decelerating economy dented market demand.

The second-largest U.S. automaker sold 240,879 vehicles in China from January to September, compared with 224,849 units a year earlier, it said in a statement on Friday.

That lagged sales growth at top European car maker Volkswagen AG, which sold 772,783 cars in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau during the period, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier. "A number of factors, both internal and external to China, helped contribute to an overall slowdown in the domestic auto market during the third quarter," Robert Graziano, president and CEO of Ford Motor China, said in the statement.

Overall car sales in China declined 6.24 percent in August, marking a reversal for an industry that had seen years of double-digit sales growth, as a slowing economy, higher fuel prices and the Beijing Olympics kept customers from showrooms.

More monthly declines may be in store this year, with full-year growth estimated between 6 and 8 percent, Rao Da, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, a leading industry group, said in a research report last month.

Changan Ford Mazda, a three-way tie-up among Ford, Japan's Mazda Motor Corp and Changan Automobile Co Ltd, sold 159,833 vehicles in the period, up 6 percent.

Sales of commercial vehicle maker Jiangling Motors Corp, partly owned by Ford, came to 75,496 units in the period, with Ford's Transit models up 11 percent at 21,083 units, it added.

In the first nine months, Ford rolled out several new models in the world's second-largest auto market, including a five-seat and seven-seat Ford S-Max, a refreshed Ford Mondeo and a new Ford Focus sedan, its best-selling model in China.

Other foreign automakers operating in the country, including General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp, have yet to release China sales figures for the first three quarters.