Ford China venture April car sales up 33% y/y

Ford Motor Co's car venture in China sold 33 percent more vehicles in April from a year earlier, its Chinese partner said on Wednesday.

Changan Ford Mazda, a tie-up with Chongqing Changan Auto Co and Mazda Motor sold 25,882 cars in April, up from 19,462 cars a year earlier, Changan Auto said in a statement.

Sales came to 82,957 vehicles in the first four months, up from 81,465 units in the same period last year, it said.

General Motors' China sales surged 50 percent to 151,084 units in April, a monthly record, helped in part by its Wuling brand mini vans and pickup trucks made at a local venture, it said earlier this week.

China overtook the United States as the world's largest auto market this year and year-on-year sales growth in March rebounded to more than 10 percent as government stimulus measures helped fuel a recovery in demand.

Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd, a commercial vehicle maker partly owned by Ford, sold 10,568 vehicles, down 5.7 percent from a year earlier, with sales for the first four months down 5.3 percent to 35,980 units, the statement said.

Overall sales of Changan Auto were 117,846 vehicles in April, up 51 percent from a year earlier. January to April sales rose 22 percent to 415,594 units, it added.