Changan Ford sales of Ford cars up 54% in July

Shanghai, August 6 (Gasgoo.com) Ford-brand auto sales by Changan Ford grew 54% in July from a year earlier to a record high 19,486 units, the joint venture's sales division said today, media reported.

Changan Ford Mazda, Ford's Chinese venture with local Chongqing Changan Auto and Japan's Mazda Motor, sold 19,486 Ford cars last month, setting a monthly record. July was the sixth straight month of year-on-year growth for Changan Ford, the company said in a statement.

The joint venture sold 123,474 units of Ford brand vehicles in the January-July period, up 21.5% from a year earlier. Sales Ford Focus, one of the top sellers in the mid-size car segment in the country, exceeded 10,000 units for 5th straight months in July, according to Reuters.

Sales of the all-new compact Ford Fiesta, which hit the market in March, totaled 22,630 units, while sales of Mondeo and S-MAX models rose 68% and 22% from a year earlier, respectively.

China's auto market, which overtook the United States as the world's largest in January, has been a leading bright spot in the struggling global auto industry as government incentives spurred a pick-up in demand.

Ford's rival General Motors, which entered China much earlier, sold 144,593 vehicles in China last month, up 77.7% from a year earlier.