Changan Ford May sales up 17.8% to 23,742 units

Shanghai, June 2 (Gasgoo.com) Ford Motor's car-making joint venture with Changan Auto sold a record 23,742 vehicles in May, up 17.8% from a year earlier, driven by strong sales of the Ford Fiesta, Changan Ford Sales Co. said today, Dow Jones reported.

Sales of the Ford Fiesta increased nearly 50% last month from a year earlier to 6,547 units. Ford Focus, Ford's another key product in China, sold 12,631 units in May, up 11.7%, the company said in a statement.

"Our strong sales in May helped reaffirm our expectation for solid full-year growth in 2010," the statement cited Nigel Harris, general manager of Changan Ford, as saying.

Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Corp. (CFMA), Ford's three-way car-making joint venture in China, also has a plant in eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, which will make the Mazda 3.

Ford Motor has continued with the expansion of its joint venture's dealer network in China, with plans to open over 70 new dealer stores in 2010.