JMC to sell new Ford SUV in China

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai April 13) - Jiangling Motors announced this Monday that it would be bringing over a new Ford SUV to the Chinese market, the Nanfang Daily reported today. The Anhui-based manufacturer's board of directors has already consented to investing 222 million yuan ($35.17m) on engineering and purchasing costs associated with the project, codenamed U375.

The new model will reportedly be among the three SUVs Ford will show off at this month's Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

Beginning with the new generation Focus, sold by the Changan Ford joint venture, Ford plans to bring over a total of 15 new models to the Chinese market by 2015. According to JMC President Chen Yuanqing, several of those models will be sold by his company.

JMC officially entered the SUV market in 2010 with the Yusheng SUV (pictured). Last year, the manufacturer decided on invest 327 million yuan ($50.91m) to conduct research and development work on a second own brand SUV, which is scheduled to be manufactured next year. In comparison with the diesel-powered Yusheng, this new SUV will be a front-wheel drive gasoline-powered model. JMC invested 125 million yuan ($19.46m) in developing the engine for the SUV.