Ford leaps for a bigger Chinese market share

Ford Motor's sales in China rose 25 percent in the first half, thanks to the popularity of the Focus cars. While lack of enough competitive models loomed, Ford is considering make a giant leap by consolidating its joint venture.

early launch of new Mondeo

According to the earlier official announcement, Ford will launch its third generation Mondeo at the end of this year, but recently it's reported that the highly expected model will hit the market in Oct. or Nov..

Chang'an Ford Mazda Automotive Co Ltd, Ford's passenger vehicle joint venture, has announced a price-cut of the whole line of Ford Focus models, among which some are cut by seven percent.

"Ford can't wait to make the Focus as the only pillar, for this model couldn't sell like hot cakes all the time," analysts say, "after the new product hit the market, lack of capacity for the factory has to be buffered, so it's better to roll out the new Mondeo earlier than scheduled. "

The new Mondeo is set to target Toyota Camry and VW Magotan, both of which are highly competitive in the Chinese market. It implies Ford's most advanced DURETAC-HE2.3 engine, which is exclusively developed for the 3rd generation Mondeo and is produced by Ford's Nanjing factory. Noticably, the gearbox equipped on the new model is imported for the technology is still beyond the local facilities.