Changan Ford to sell 5-seat S-MAX Trend in July

Shanghai, May 16 (Gasgoo.com) Changan Ford announced on May 15 the launch of its five-seat version Ford S-Max. Starting in late June or early July, the car will be available in the Chinese auto market at 194,800 yuan ($27,900). The Chinese joint venture of Ford expects to sell 600-700 Ford S-Max Trend cars each month in the second half of 2008.

Ford debuted the new five-seat S-MAX Trend at the 2008 Beijing auto show last month alongside the seven-seat S-MAX Flagship. "The S-MAX is spacious, safe and convenient but not everyone needs seven seats. Introducing a five-seat variant to the S-MAX range makes perfect sense and illustrates Ford's ability to provide Chinese customers with cars and features they want," said Nigel Harris, General Manager of Changan Ford Sales Company, at the Beijing show.

The five-seat S-MAX Trend is a new variant tailored to meet market demand. It has two rows of seating in line with requests of some S-MAX customers who desire more cargo space. With the absence of a third-row of seats, the five-seat S-MAX Trend offers 185 liters more of rear cargo space. The eliminated seating will also make the crossover lighter.

Power comes from a 2.3 liter, all-aluminum engine which produces 117 kW at 6,500 rpm and 205 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm and is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Rear parking sensors and footlights are now standard features on all 2008 S-MAX models.

The five-seat Ford S-MAX Trend is economical to run. Repair costs and maintenance costs for the five-seat S-MAX Trend are equal with the associated cost of a traditional family sedan.

A sales executive of Changan Ford said the 2008 Ford S-MAX range of four models will be all available in China to meet the mid- and high-end demands of Chinese customers.