Ford Motor China sales fall 19% YoY in Q1, Lincoln brand sees positive growth

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Ford Motor China retail sales in March reached 83,666 vehicles, declining 11% year on year, according to the data released by the automaker on April 13. Meanwhile, in the first quarter of the year, the company achieved a sales volume exceeding 207,000 units with a year on year falloff of 19%.

According to the retail sales data, Changan Ford delivered 46,217 vehicles last month, slumping 22% from a year ago. Meanwhile, its cumulative sales during the first three months also faced a year-on-year slump of 26% to 124,459 units. Jiangling Motors handed over 31,144 vehicles (excluding exporting sales) in the past month, up by 5% over the previous year. In the meantime, its Q1 retail sales in China dropped 6% year on year with 66,540 units delivered.

It is noteworthy that both March and Q1 retail sales of the Lincoln brand boasted year-on-year growth of 27% and 10%, with 5,051 units and 12,710 units handed over respectively. According to relevant reports, the luxury brand plans to locally produce 5 models in China by 2022 to enlarge its market shares in this country.

However, the retail sales of imported vehicles shrank by 17% year on year in March and sharply dropped 27% from a year ago.

As to models, the sales of Ecosport obtained a year-on-year sales growth of 7% in March. Besides, the total deliveries of two light bus models, Ford Transit and Jiangling Teshun, soared 70% year on year last month and the monthly sales of Jiangling pickups grew 8% over the previous year.

In addition, the deliveries of the all-new Lincoln Navigator reached a new high in March with an impressive year-on-year surge of 135%, the best seller among Lincoln-branded models. Moreover, the sedan sales in March leapt 44% year on year as well.

According to Peter Fleet, Ford China's chairman and CEO, SUV, commercial vehicle and luxury vehicle will be the company's strategic highlights in China this year. Ford Motor will continuously enrich its product portfolios to provide Chinese consumers with more options.