US carmaker Ford on Thursday stepped up competition in China's
heated sedan market with the launch of a new model Ford Mondeo.
The launch came as the Union of National Passenger Cars Market
Information released figures showing FAW VW, one of Volkswagen's
two joint ventures in China, was leading the Chinese sedan market
in October with 38,841 vehicles sold.
Shanghai GM, the flagship joint venture of General Motors, was a
close second with sales of 36,113, followed by Volkswagen's other
joint venture, Shanghai VW with sales of 32,649.
The Ford Mondeo-Zhisheng, the Chinese version of the
third-generation Mondeo, is Ford's fifth sedan model introduced in
the world's fastest growing car market since 2003.
The model features four variants priced ranging from 181,800
yuan (US$24,240) to 239,800 yuan.
The launch of Ford's fifth sedan model in the Chinese market
since 2003 comes five months after Ford offered the
third-generation Mondeo on the European market.
Ford was a relative latecomer into the Chinese market,
establishing the Chang'an Ford Mazda Automobile Co. (CFMA) joint
venture in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality last year.
CFMA was the merging of Japan's Mazda Motor with Sino-U.S.
carmaker Changan Ford, which was established in 2001 and produced
the first Chinese-made Ford sedan, the Fiesta, in 2003.
The joint venture was China's tenth largest sedan producer in
terms of sales in the first three quarters of this year, according
to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
China is the world's fastest growing car market with retail
sales of 490,474 vehicles in October, up 21.3 percent from October
last year.
Sales of passenger vehicles, including sedans, multi-purpose and
sport-utility vehicles, were reported to be 4.86 million unitsin
the first 10 months, a rise of 22.1 percent from the same period
last year.
Last month Volkswagen China president Winfried Vahland said VW
was planning to increase its market share in China from current
18percent to 20 percent. The company has increased its 2007 sales
target from 800,000 vehicles to 900,000 and was anticipating more
than a million sales in 2008.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2007)
