Ford has announced that its retail sales in China grew by 30% in 2007 — to 216,324 vehicles — out pacing the overall market. Sales data was only available for the first 11 months in China, but compared to the same time period in 2006, overall auto sales in China were up 23% to 5.66 million units.
According to Automotive News, sales of Ford branded cars climbed 26%, totaling 196,221 vehicles. That increase was largely due to strong sales of the Focus, whose sales rose by 57%.
Retail sales of Ford ’s other brands — Volvo , Jaguar and Land Rover — increased by 84%, totaling 20,103 vehicles.
With the U.S. car market in a downturn, overseas markets are quickly becoming a viable life raft to keep domestic automakers from dipping too far into the red. Just yesterday, Ford announced that will continue to invest in India and Chrysler reported a 15% increase in overseas sales in 2007. 2007 also saw General Motors become the first automaker to sell 1 million vehicles in China within a 12-month span.
