Sales of Ford SUVs, like Everest, pushed the maker to a 24% sales jump in September.
Ford Motor Co. sales in China jumped 24% in September due to the demand for its growing line-up of sport-utility vehicles.
The results mirror that of its competitor General Motors, which reported an increase of 16% last month, based largely on its large luxury sedans and SUVs.
Through the first nine months, Ford has sold 879,559 vehicles: An increase of 11%. However, when you separate out its utility vehicle sales, the company’s strength becomes clear.
Sales of its EcoSport, Kuga, Edge, Everest and Explorer, as well as the Lincoln MKC, MKX and Navigator have totaled nearly 230,000 vehicles this year, up 18% compared with year-ago results.
(GM China sales jump 16% in September. For more, Click Here.)
The Lincoln MKC helped drive the brand to set a new full-year sales record: In nine months.
“Ford has been building momentum month after month, winning new customers with the most exciting and appealing lineup we have ever offered in China,” Peter Fleet, vice president, marketing, sales and service, Ford Asia Pacific, said in a statement.
“We will continue to listen to customers and meet their needs with great new cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles.”
Sales at Changan Ford Automobile, Ford’s passenger car joint venture, leapt 25% in September and are up 14% year-to-date. Sales of Jiangling Motors Corp., Ford’s commercial vehicle investment, rose 28% in September, however, they are flat for the first nine months of the year.
(Click Here for details about Ford shutting down Mustang production, recalling Continentals.)
Luxury brands do well in China and Lincoln is no exception as its sales have taken off. In fact, Lincoln enjoyed its best-ever month in China. The brand is up 191% year-to-date, selling 20,996 vehicles in China this year. That number surpasses the full-year total for 2015.
However, it isn’t just the SUVs and luxury vehicles performing well, the company had a few other cars that drew buyers to showrooms.
(To see more about Ford abandoning manufacturing cars in Australia, Click Here.)
Chinese car enthusiasts made the Ford Mustang a hit. Sales of the iconic pony car have topped 2,300 so far this year, already beating last year’s total. Additionally, the new Ford Focus reached nearly 20,000 sales in September, up 43% year over year.