Ford Motor Co.'s China vehicle sales surged 105.5 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier.

Total sales in China came to 114,685 vehicles in the first three quarters, the company said in a statement.

Sales of Ford/Lincoln brand vehicles, both locally produced and imported, came to 106,523 units during the period, up 111 percent, while those of affiliated brands, including Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover, rose 42 percent to 8,162 units.

Demand for the mid-size sedan Ford Focus was particularly strong, helping push up sales at Changan Ford Mazda Automobile -- a tie-up with Mazda Motor Corp and Changan Automobile Co. Ltd., by 147 percent to 87,930 units.

Ford, the number-two U.S. auto maker, is a relative latecomer to the hotly contested China market, which is currently dominated by General Motors Corp. and Volkswagen A.G.

General Motors saw its China sales surge 47 percent to 453,832 vehicles in the first half, while Volkswagen moved 345,375 vehicles, up 32.2 percent. Neither has issued sales figures for the first three quarters.

Ford, along with Changan and Mazda Motor, in which Ford has a one-third stake, are expanding a facility in the southwest city Chongqing. They are also building a plant in Nanjing, some three hours by road from Shanghai, boosting its annual production capacity to 360,000 by 2007.

Source:佚名