Ford Delivers Over 73,000 Cars In China In February 2014 As It Plays Catch-Up In World’s Largest Auto Market

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), a relative latecomer to China, said Thursday it sold 67 percent more vehicles last month in the world’s largest auto market than it did in February 2013. The company announced that it sold 73,040 units on robust demand for the Mondeo (aka Fusion) family sedan and Focus compact nameplates.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker delivered 53,272 passenger cars through its joint venture with Chongqing-based Changan Automobile Group, up 81 percent from the year-ago period, and exported 3,012 vehicles to China last month.

Ford is working hard to become a significant presence in China, where it surpassed Honda and Toyota in sales volume last year, for a total volume of 935,813 commercial and passenger vehicles. The company tripled the number of models offered in China last year compared to 2012.

The domestic automaker sold 16,576 commercial vehicles through its joint venture with Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC). Nanchang-based JMC and Ford manufacture the Ford Transit van for the Chinese market.

Ford arrived late in China, where General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) and Volkswagen AG (FRA:VOW) are the dominant foreign players. The company said it will have 24 plants in Asia, up from 14 in 2012. Ford captured 3.2 percent of the Chinese auto market and is aiming for 5 percent by the end of this year.