Ford seeks China boost with new cars and electric vehicle venture during trade war
The Territory model will be the first of several SUVs Ford is rolling out in China; the company also plans to launch a range of electric small cars in the country
Ford Motor is counting on the SUV – and a new electric car tie-up – to turn around its flagging fortunes in the world’s largest car market. The Territory model will be the first of several SUVs Ford is rolling out in China to win customers who are passing on the company’s ageing line-up amid a trade war that has further dented demand by boosting prices of imported models.
Ford also plans to launch a range of electric small cars in China with Anhui Zotye Automobile to tap the growing demand for new-energy vehicles, Peter Fleet, Ford’s president of Asia-Pacific, said on a conference call Tuesday.
The efforts are key to turn around sagging sales for the Dearborn, Michigan-based carmaker in China, where sputtering economic growth and a tit-for-tat tariff war with the US are threatening to push the car market into its first contraction since at least the 1990s.
Ford, Volkswagen and other carmakers are still pouring in billions of dollars to make electric cars in China as policy initiatives encourage more consumers to adopt the pollution-free vehicles.
Approval for Ford’s third partnership in the country is expected by year-end, Fleet said. The move will allow the carmaker to gain enough new-energy vehicle credits required by the government under a system that will take effect next year.