Beijing: Ford Motor is in talks with its Chinese partner, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, to export China-made Ford vehicles to emerging markets, two people familiar with the matter said.
Ford, which competes with General Motors among others in the world's largest auto market, aims to expand its joint efforts with its Chinese partner.
"Ford and Changan are exploring ways to expand their partnership. Export of China-made models is only one of the possible options," one source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Another source said that the on-going discussions are in line with Ford CEO Alan Mulally's call to broaden and deepen ties with its Chinese partner.
The sources declined to be identified since they were not authorised to talk to the media.
A spokesman for Ford, which makes Fiesta, Mondeo, Focus and X-MAX models in a three-way tie-up with Changan and Mazda Motor, said the company has no plans to export from China.
New products
"We are building high quality, fuel efficient, fun-to-drive vehicles in China, for China, and have no plans to export vehicles from China," Trevor Hale, a China-based spokesman with Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa operations, said in an e-mailed statement.
A Changan spokesman declined to comment.
Ford, the only Detroit automaker to have steered clear of a US government bailout and bankruptcy in 2009, is a relatively latecomer in China, where GM and Volkswagen AG have built up a lead.
However, Ford has been accelerating its expansion — building a greenfield car plant with Changan and Mazda — while its 30 per cent owned Jiangling Motor is also adding a $300 million new facility.
In 2010, Ford, which also holds 30 per cent of major Chinese light commercial vehicle maker Jiangling Motors Corp, was the fastest growing foreign automaker in the country.
It sold 582,467 vehicles, up 40 per cent from the year before, outperforming a 32 per cent overall increase in China.
Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford's Asia and Africa operations, said at the Detroit Auto Show that the US automaker intended to introduce 50 new products and power trains in the region in the next four years, its most aggressive move in Asia so far.
"China remains the main focus for foreign automakers. But export deals would serve as an additional income source at a time when the market is slowing down," Boni Sa, an analyst with IHS Automotive, said.
The Chinese government issued a massive package of stimulus measures at the height of the global financial crisis in 2009, including tax incentives for small cars.
Strengthening ties
- 40%: rise in Ford sales in China last year
- 32%:overall increase in China sales last year
