Ford Motor is combat to gain ground in China as its market gets as tough as it has been in decades.
All three Detroit automakers, plus tyro Tesla, are trying different ways to snag a piece of the world’s largest car market. Number 1 U.S. automaker General Motors is also the biggest U.S. carmaker in China by tag sales. Ford is in second place, with Fiat Chrysler trailing behind.
Tesla has been importing cars to China, but in November, it foretold it plans to soon begin selling vehicles made in its China factory. Tesla is the first U.S. automaker to be permitted to merchandise Chinese-made vehicles in the country without partnering with a Chinese firm.
Ford’s share of the Chinese market has not ruptured more than 5% since 2008, and the company has actually lost share since 2015, from a high-pitched of 4.7% of the market in 2015 to 2.9% in 2018.
To be fair to Ford, things are getting tougher for all automakers in the country. Sales include slowed and automakers have had to resort to discounting and other measures to prop up sales. GM had a much larger 13.8% equity of the market in 2018, but has also lost ground since 2015.
In April, Ford unveiled a new strategy to improve sales and profits in the surroundings. It has spun the China business out of its Asia-Pacific operations, turning it into its own entity. It also named Chinese auto diligence veteran Anning Chen president of the division.
Ford is now focused on developing China-specific products, and leveraging the region as a hub for the style and manufacture of products that can be sold elsewhere in the world.