Ford's China sales up 7% from January to April

CHICAGO - US automaker Ford said Thursday that it sold a total of 391,294 vehicles in China in the first four months of this year, up 7 percent from last year's record-setting sales.

According to information posted on its website Thursday, Changan Ford Automobile (CAF), Ford's passenger car joint venture in China, sold 303,213 units in the first four months, up 14 percent year on year.

However, sales of Jiangling Motors Corporation, Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, dropped 10 percent to 82,471 units from the same period of a year earlier.

Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) continue to a popular choice among Chinese consumers, with sales of Ford Ecosport, Kuga, Edge, Explorer and Everest surpassing the 100,000 mark and up 27 percent from the same period last year. Ford introduced its new Ford Kuga and Ford Edge V6 Flagship to China at the recent Auto China 2016.

Ford Escort continued to be a top-seller, with total sales up 69 percent to reach 84,835 units in the first four months.

General Motors (GM) Thursday also posted a record sales of 1.24 million units in China from January to April, up 1.7 percent year on year.

GM's SUV sales in China increased 107 percent year on year in April.