Automaker Ford Motor Co. (F) on Monday reported a 27% increase in sales in the Asia Pacific and Africa region for the month of September, bolstered by continued strong growth in China and India as well as launch of the new Ford Fiesta subcompact in Southeast Asia.
The Dearborn, Michigan-based company's sales in the region for September was 78,700 units, while sales for the first three quarters of the year surged 40% to 651,856 units.
Ford's Asia Pacific and Africa region encompasses markets on three continents, including Australia, China, India, Thailand and South Africa. Sales in China and India together recorded a 50% increase to 482,129 vehicles so far in the year.
In China, the world's largest auto market, Ford and its joint ventures reported sales of 50,970 units in September, up 26% from the year-ago period. During the first three quarters of the year, Ford and its partners sold 419,073 vehicles in China, up 40% compared to the January-September period in 2009.
In India, Ford doubled its sales for the month and tripled its sales for the year. The company's sales in India for September rose 146% to 8,380 units. During the first three quarters of the year, the automaker sold 63,056 vehicles in India, up 188% from January-September 2009. The sales increase was led by Ford Figo, which just reached a production milestone of 50,000 units.
Ford's sales in Thailand more than tripled in September from the same month a year ago to 2,049 units, buoyed by strong demand for the all-new Ford Fiesta. The September sales total marked Ford Thailand's best monthly performance since December 2007.
Looking ahead, Ford expects 70% of its growth in the next ten years to come from its Asia Pacific and Africa region. Industry sales in the region are expected to increase to an estimated 35 million units by 2018 from 16 million units in 2009. The company has invested $4 billion in the region since 2006 and currently employs more than 25,000 people there.
Ford said it is building two new vehicle plants in China. The first plant in Chongqing is being built with the company's joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automotive or CFMA. The second $300 million assembly plant, being built in Nanchang with Jiangling Motors Corp or JMC, will have the capacity to produce up to 300,000 vehicles per year. The plant will produce both Ford- and JMC-branded vehicles. JMC, 30% owned by Ford, is the company's strategic partner in producing commercial vehicles in China.
Ford has invested $500 million this year in India to double production capacity, launch the Ford Figo, expand exports, and increase engine production capacity to 250,000 units.
In Thailand, Ford is constructing a new $450 million assembly plant slated for completion in 2012. In September, Ford and Japanese automaker Mazda Motor Corp. announced an investment of $350 million in their Auto Alliance Thailand or AAT joint venture to support the production of next generation pickup trucks.
Ford said that its all new Ford Ranger will make its global debut later this week at the Australian International Motor Show.
Earlier this month, Ford said it sold 160,870 units in the month of September, up 46.3% from 109,939 units in the same month last year.
In Monday's regular trading session, F is trading at $13.75, up $0.09 or 0.62% on a volume of 9.87 million shares. The stock has been trading in a range of $6.81-$14.57 in the past 52 weeks.
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