Ford Takes Asia by Storm

Manufacturers are beginning to realize the potential of the Asian market, specifically China. Ford is already a major player over there, with numerous vehicles that are leading in their segments.

They decided to consolidate their position by opening 88 dealerships on the same day. On June 19, those openings brought the total number of Ford dealers in China to 750, and the manufacturer hopes to bring this number up to 800 by the end of the year.

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Three-quarter of those dealers are located in so-called Tier 4 cities: smaller towns (still home to millions of people!) that are supposed to see an important growth in the coming years, and where Ford really hopes to sell large numbers of cars.

Dearborn's giant also announced earlier a partnership with Changan, a Chinese automaker. This union will allow the creation of the Jiayue sub-brand. For now, only one vehicle has been confirmed: a rebadged version of the second-gen Ford Focus that will be powered by a 1.8 liter inline-four pumping out a modest 120 hp.