Ford Expands Into China Heavy Truck Market With Acquisition
Ford Motor Co. (F)’s Chinese commercial vehicle unit agreed to buy a heavy-truck maker for as much as 270 million yuan ($42 million), as the U.S. automaker expands beyond passenger cars in the world’s largest auto market.
Jiangling Motors Corp. (200550), in which Ford owns a 30 percent stake, will pay cash to acquire Shanxi province-based Taiyuan Changan Heavy Truck Co. from China Changan Automobile and China South Industries Group Corp., Ford said today in an e-mailed statement. The exact price is still subject to final deal terms, Claire Li, a Shanghai-based spokeswoman for Ford, said in a separate e-mail.
“JMC’s acquisition represents a great opportunity to continue to expand the breadth of our business in China across vehicle segments,” David Schoch, chairman and chief executive officer of Ford China, said in the statement. “A strong heavy truck operation like Taiyuan will complement Ford’s existing passenger car and light commercial vehicle operations here in the world’s largest and fastest-growing vehicle market.”
Ford, seeking to accelerate its growth in China, plans to introduce 15 new vehicle models in the country by 2015. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker and its partners are building five new plants, including a $300 million factory that will produce both Ford and JMC-branded vehicles.
Taiyuan Changan won’t make Ford-branded vehicles, Trevor Hale, a Shanghai-based spokesman for Ford, said by telephone.
The state-backed China Association for Automobile Manufacturers said on July 26 commercial-vehicle sales may decline 3 percent this year to 3.91 million units, cutting its estimate from the previous prediction made in January for a 2 percent increase.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Liza Lin in Shanghai at llin15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Motor Co.’s Asia Pacific and Africa region, talks about the company's business strategy for China. Ford, playing catch up in China with General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG, announced plans last week to build a $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou that will double its Chinese output to 1.2 million vehicles annually. Hinrichs spoke at the Beijing Auto Show on April 23 with Bloomberg Television's Stephen Engle. (Source: Bloomberg)
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