Ford China sales jump 11 percent in April

Ford Motor Co. announced on its website on Friday that Ford and its joint ventures in China saw an 11 percent increase in auto sales in April compared to the same month a year ago.

Overall, their China sales in the first four months totaled 349,228 units, down 12 percent from the same period last year.

Analysts said international carmakers saw the same decline in China, largely because government reduced the purchase tax incentive which encourages much purchase last year.

Latest Data shows Ford sold 93,967 vehicles there last month. This comes as Ford reports a quarter of consecutive U.S. sales slips, and U.S. April sales industry-wide fell 4.7 percent following a record-setting year.

The Detroit-based automaker attributed the April numbers to strong Lincoln sedan sales. The company sold 4,533 Lincolns in April, a 95 percent increase over the same month a year ago.

Peter Fleet, vice-president of Ford Asia Pacific, said the Chinese market is showing signs of rebounding and expects Ford's growth momentum will continue.

Meanwhile, crosstown rival General Motors Co. and its Chinese joint ventures reported Chinese sales of 272,770 vehicles in April, down 1.9 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

Ford said it expects China industry sales to hit 28.2 million vehicles in 2017. Through the Lincoln brand, Ford will launch an all-new, exclusive SUV in China in 2019. Endit