Ford prepares for blitz at Beijing Auto Show
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2004-06-01 11:30

American automobile giant Ford Motor Co. is planning a blitz for the biennial Beijing Auto Show, scheduled for June 9-16, as it currently lags behind its rivals Volkswagen and General Motors in the fast growing Chinese market.

Ford will have a pavilion with an area of 5,000 square meters at the auto show, one of the biggest auto events in China, a company executive said Monday.

Ford considers Beijing Auto Show as important an event as the auto shows in Detroit, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Geneva, said Xu Guozhen, vice president of Ford Motor (China) Ltd.

More than US$10 million will be spent in preparing for the auto show, at which the company is to display the latest models of Ford, Lincoln, Mazda, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin, Xu said.

Ford now has two joint venture car factories and six joint venture part factories in China.

The company produced three car models in China. The latest one Mondeo rolled off the assembly line in China in February this year.

This year's Beijing Auto Show will occupy an area of 120,000 square meters, 50 percent more than the last one, and about 1,600 manufacturers are expected to attend.