Ford sold 1.1m vehicles in China in 2015

Ford Motor Co reported record sales of slightly more than 1.1 million vehicles in China last year.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said Friday that its 2015 sales in the country of 1,115,124 vehicles were up 3 percent from the previous year.

Ford also set a new monthly sales record in December, selling 124,768 vehicles. That's up 27 percent from the prior-year period.

"2015 was another strong year for Ford in China with growth in sales and our product portfolio," said John Lawler, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor China. "Our record performance sets the stage for 2016, as we continue to expand our portfolio of high-quality, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles that our customers want and need."

Ford's passenger-car joint venture, Changan Ford Automobile, broke its annual and December sales records. For 2015, the joint venture sold 836,425 vehicles, a 7 percent rise from 2014. Changan sold 96,960 vehicles in December, 49 percent more than in the year-ago period.

Demand for its new Mondeo gave a boost to Changan's annual and December sales performances, the company said.

Jiangling Motors Corp, Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, sold 253,359 vehicles in 2015, down 6 percent compared with 2014. December sales totaled 26,391 vehicles, down 12 percent compared with December 2014, reflecting continued weakness in the overall commercial vehicle industry.

Honda Motor Co of Japan recorded a 32.5 percent sales increase for the year, the automaker said.

The diverging paths largely come down to Honda's fresher line up of in-demand SUVs, having launched two in late 2014, helping it post big sales gains despite China's slowest economic growth in 25 years.

Ford's EcoSport and Kuga SUVs were launched in China in early 2013.