American carmaker Ford Motors recently unveiled a new sports utility vehicle on Tuesday. The automaker said that the new SUV is specifically tailored for the Chinese market and that it will help boost car sales and brand familiarity in the country. Finally, Ford said that the company is still planning to release new models in order to boost sales in what many considers as the world's biggest auto market.
Ford is experiencing quite a dwindling sales record in China. In order to attract attention to its brand, Ford is releasing the entry-level SUV called Territory. Based on the company's press release, the Ford Territory will hit showrooms early next year. The Ford Territory was jointly developed by Ford and local Chinese auto manufacturer Jiangling Motors Corporation.
The Ford Territory is based on an existing model made by Jiangling Motors. The SUV is rightly designed to appeal to consumers that are based in China's lower-tiered cities, one of the primary market drivers for auto products in the country. The Ford Territory is expected to compete with models from domestic car manufacturers like Great Wall Motor and Geely.
The Ford Territory SUV is just one of the 50 new or completely redesigned vehicles that Ford plans to roll out in China starting this year until 2025. One of the most talked about of these pool of vehicles is the redesigned Ford Focus which the company plans to roll out in the latter part of this year.
Some market experts are not quite convinced about Ford's latest strategy. Some analysts believe that Ford may have misinterpreted market data, especially for car demands from smaller cities all across China. While China's auto market continues to grow, it is important to note that the country's car sales experienced quite a slump in September when the trade war against the United States started to take to toll on the local economy.
Because of this economic slowdown, Ford's overall sales performance went down by as much as 43 percent in September alone when compared to its performance the year before. The American auto manufacturer accounted this slowdown on the company's somewhat outdated lineup of car models, which is why the company is ramping up its redesign process in order to stay relevant in the market.
Aside from its fleet of redesigned cars, Ford is also relying on its huge local partners in order to boost sales. Ford claims that it has struck a deal with 650 local dealers which the company believes will help the company's success in China.
