American auto manufacturer Ford recently announced that the company is separating its China unit from the biggest Asia Pacific operations. This move will eventually turn Ford China into its own separate unit with its own area of operations. Additionally, Ford China will report directly to its mother company's global headquarters as opposed to the current hierarchy of reporting its Asia Pacific regional operator.
As part of this latest move, Ford announced that it is naming Anning Chen as the new president and the Chief Executive Officer of its newly established China operations. Mr. Chen is a highly regarded industry veteran with an extensive background in the auto industry. Mr. Chen, who previously heads Chery Jaguar Land Rover, will assume the newly minted China position on Nov. 1. As expected, he will be reporting directly to Ford President for Global Markets Jim Farley.
Among the first, and most crucial, a job for Mr. Chen is spearheading Ford China's turnaround plans in order to boost sales in the country, as well as drive increase sustainable value creation. It is important to note that China is slowly opening up its trade borders into the international market. A strategic move for the country that has left major international brand scrambling to take a piece of its massively untapped domestic market.
In a statement released following the announcement, Ford President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett said that Ford's success in China will play a critical part in the brand's overall global success as well as its long-term success. He added that the establishment of Ford China simply shows how committed the company is towards doing business in the Asian superpower's ground.
The establishment of Ford China comes at a time when the company's sales in the country continue to struggle, this is in spite of the fact that China has been busy overhauling its market regulations in order to attract international attention. Moreover, China is also the world's largest car market, a fact that many auto manufacturers are trying to leverage in order to establish a grassroots dominance in the region.
In September, Ford reported that its China sales dropped by as much as 43 percent compared to the same month last year. The ongoing trade war between China and the United States have also brought mostly negative repercussions to Ford's operations, this is despite the fact that Ford is selling its cars in China through local partnership deals.
