Two ventures of U.S. automaker Ford Motor in China have reported year-on-year sales increase for April, showing that the world’s biggest auto market has started to recover from coronavirus crisis.
Ford’s major joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile sold 20,465 vehicles in April, increasing 38.3% from the same period a year earlier, Changan stated in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.
Jiangling Motors, in which Ford has a stake, said in a filing on Thursday that it sold 28,028 vehicles in April, increasing 7.8%. JMC sells Ford-branded sport-utility vehicles and vans along with JMC-branded commercial vehicles.
Ford’s China sales dropped 34.9% to 88,770 vehicles in January-March. During that period, the government imposed restrictions on movement to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which resulted in over 4,633 deaths in China. Although these figures are heavily disputed and experts say the Chinese government has deliberately under-reported the coronavirus related figures.
China’s overall first-quarter vehicle sales dropped 42%.
The two Chinese ventures of General Motors has also reported double-digit increase in sales in April, after many of the government’s movement restrictions were relaxed.
