It seems the largest auto market in the world is starting to recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic after Ford Motor Company’s (NYSE:F) two joint ventures reported growth in YoY sales in April.
Ford Sales growth in China through a joint venture
Chongqing Changan Automobile Ltd, which is the company’s main joint venture, indicated that it sold 20,465 cars last month, which is a 38.3% growth from 2019. On the other hand, Jiangling Motors Corp in which Ford owns a stake indicated in a security exchange filing that it sold 28,028 units representing a 7.8% YoY growth. Jianglin Motors sells JMC-branded commercial automobiles as well as Ford-branded vans and sport-utility cars.
Ford had reported that its sales in China had dropped by 34.9% in Q1 to 88,770 vehicles. This was due to the coronavirus imposed lockdowns that resulted in the drop in vehicle sales in China by 42% in the first quarter. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in more than 4,000 deaths in China.
General Motors also reports an increase in Sales
Besides Ford, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has also reported growth in vehicle sales in China. The company saw double-digit YoY growth in sales in April through its two joint ventures in China.
General Motors has a joint with Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick manufacturer SAIC Motor Corp. SAIC Motor indicated that its sales in China for April grew by 13.6%, and it sold around 111,155 cars that included exported cars. SAIC, which is the largest Chines automaker, sold over 6 million cars in 2019 indicated that its sales increased 0.5% compared to last year. SAIC also operates a joint venture with German automaker Volkswagen.
Another joint venture SGMW, which is a venture between GM, Guanxi Automobile Group, and SAIC, indicated that sales grew 13.5% compared to last year, and they sold more than 127,000 units. The SGMW venture manufacturers no-frill minivans, and recently it began manufacturing high-end cars.
General Motors is the second largest foreign car manufacturer in China after Volkswagen. Its sales dropped 43.3% in Q1 compared to last year.
