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Ford China Opened 88 Dealerships In One Day

Before asking someone to pinch you to make sure you aren't dreaming, let us repeat that: yes, the Blue Oval did inaugurate a whopping 88 dealers over the span of 24 hours. This record-breaking feat happened in China last Thursday, June 19th, bringing the total number of Chinese Ford outlets to an impressive 750 stores.
All-New Ford Escort 1 photo
Photo: Ford China
It's raining dealerships, alright, but we understand why Ford made this far-out move in the world's #1 automobile market. The American manufacturer is a latecomer to the booming car market from the People's Republic of China, with circa 75 percent of operations handled by a local joint venture known as Changan Ford Automobile Co.

In terms of strategy, Ford intends to be one of the top import car brands with assembly operations in the Asian country as soon as possible. To do so, both the American carmaker and Changan are emphasizing their aggressive expansion in Chinese cities categorized as 'Tier 4', without overlooking the more urbanized and wealthier parts of the country.

Another macroeconomical aspect you have to take into consideration is that Ford sales in China hiked a mind boggling 39 percent in the first five months of 2014, translating to 461,473 vehicles moved in total. Marin Burela, CEO and president of the Changan Ford joint venture, declared to the media last Thursday that "we expect to exceed 800 dealer points in China by the end of 2014."

Even the current Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally flew over to China in order to see with his own eyes the June 19th new dealerships blitzkrieg, even though Mr. Mulally is set to retire from Ford on the 1st of July after serving the Detroit manufacturer for over 45 years. Ford's current chief operations officer, Mark Fields, has been announced as his replacement and elected member of the directors board.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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