Global Watch: Ford expands dealership to China

Like other major automakers, Ford is looking to emerging markets for growth lost in the U.S. and other traditional strongholds. It expects 70 percent of growth in its sales to come from the Asian-Pacific and African regions over the next decade. The automaker inaugurated 40 new dealerships Thursday. Out of 66, it will open before […]

Like other major automakers, Ford is looking to emerging markets for growth lost in the U.S. and other traditional strongholds. It expects 70 percent of growth in its sales to come from the Asian-Pacific and African regions over the next decade.

The automaker inaugurated 40 new dealerships Thursday. Out of 66, it will open before the end of the year. In 2010 it plans to have opened a total of 100 dealerships.

China’s car market is the world’s biggest and sales are growing fastest in the provincial cities as the benefits of the country’s economic boom spread from its east coast to the interior where millions of new and potential car buyers live.

The company expects record sales for the Asian-Pacific and African regions this year, having sold 731,724 vehicles in those areas from January-October, up 39 percent from a year earlier.