Ford Q2 sales dip 3.6% on chip crunch

The severe chip shortage that has disrupted light-vehicle output worldwide put a dent in second-quarter China sales at Ford Motor Co. and its two joint ventures, with volume dropping 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 152,885 vehicles.

Lincoln deliveries surged 65 percent to 22,934 during the latest three-month period but sales of Ford-badged passenger vehicles slumped 19 percent. Deliveries of commercial vehicles marketed under the Ford and JMC brands contracted 3.2 percent, Ford’s China unit said, without disclosing specific volumes.

In addition to the two joint ventures, Ford imports vehicles under the Ford and Lincoln brands.

Changan Ford, the Dearborn, Mich., company’s partnership with Changan Automobile Co., produces and markets four sedans – the Focus, Escort, Mondeo and Taurus -- and three crossovers -- the Kuga, Escape and Explorer.

Jiangling Motors Corp., a three-way joint venture between Ford, Changan and Jiangling Motors Group, builds and distributes the Ford-badged Territory and Equator crossovers, the Everest SUV, the Tourneo multipurpose vehicle and the Transit van, as well as JMC-brand pickups, vans and light trucks.

In the first six months, sales at Ford and its two partnerships jumped 24 percent to 306,707, reflecting a 73 percent rebound in first-quarter volume.  

Lincoln’s first-half deliveries soared 111 percent to 42,259, with 86 percent of the volume generated by three locally produced models – the Corsair, Nautilus and Aviator crossovers.

First-half sales of Ford-badged passenger vehicles also rose 6 percent to 116,015, with crossovers, SUVs and two sedans -- the Mondeo and Taurus -- accounting for nearly 70 percent of deliveries.

In the first half, deliveries of the Ford Transit advanced 27 percent to some 27,400, while sales of JMC-brand vehicles also rose 27 percent to roughly 120,000, according to Ford China.

Ford sells two locally built electrified models in China – the battery version of the Ford Territory and a plug-in variant of the Ford Escape.

Two more locally assembled electrified products -- the Ford Mach-E electric crossover and the plug-in version of the Lincoln Corsair – go on sale later this year.