SHANGHAI — Ford Motor Co.’s two China joint ventures reported year-over-year sales growth in April, indicating the world’s biggest auto market has started a recovery from coronavirus-induced lows.
Ford’s main joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. sold 20,465 vehicles in April, up 38 percent from the same period a year earlier, Changan said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.
Jiangling Motors Corp., in which Ford owns a stake, said in a filing on Thursday that it sold 28,028 vehicles in April, up 7.8 percent. JMC sells Ford-branded SUVs, crossovers and vans as well as JMC-branded commercial vehicles.
Ford’s China sales fell 35 percent to 88,770 in January-March. During that time, the government imposed restrictions on movement to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has led to over 4,000 deaths in the world’s second-biggest economy.
China’s overall first-quarter light-vehicle sales fell 42 percent.
The two Chinese ventures of Ford rival General Motors Co. also reported double-digit growth in April, when many of the government’s lockdown and travel restrictions were relaxed.