According to Ford, 70 percent of the company’s growth in the next decade will come from the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. The Blue Oval had only planned to have 310 dealerships in China at the end of 2010, but having sold nearly half a million cars this year and expecting the boom to continue, the number has jumped to 340 dealers. This is part of Ford’s larger plan to add 100 new dealerships in China, mostly in smaller cities and inland provinces where new car demand is high.
Ford is planning a new plant with its Chinese joint venture partner, Changan, and will introduce four more models into the Chinese market next year, including the 2011 Edge.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific market, Ford has already spent $500 million on increasing production capacity in India, where it now sells the Figo subcompact.