More Success for Ford Motor Company (F) in China

Ford wades into China’s SUV wars
While the growth of China’s overall auto market has been more or less flat for the last couple of years, more and more Chinese consumers have been opting for SUVs. It’s definitely a growth market, one that Ford – with a lineup of several strong SUV models sold elsewhere – should be able to expand into with success.

Ford already sells its Edge SUV in China, though as an imported model it’s subject to heavy taxes and isn’t a strong seller. But the locally made Kuga should be a different story. The Kuga was launched last month, to positive reviews from local Chinese media. Reviewers compared it favorably to the Volkswagen Tiguan and Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) CR-V, both of which are strong sellers in China.

In coming months, Ford will add two more SUVs to the Chinese market mix. The EcoSport, a small SUV based on the Fiesta and originally designed for emerging markets, and the familiar-to-Americans Explorer (one of Ford’s best products), are both set for launch in China in coming months.

The upshot: It still looks good for Ford in China
The ongoing success of the Focus continues to bode well for Ford’s expansion plans in China. Those plans, which call for significant investments in the next couple of years to drive significant growth in the second half of the decade, are a key part of why I think Ford is still a buy right now.

The article More Success for Ford in China originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Rosevear.

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