Ford vows to fix underperformance in China

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Ford Motor Company vowed to "take urgent action to address underperformance" in China after reporting a sharp decline in second-quarter net profits.

The automaker recorded net income of 1.1 billion US dollars, 0.9 billion less than the same period in 2017, according to its latest earnings report released on Wednesday.

Fire at one of Ford's supply plants in the US and underperformance in China were believed to be two main factors which led to the almost 50 percent decrease in profits.

Ford said that in Asia Pacific, the company is now focused on China and taking urgent action to address the market.

"This includes improving cost competitiveness with aggressive fitness actions, localizing more products in China, as well as recruiting more local talent to key management positions," said the automaker.

It added that new products will also soon be entering the Chinese market, with 60 percent of the line-up being refreshed or new by the end of 2019.

Ford did not reveal specific figures related to its China sales but put the whole Asia Pacific region's revenue for the second quarter was down 1.1 billion dollars year on year at 2.3 billion dollars,

Ford has accordingly lowered its outlook for the whole of 2018.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency