F Ford Motor Company

By Trefor Moss 

SHANGHAI-- Ford Motor Co. hired auto industry veteran Chen Anning to lead its China business as part of an effort to spark a much-needed turnaround in the world's largest auto market.

Ford is also making China, previously part of its Asia-Pacific division, a stand-alone business unit, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Together, the moves would "accelerate Ford's return to profitable growth in China," the company said.

"Success in China is critical as we reposition our global business for long-term success," Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett said. "With today's actions, we are strengthening our commitment to the China market and reorganizing our international markets to strengthen their performance."

Mr. Chen replaces Jason Luo, who quit in January after less than six months in the job, citing personal reasons.

Ford has been struggling in China, where customers have been turning away from its aging product lineup. Ford's sales in the country fell 6% last year compared with 2016 and dropped 30% in the first nine months of 2018 from a year earlier.

And the worst may not be over--sales slumped 43% in September from a year earlier, part of a broader slowdown in China's auto market. Chinese passenger-car sales fell 8% in the third quarter, according to the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Ford launched an ambitious turnaround plan in China in December, pledging to launch 50 new models by 2025. But the project almost immediately hit complications following Mr. Luo's resignation.

Mr. Chen worked for Ford for 17 years before leaving eight years ago to become chairman of Jaguar Land Rover Automotive in China. He was later CEO of Chery Automobile Ltd. He resigned from Chery last month citing personal reasons, Chery said in a statement. Like Ford, state-run Chery has been struggling as the Chinese auto market gets more competitive; its sales fell by about a fifth between 2012 and 2017.

Mr. Chen's main task is to implement Ford's local reboot, an effort which company executives have said should start to produce results in 2019 as new products tailored to the China market come into showrooms. His immediate challenge is to arrest a decline which has seen Ford fall from sixth place four years ago to 18th in the first quarter of 2018 in terms of passenger-car sales, according to research firm LMC Automotive.

Ford launched one of the new models designed to win back Chinese buyers earlier this month. The Territory midsize sport-utility vehicle targets buyers in smaller Chinese cities where Ford has, until now, had a limited presence.

Ford is also in the process of establishing a new local joint venture with local manufacturer Zotye Auto to build electric cars--another bid to reach untapped corners of the market--and is preparing to begin local production of premium Lincoln vehicles next year.

Write to Trefor Moss at Trefor.Moss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2018 22:10 ET (02:10 GMT)

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