Ford's China Partner Warns 2018 Profit to Plunge 93% on Slowdown
Ford's China Partner Warns 2018 Profit to Plunge 93% on Slowdown
(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co.’s main partner in China is feeling the pain caused by the slowdown in the world’s biggest car market.
Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. said in a filing late Tuesday its profit for 2018 may have tumbled as much as 93 percent. Sales at its joint venture with the American maker slumped 54 percent to 377,739 units last year, a level not seen since 2012.
Carmakers in the world’s second-biggest economy are reeling from a decline in deliveries after the trade war with the U.S. and an equity rout last year dented consumer demand. Passenger car sales slid 6 percent in 2018, the first annual drop in more than two decades. Volkswagen AG, the No. 1 foreign manufacturer on the mainland, has predicted that the industry is set for a poor first half this year in the country.
Ford earlier this month reported a net loss in the fourth quarter, citing China as a particular trouble spot. It lost $381 million in the quarter and $1.1 billion for the year in its Asia-Pacific business. The models the carmaker makes in China include the Mondeo, Kuga and Focus.
China’s government on Tuesday announced some measures to spur car demand, but the move fell short of expectations and details, sending shares of carmakers down.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Tian Ying in Beijing at ytian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Sam Nagarajan, Lena Lee
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