Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co said that their quarterly sales in China declined, although at a sequentially slower rate, as the U.S. automaker impacted by a slowing Chinese economy in the midst when China is battling with the United States over trade disputes.
For the quarter ended June 30, Ford’s vehicle sales in China dropped 21.7%, while GM’s sales slumped by12.2% in the same period. Ford impacted because of providing customers with limited number of new models, while GM also suffered in its key mid-priced SUV segment due to heightened competition.
For the first quarter of this year, GM’s sales in China tumbled 17.5% while Ford’s skid 35.8%.
The numbers from Ford and GM, which is the second biggest international automaker in China by sales, still threaten more uncertainty for other players in an industry, which is trying to recover from a downtrend which caused it to see an annual sales decline for the first time in more than two decades.
In the January-June period this year, Ford delivered 290,321 vehicles in China while GM succeeded to sale 1.57 million vehicles.
Activities in the Chinese factories reduced more than expected in June, weighing the need for more economic incentives to them amid weaker domestic demand and higher U.S. tariffs.
In China, GM is collaborating with SAIC Motor Corp as joint venture for making Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick, while in another joint venture, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, GM collaborates with them to make no-frills minivans and has also started making higher-end cars.
Sales of GM’s luxury brand Cadillac jumped 36.6% for the latest quarter but that of its Baojun, an affordable brand, dropped by 31.8 percent.
In last year, GM remained successful to sell 3.64 units in China but that was down from 4.04 million units the company sold in 2017.
