Ford’s woes in China continue

Rupert Reid Sino.uk Published: 2018-07-17 16:06:02
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US auto manufacturer Ford has reported poor sales in the China, the world’s most important car market.

The firm saw registrations fall by nearly a quarter between the first part of 2017 and this year.

The most recent data saw monthly sales slide even further.

[File Photo: AP]

[File Photo: AP]

Ford has tried a series of tactics to try to boost their poor performance in the Chinese marketplace.

Most recently, the company revealed that it was planning to absorb the cost of increased tariffs in China, brought in as a result of US President Donald Trump’s ‘trade war.’

The move means that Ford cars won’t cost any more money for Chinese consumers – however, it will also mean that the manufacturer will have to lower profit margins or even make a loss in the key market.

Before that, it had trialed a ‘vending machine’ for cars in China, a concept which has yet to catch-on in a large scale way.

Previously, we revealed that the company had resorted to employing ‘smell assessors’ in the Country to help combat falling sales.

The extreme measure came after three successive quarters of decline for Ford in China.

Apparently, in Western countries, many people find the smell of a new car to be very appealing.

However, the appeal of a new car smell isn’t universal, and Ford is worried that its models smell too much for Chinese consumers.

As a result, they’ve employed 18 ‘golden noses’ in China to try and sniff-out what’s causing the odour, and how to make it more appealing.

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