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Ford's China Sales Set Record in November on Solid Demand

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Ford Motor Co.’s (F - Free Report) shares gained 4% to close at $13.06 on Dec 7, after the company and its joint ventures reported that China sales improved 17% year over year to a November record of 124,113 units. Sales increased 10.7% to 1.1 million units in the first 11 months of 2016. The sales volume was driven by strong demand for the expanded SUV lineup.

Ford’s passenger-car joint venture, Changan Ford Automobile (“CAF”) recorded a 14% year-over-year increase in vehicle sales to 96,000 units in Nov 2016. Also, CAF sales rose 14% year over year to 842,000 units in the first 11 months of 2016.

Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, Jiangling Motors Corporation (“JMC”), sold 26,000 vehicles in Nov 2016. Notably, sales improved 29% from the figure recorded in Nov 2015. JMC sales increased 5% year over year to 232,000 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2016.

In Oct 2015, Ford announced its plan to invest nearly 11.4 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) for research and development in China over the next five years. The automaker has been trying to enhance its sales in the Chinese market by modifying its vehicles to meet consumer preferences. As a result, it has gained significant market share over the last few years. Ford plans to expand its portfolio of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles in the nation over the next few years.

So far this year, Ford has underperformed the Zacks categorized Auto Manufacturers-Domestic industry due to weak operating results in most regions and poor forecast for the full year.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Ford carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked auto stocks include Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (ALSN - Free Report) , America's Car-Mart Inc. (CRMT - Free Report) and Rush Enterprises, Inc. (RUSHA - Free Report) .

Allison Transmission, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has a long-term growth rate projection of 11%.

America's Car-Mart has a long-term expected growth rate of 45.5%. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Rush Enterprises, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has a long-term expected growth rate of 15%.

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