CHINA - Ford Motor Company sees a healthy 9% growth on the launch of a number new and revised models.

Ford Motor Co. said China sales in November rose 9 percent year on year to 106,283 light vehicles as demand remained strong for its crossovers. 

Ford's car joint venture, Changan Ford Automobile Co., performed well last month, with sales increasing 22 percent to 84,546 vehicles. Ford said the venture recorded strong sales of the Mondeo, Kuga and Edge.

But Ford's commercial truck partnership, Jiangling Motors Corp., continued to struggle, as sales were off 20 percent last month to 20,608.

Ford also imported a small number of vehicles, but did not detail sales.

For the first 11 months, Ford sold 990,356 vehicles in China, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier.

To boost sales, Ford is expanding its lineup. The company will introduce two "green" models: the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and a conventional hybrid version of the Mondeo sedan.

Ford also is positioning the Taurus sedan as its flagship model in China. With prices ranging from 248,800 to 348,800 yuan ($38,800 to $54,400), the Taurus is priced in the same range as luxury models such as the BMW 3 series, Audi A4L and Mercedes-Benz C class.

To position the Taurus as a high-end sedan worthy of its sticker price, Ford hired actor Chen Daoming to endorse it. Chen has played emperors in Chinese period dramas, including a popular 2001 epic on the reign of the 17th century Qing dynasty monarch Kangxi.