END OF YEAR CHINA - Ford and its JV companies enjoyed a 14% growth to top 1.27 million sales in 2016.

• Ford Motor Company sold a record 1.27 million vehicles in 2016 in China, up 14 percent
• Changan Ford JV sold 957,495 vehicles in 2016; December sales total 115,654 vehicles
• Jiangling Motor Corp. sold 265,056 vehicles in 2016; December sales total 32,193 vehicles
• Lincoln sold 32,558 vehicles in 2016, nearly three-fold increase over 2015

Ford Motor Company sales surged 23 percent in China in December, capping a record year for the automaker in the world’s largest new vehicle market.

For all of 2016, Ford Motor Company sales totaled a best-ever 1.27 million vehicles, 14 percent higher than 2015. That total includes sales by joint ventures Changan Ford Automobile and Jiangling Motors Corporation, sales of Ford models imported to China and Lincoln, which has become the fastest growing luxury brand in China.

In December alone, Ford and its joint ventures sold nearly 150,000 vehicles in China, up 21 percent over 2015. The growth was driven by strong demand for Ford’s expanded lineup of SUVs such as the Ford Edge and Explorer, the Ford Taurus large car, and performance vehicles such as the Ford Mustang.

“We have built some great sales momentum in China, particularly in the second half of 2016, on the strength of our expanded vehicle lineup,” said Peter Fleet, vice president of Marketing, Sales and Service, Asia Pacific. “Record numbers of customers are choosing our 3-row Edge crossover, elegant Taurus sedan, Explorer premium SUV and Lincoln luxury vehicles.”

Changan Ford Automobile, Ford's passenger car joint venture, broke both annual and December sales records. CAF sold more than 957,000 vehicles in 2016, up 14 percent compared to 2015. December sales totaled more than 115,000 vehicles, a 19 percent increase compared to December 2015.

Ford’s five-vehicle SUV lineup has been a key driver of sales growth in China. Demand for the Ford Edge and Ford Explorer, for example, rose 123 percent and 36 percent respectively in 2016. The Ford Taurus also had its best sales month ever in December and annual sales surpassed 32,000.

Ford performance vehicles continue to attract Chinese customers, with annual sales of the Ford Mustang up 45 percent and Focus RS and Focus ST sales up 12 percent for the year. The new Ford Focus and Escort have also remained popular, with sales up 8 percent and 53 percent for the small sedans.

Jiangling Motor Corp., Ford’s other joint venture in China, sold 265,056 vehicles in 2016, a 7 percent increase compared to 2015. December sales totaled 32,193 vehicles, up 28 percent compared to December 2015.

Lincoln has also had a strong year in 2016, with sales totaling 32,558 vehicles, a nearly three-fold increase compared to 2015. Lincoln’s strong performance was supported by Chinese customers’ positive reception of Lincoln SUVs and the growing number of dealerships, which reached 65 in 2016. In terms of sales, five of Lincoln’s top 10 dealerships and 11 of the top 20 were based in China in 2016.

Ford Motor Company China Retail Sales Performance

		December 2016		January – December 2016		December 2015		January – December 2015
CAF		115,654		957,495		96,960		836,425
Imported Ford Vehicles		2,009		17,599		1,417		25,340
JMC		32,193		265,056		25,181		246,615
Total Ford Brand China		149,856		1,240,150		123,558		1,108,380
Lincoln				32,558				11,630
Total Ford and Lincoln Brand China				1,272,708				1,120,010

Editor’s note: Ford reports retail figures in China. JMC figures exclude export sales. Lincoln sales in China are reported on a quarterly basis.

Foreign Lorry Drivers causing accidents on UK roads shows a significant increase since 2012.

• Foreign lorry accident analysis shows increase on 2012 figures
• Polish, German and Spanish HGVs most likely to be in an accident
• One in three collisions involving foreign lorries are on the motorway

Collisions on motorways involving foreign lorries have increased by 14%* since 2012, Accident Exchange statistics have revealed.Lorries from Poland and Germany were found to be the most accident-prone by some margin. 

Polish lorries represented 15.7% of accidents, while German vehicles followed with 13.1% of lorry collisions. HGVs from Spain were involved in 8.45% of incidents. 

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the M25** saw more foreign lorry accidents than any other road in the UK, followed by the M6 and the M1. City and town centre locations represented over a third of accidents.

The Accident Exchange figures indicate that nearly 1,100*** crashes involving foreign lorries took place on the UK’s motorway network in 2014; an increase of 14.3% since 2012. Across all road types, estimates put the number of foreign lorry incidents at 3,100 – or nearly nine per day.  

Usually considered the safest roads to travel on by car, a third**** of all foreign lorry accidents occur on motorways. Typically, just 4.3% of accidents take place on motorways.  

Liz Fisher, Director of Sales Development at Accident Exchange, said: “This worrying statistic shows that a collision with a foreign lorry is an increasingly real possibility.

“A heavy goods vehicle in unfamiliar territory can be a danger. Common types of accidents that might involve trucks are cars getting caught in the blind spot of a lorry that is changing lanes or cars being rear-ended by a much bigger, heavier vehicle. Both are equally as dangerous and we urge all motorists to drive with safety and vigilance in mind at all times.

“While safety is the paramount concern, getting involved in an accident with a vehicle from abroad can also lead to frustrating and difficult administrative complications.”

Foreign lorry motorway accidents top-10 countries

Country	Percentage (%) of total
Poland	15.73
Germany	13.15
Spain	8.45
France	6.10
Netherlands	6.10
Italy	5.40
Czech Republic	5.16
Hungary	4.69
Lithuania	4.46
Romania	4.46

Top-10 motorways for foreign lorry accidents

Road	Percentage (%)
M25	36.93
M6	15.12
M1	14.25
M40	5.83
M20	4.97
M4	3.02
M62	3.02
M11	2.16
M42	1.94
M5	1.73

Accident Exchange handled 110,000 collisions between 2012 and 2014 and found that the proportion of accidents involving foreign lorries on the motorway had increased to over one percent.

Accident Exchange, part of the Automotive & Insurance Solutions Group which also incorporates DCML and In-Car Cleverness, has commercial partnerships with 1,500 franchised dealerships across its suite of products. Last year Accident Exchange provided onward mobility to nearly 100,000 customers.