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SUVs major force in increasing Ford sales

Ford and its partners sold 393,714 vehicles in China in the first four months of 2015, a 7 percent rise year-on-year.

Joint venture Changan Ford moved 291,066 vehicles by the end of April, up 11 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The automaker said the popularity of its SUV Kuga was a major driving force of its sales.

More than 13,200 Kuga SUVs were sold in April, a 19 percent rise year-on-year.

Compared with its passenger cars, Ford's sales of commercial vehicles have seen little growth.

JMC, of which Ford is a shareholder, sold 93,601 vehicles in the first four months, a meager increase of 1 percent from the same period last year.

Ministry supports methanol power

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced its support for methanol-powered cars, which are being run on a trial basis in several provinces and cities including Shanxi province and Shanghai beginning this month.

The government will analyze the vehicles' impact on environment and safety in those cities and provinces.

In Lanzhou New Zone, Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, 50 taxis powered by the new energy went into use this month.

Dida car-sharing raises $100M

Dida Pinche, a car-sharing firm, secured $100 million in funding to boost its business in China.

Its first two rounds of venture capital funding raised $10 million and $20 million within one year.

The company has more than 4 million users in 13 cities.

However, uncertainties in policies in China are hampering the sector after the offices of its rival, Uber car-hailing app, were raided by the Guangzhou government early this month.

(China Daily 05/11/2015 page19)