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Sept. 6 (NBD) -- U.S. carmaker Ford Motor Company will partner with Chinese automobile manufacturer Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd (JMC, 000550.SZ) to launch an entry-level SUV named Territory in early 2019. 

The new car will be Ford's second model in cooperation with JMC following Everest unveiled in 2015. As Changan Ford Automobile Corporation (Changan Ford), a joint venture established by Chinese automaker Changan Automobile and Ford, is facing decreasing sales performance this year, Ford is seeking to enhance the tie-up with JMC. 

As the partner of Ford in the business vehicle field, JMC started to cooperate with Ford in 1995 and introduced Ford's business car model Transit. The model maintained more than 30 percent of sales volume growth for ten consecutive years.

In 2010, JMC made inroads into the passenger vehicle sector by releasing its first self-developed SUV Yusheng.

But the passenger vehicles didn't bring in much sales growth to the Jiangxi-based firm. The sales of its passenger cars dived 69 percent year on year to 9,167 units in the first 7 months of 2018.

Thus SUV Territory is likely to become a new growth engine for JMC in the passenger vehicle market. 

An analyst told news portal Time-weekly that Ford has set up a joint marketing institution which will integrate marketing channels of Ford's four brands in China. 

The institution will be responsible for marketing the SUV Territory, said Changan Ford.

Known as one of the top U.S. automakers, Ford posted lackluster performance this year.

In 2015, the Michigan-headquartered auto manufacturer sold 6.635 million units worldwide, 865,700 units of which are contributed by Chinese market. Its sales volume in China even hit 944,000 units in 2016. However, the company reported sales of only 827,000 cars last year, down 14 percent compared with the previous year.

Data shows that from January to July of 2018, the U.S. firm reported 458,000 units in sales, representing a year-over-year decline of 26 percent. Changan Ford sold over 265,000 cars in the period, falling 37 percent year on year. 

It is noted that Ford registered a 38 percent sales plunge in Chinese market in June this year, the worst-ever performance for the first half of a year since 2001 when the automaker began operation in China.

Ford's disappointing performance is believed to be led by the lack of new models. Changan Ford, as the largest contributor for Ford's sales revenue, hasn't released a new car model for 28 months.

Some held that Ford conducted improper strategy due to misjudgment of Chinese market situation. The release of Territory signals the change of Ford's product strategy, under which the U.S. company, along with JMC, aims to produce new models tailored for Chinese market and consumers.

Email: zhanglingxiao@nbd.com.cn