Ford names new China head to tackle daunting turnaround task

BEIJING / SHANGHAI: Ford Motor Co has a new face for its troubled China operations, ending a nine-month search after the head of the head.

Anning Chen, 57, to form Ford engineer and chairman of Chery Jaguar Land Rover in China, will take the helm from Nov. 1. An American national, he has roughly 14 years of experience in China.

The move comes at a pivotal time for China, which has struggled to turn its face into a hot spot, and it has been hurt by the Chinese market.

"Ford will have a better understanding of the market," said Bill Russo, head of Shanghai consultancy Automobility Ltd.

Ford's vehicle sales fell 43 percent in September from a year ago and are down 30 percent in the first nine months of the year. Ford blames its weak China on an aging model that is awaiting an overhaul.

By comparison, industry-wide sales are up 1.5 percent for the year to date with rival Toyota Motor Corp. logging at 12.5 percent gain.

The appointment comes as Ford restructuring operations worldwide and the U.S. automaker said its China business will become stand-alone business unit, reporting directly to global headquarters. Chen will report to Jim Farley, president of global markets.

"China is absolutely essential to Ford's profitability and growth," Farley said in a statement, adding the new structure would help China to be "more fit as a business, increase our decision-making speed and be closer to our customers."

China is Ford's second-biggest market by volume sales, behind the United States.

Chen's predecessor Jason Luo – also brought to the forefront of the business – resigned abruptly in January this year to the U.S. automaker's China operations for roughly five months.

Industry insiders said Chen's arrival would help Ford in the market Changan Automobile Group and Jiangling Motors Group, but that success was no sure thing.

Tensions in Ford's China partnerships have hurt the morals of the joint ventures, especially after the U.S. automaker tried to streamline its two separate brand identities and its dual distribution systems, sources said previously.

Jiangling Motors said it welcomed the appointment.

"We are very pleased with the fact that Ford is paying more attention to the Chinese market and better implementing its" In China, for China "strategy," spokesperson for the company said in a text message to Reuters.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Adam Jourdan, Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu, Editing by Edwina Gibbs)