Luo Minggang, new executive vice president of Changan Ford Mazda, Ford Motor's China venture, recently said that the joint venture plans to launch its own independent brand.
Luo joined Changan Ford Mazda late last year, bringing 15 years of experience at Chongqing Changan Automobile Company Limited to the joint venture.
The joint venture is not alone in the Chinese automobile market. Prior to this venture’s new brand plan, several other automotive joint ventures, including Beijing Hyundai, Guangzhou Toyota Motor and Dongfeng Honda, have recently announced their own brand building plans.
Launching the joint venture’s own independent brands is possible and has become a trend, according to Luo. However, Luo said that the plan is still under consideration.
As Changan Ford Mazda’s existing brands - Ford Carnival, Ford Focus, Ford S-MAX, Mazda 2 and Mazda 3 - are mainly focused on the high end of the automobile market, the proposed independent brand will most likely be focused on the middle market or the low end of the market.
Changan Ford Mazda’s original distribution center was based in first-tier Chinese cities, but now the carmaker plans to expand into the second and third tiers and the new brand is expected to be able to help it with the expansion.
