Ford Motor Co.'s China deliveries jumped 36 percent year on year to 130,832 vehicles in January as robust crossover and SUV sales compensated for weak commercial truck demand.

 

Combined sales of the EcoSport, Kuga, Edge, Explorer and Everest soared 75 percent to 37,411 vehicles.

 

Monthly sales of the Escort reached 28,980 vehicles, a sixfold increase from a year earlier. Sales of the Mondeo also increased 33 percent to 15,000-plus vehicles.

 

As a result, sales of Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ford's passenger car joint venture, surged 58 percent to 111,856 vehicles.

 

By contrast, sales at Jiangling Motors Corp., Ford's commercial vehicle joint venture, slumped 24 percent year on year to 17,255 vehicles. Jiangling and other truckmakers have struggled as China's slowing economy force businesses to downsize their fleets.

 

In January, Ford also delivered 1,721 imported vehicles in China, down 35 percent from the same month last year.