Ford Motor Co.is investing about 11.4 billion yuan or about $1.8 billion over the next five years on research and development for smart cars that is aimed to attract Chinese buyers, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Advertisement
The company will expand a center in the city of Nanjing.
The company will spend five years for conducting research on how to increase smart phone connectivity and implement new smart vehicle features to the Chinese cars.
Automakers are stepping up investment despite a downturn in sales this year.
SHANGHAI-Ford Motor Co.is betting that a new generation of smartcars will help its rides stand out in China, where its sales have been slipping amid industrywide weakness and rising competition.
A few automakers have even taken the strategy of creating vehicles that will be available in China only.
Ford Motor Corp is planning roll out C-Max Energi, a plug-in hybrid and Mondeo conventional hybrid in the Chinese market in 2016.
Ford said the features it is hoping to offer in China are introducing the SYNC 3, a system that gives hands free control of telephones, climate control, entertainment and navigation.
Another hint that Ford is planning a big push into electricsWe’ve seen several hints over the last couple of years that Ford is quietly gearing up for a big push into more advanced hybrids and electric cars.
Fields didn’t get into specifics, but he did say that there are more “electrified vehicles” to come. China’s new-car sales fell 3.4% to 1.42 million vehicles in August from a year earlier. The new models include hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Advertisement
Ford has been the major player in Chinese auto market for the past six years. Ford has doubled its manufacturing capacity at its plant in China considering the huge market potential in the world’s second-largest economy.
