Ford, which is marketing vehicles in China under the auspices of a joint venture with Changan Ford Mazda, which is a tie-up with Chongqing Changan Auto Co (000625.SZ) and Mazda Motor (7261.T), saw sales increase 54% over last year for the month of July.

So far the JV has seen sales total 123,474 for the first seven months of 2009. That’s a 21.5% increase over 2008.

The Ford Focus is selling particularly well. July was the fifth month in a row where the company sold over ten thousand of the fuel efficient Focus.

Joining the Focus in hot sales was the new compact Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta has been available in China since March and a total of 22,630 units have been purchased since then. Two other models that are selling well are the Mondeo and S-MAX. These two have risen 68 percent and 22 percent from a year earlier, respectively.

Ford is not the only American car company with rapidly increasing sales in China. Bankrupt rival General Motors posted a one year increase in sales of 77.7% in July, selling a total of 144,593.

“We’re not seeing pull-ahead sales as much as the market is telling us there’s a lot of pent-up demand out there,” Mark Fields, Ford’s president for the Americas, told Reuters. “We expect some (sales) growth in the third and fourth quarter. It won’t be huge growth, but growth nonetheless.”

Fields was giving a speech at an event held at Ford’s Chicago assembly plant. As he spoke, new Ford Tauras’ rolled off the assembly line. The company has big plans for the Taurus line, which was a sales leader in the 1990s.

Ford has been doing quite well thanks to the “Cash for Clunkers” program. The Ford Focus, one of the company’s fuel efficient models, lead all cars in sales in July.

Ford is the only American auto maker to avoid bankruptcy.

“This is truly a significant accomplishment for us,” said Ford’s group vice president of global quality, Bennie Fowler. “Honda and Toyota have claimed bragging rights for years, but now we are seeing our hard work pay off. It’s evident in study after study.”

The results from the 2009 U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS). The survey is conducted each quarter for Ford by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The latest survey also shows Ford finished 2 percent higher in customer satisfaction than in prior years.

On the basis of the deal just inked between Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers, Ford workers will now average about $50 per hour, when their benefits are tabulated in. Toyota workers are at $48. This is the closest the gap has ever been, and should put Ford on a more competitive cost basis with cars produced in the United States.

GM and Chrysler are looking for $21.6 billion more from the United States government. In order to get to that number, they’re required to achieve wage parity with Toyota.

“For all practical purposes, we’re at parity now,” said University of California at Berkeley labor professor Harley Shaiken. “When the market recovers, Toyota will return to profit first and profit sharing payments make Toyota’s hourly costs more expensive than Ford’s.”

Ford Motor Co has not taken any money from the government. They say they won’t need to.

GM says there hourly figure will be in the same ballpark as Ford.

This is good news for Brook Park, Ohio, which hasn’t had much to celebrate about in recent years.

The plant is a big part of Ford’s future, because the EcoBoost is thought to be the company’s new flagship engine. In the beginning stages of production in the next few years, the engine will only be used in a few models. This means a big boost in jobs won’t occur until the engine is mass produced.

The EcoBoost is a fuel injected V6 engine that offers real environmental advantages over predecessors. Although the plant won’t offer full employment any time soon, it’s still a boon for some.

“Anytime you get new work in this economy is good news,” UAW Local 1250 President Mike Gammella said.

By 2010 or 2011, if demands grows for the engines as expected, the Ford Cleveland Engine Plant Number One will likely employ more shifts.

“An abrupt bankruptcy for autos could be devastating for the economy,” Bush said. “We’re now in the process of working with the stakeholders on a way forward. We’re not quite ready to announce that yet.”

Right now, any proposal by the Bush Administration is lacking details.

In related news, GM announced their idling three plants in Mexico until January.

The auto maker’s plants in San Luis Potosi and Ramon Arizpe will stop from Dec. 22 to Jan. 4, while its plant in Silao will close from Dec. 22 until Jan. 7, General Motors de Mexico said in a press release.

The company said the idling was necessary for plant improvements.

Changan Ford Mazda Automobile, the company’s passenger car joint-venture, posted quarterly sales of 61,789 units, which has increased by 58 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.

Jiangling Motor Corporation, Ford Motor’s commercial vehicle investment in China, delivered 23,785 commercial vehicle sales for the first quarter, including Ford Transit sales of 6,908. The company introduced a new Ford Transit in January, which boasts a class-leading design, features and advanced technology.

Ford has grown for 4 straight quarters in China.

Year of the Car is a collaborative effort being organized and sponsored by MotorCities National Heritage Area, an affiliate of the National Park Service, dedicated to preserving, interpreting and promoting the automotive heritage of Michigan. Additional Year of the Car partners include Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, The Henry Ford, Travel Michigan, and dozens of other organizations that celebrate automotive heritage throughout the region.

“Detroit has always been mecca for auto enthusiasts worldwide,” said Gary Familian, Executive Director, MotorCities National Heritage Area. “With the ‘2008: Year of the Car’ program, we have hit a high-water mark with an incredible itinerary of new, once-in-a-lifetime visitor experiences. We are thrilled to be a part of this fabulous summer-long experience.”

For more information about all of the events planned for this year: MotorCities.

Retail sales for the Ford Focus were the highest for any month since August 2005 — with retail sales up 36 percent in March and 35 percent in the first quarter compared with the same periods a year ago.

The new Focus has helped Ford increase its share in the growing small car market and is attracting younger buyers. Compared with the previous model, buyers are equipping the Focus with more features, like SYNC, Ford’s exclusive, in-car connectivity technology that fully integrates most Bluetooth-enabled cell phones and MP3 players by voice activation.

Edge sales were also up impressively for the same quarter. Edge retail sales were up 35 percent in March and 52 percent in the first quarter, thanks in part to stronger sales on the coasts. The
California region accounted for more than 10 percent of Edge sales in the first quarter of 2008, versus 7 percent in the first quarter 2007. The company did even better on the West Coast.

Ford is attempting to restore themselves to profitability. Ford employs 250,000 people worldwide.