(October 11, 2010) Ford and General Motors today reported big sales gains in China, and Ford said September and year-to-date sales in Asia Pacific and African sales were up 27 and 40 percent respectively.

Ford had its best monthly sales result in the Asia Pacific and Africa region in September, selling 78,700 units, an increase of 27 percent compared to September last year. It sold 651,856 vehicles in the region in the first three quarters, an increase of 40 percent compared to the same time last year.

“With the launch of the new Fiesta in Southeast Asia and the continued strong growth in India and China, we had our best sales month ever in the Asia Pacific and Africa region,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. “We are gratified that consumers in Asia and Africa continue to choose the high quality, fuel efficient, fun-to-drive vehicles Ford offers. We are working hard to expand sales and production capacity, and to offer more of the vehicles from our global portfolio to markets in this region.”

General Motors reported recond demand for Shanghai GM products. Sales in September by GM and its joint ventures in China increased 15 percent on an annual basis to 208,353 units. It was the first time GM’s September sales surpassed 200,000 units in the world’s largest vehicle market.

GM’s passenger car joint venture, sold 100,786 vehicles in China in September. Demand for its Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac products was up 40.8 percent from the same month last year.

Buick sales in September rose 35.4 percent year on year to 57,948 units due largely to record monthly demand for its Excelle lineup and ongoing strong sales of the new LaCrosse and New Regal upper-medium sedans.

Chevrolet sales in China rose 36.8 percent on an annual basis to 46,243 units in September, driven by strong monthly demand for the New Sail small car family and Cruze lower-medium sedan.

Cadillac sales topped the 2,000 mark for the first time ever in a single month in China, reaching 2,017 units, as demand rose 186.5 percent from September 2009. More than half of the luxury brand’s sales were accounted for by the SRX luxury utility vehicle.

In China, Ford and its joint ventures reported sales of 50,970 units in September, a 26 percent increase from September 2009. During the first three quarters, Ford and its partners sold 419,073 vehicles in China, an increase of 40 percent compared to January – September in 2009.

In China and India combined, Ford sold 482,129 vehicles so far this year, a 50 percent increase compared to January – September 2009.

Led by strong demand for the all-new Ford Fiesta, sales in Thailand more than tripled from the same month a year ago, rising 264 percent to 2,049 units. The new Fiesta lived up to its pre-launch buzz with more than 3,500 orders. The September sales total marked Ford Thailand’s best monthly performance since December 2007.