Ford halts production of commercial vehicle in China

(chinatrucks.com, Feb.04, 2010)Ford Motor Co. has stopped production of a full-size commercial vehicle in China after discovering that the gas pedal used came from the supplier involved in the recall at Toyota Motor Co.

The production halt affects the diesel version of its full-size Transit Classic commercial vehicle that Ford makes in China with one of its joint-venture partners, Jiangling Motors Corp., according to Ford spokesman Said Deep.

"Jiangling Motors Company (JMC) has suspended production of one of the Transit models, a light bus vehicle JMC manufactures in Nanchang for distribution only in China," the Chinese auto maker said in a statement Thursday. "While there has been no report of any issue with the Transit, JMC has initiated a review of a pedal assembly part recently sourced from CTS Automotive."

Ford said that so far there have been no reports in China of Ford drivers experiencing the same type of uncontrolled acceleration problems that promoted Toyota to issue a massive recall and halt sales of most of its popular models in the U.S.

Mr. Deep said CTS Corp., an auto-parts supplier based in Indiana, began to provide gas-pedal assemblies for the Transit Classic in China in December. About 1,600 vehicles were made, he said. It was unclear whether Ford would need to recall the vehicles sold to replace the pedal.

In 2009, Ford's Chinese passenger-car joint venture at Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., saw yearly sales rise 55% from a year earlier to 315,791 vehicles. The company's commercial vehicle venture with Jiangling sold 114,688 vehicles.

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