Written by Stock News.com

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) on Tuesday [Mar 7, 2017 | 7:06am ] posted solid growth of its February automobile sales in China, as it continues to make progress in expanding its brand overseas.

The Dearborn, MI-based automaker said its joint ventures in China sold 64,641 vehicles in February. That’s up 2% when compared with February 2016.

The overall gain masked a large divergence between its two ventures in China, however. Changan Ford Automobile sold 42,695 vehicles in the period, down 12% from year-ago levels. Meanwhile, Jiangling Motor Corporation sold 20,794 vehicles, up 48% from last year.

When bundling January and February together, the overall growth rate was also sharply negative. The total January and February sales between JVs Changan Ford Automobile and Jiangling Motor Corporation totaled more than 153,000 vehicles, a 21% decrease year-over-year.

The biggest February winners for Ford in China were its Edge and Everest models, which saw sales increases of 20% and 34%, respectively.

The company commented on the latest Chinese sales figures via press release:

“We continue to see strong demand from Chinese customers for our 3-row Edge SUV and luxurious Taurus large sedan, along with our performance line-up led by our iconic Mustang. We are also excited by the fantastic early response to the upcoming launch of our F-150 Raptor in China.”

Ford Motor Company shares were trading at $12.44 per share on Tuesday morning, down $0.08 (-0.64%). Year-to-date, F has gained 4.21%, versus a 6.08% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

F currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of B (Buy), and is ranked #14 of 24 stocks in the Auto & Vehicle Manufacturers category.