Rising Ford finds 'sweet spot' in China -CEO

Reuters - At the Beijing Auto Show, Ford was busy marking the 50 year anniversary of its iconic Mustang brand.

But perhaps more worth celebrating is the company's complete turn-around from its darkest days in 2006, a rescue engineered by CEO Alan Mulally.

Mulally also pushed Ford deeper into China in an attempt to catch up with competitors like GM.

As sources say Mulally is preparing to step down, I asked the CEO what the company would look like today if they'd gone big in China earlier.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"Well I don't think it'd be too much different than today because we also made a commitment six years ago that we were going to have a complete family of vehicles and it took time to do that. And now all these vehicles that you see today are now the power of that one Ford and all of those platforms to serve every market segment. So it's kind of almost a sweet spot because we have the products now, our production is coming online, so we are so glad to be here with that complete family as of last year."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"Alright so let's talk about volume here in China. You've done really well. You're on track to pass a million."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"Yes."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"Something near 45 percent growth rate so far this year."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"Yes."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"You know, that puts you on target for 1.4 million. Can you beat that this year?"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"Well we absolutely have set a target that we beat above a million. But we don't really say the numbers because the consumers will decide. But clearly with the strength of the products and the new ones, then we're going to continue to accelerate our growth."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"Alright. Now when you look at this market here, you're on set - you're also on target to overtake Nissan and Hyundai. Is that going to happen this year, do you think?"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"We don't really keep track of looking at the competitors like that. What we look at is do we have the right products in all the market segments. And because of our breadth of our product line, because it's the most complete product line of cars, sedans, utilities, and SUVs, I think we're going to continue to grow and serve our customers here."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"What's the conversation you have with policy makers when they talk about, you know, focus on buying more 'made in China,' you know, China-only companies. Is that a concern for you as a foreign player in the market?"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"No, not at all. Because their policy clearly is that we operate with joint ventures and we have two fantastic partners in Changan Motors and also with JMC. So we have partners for all the market segments. They're great partners. The JVs are doing very well and we are building our production capacity as fast as we can in China. Which is great for everybody inside China because it is made in China."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"Right, now in the U.S. as well you have a birds' eye view of the economy given how your business works there."

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"Yes".

(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JON GORDON, SAYING:

"What signs are you seeing in terms of the economy - the recovery there, is it sustainable?"

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORD MOTOR COMPANY, PRESIDENT & CEO, ALAN MULALLY, SAYING:

"It is sustainable. It's a little bit slower than we've had in GDP on the economy from past recessions. But also in the United States clearly we're recovering from the worst recession we've ever been in. So I think it's very positive that we have a very steady, gradually expanding economy. If it overheated, then I think it'd be more of a problem for everybody. So I think the economy growth here in combination with economy growth around the world is really, really sustainable."