After a slow start, Ford (F) has finally found its footing in China. Alan Mulally ought to count such a feat among his signal achievements as CEO at the auto giant.

    Sales so far this year have reached 647,849, an eye-popping 51% higher than a year ago. Just five years ago, Ford was barely selling 250,000 vehicles a year and thought to be hopelessly behind. The last few months have been trending toward an annual sales rate of 1 million vehicles.

    In 2006, when Mulally arrived at Ford from Boeing (BA), the automaker was rudderless on many fronts, including Asia. Bill Ford Jr. turned over the reins to Mulally, who sent a new team to China in 2009 led by Joe Hinrichs. Hinrichs now leads Ford's operations in the western hemisphere. Ford has said it is spending $4.9 billion to increase the number of cars and double production capacity.

    "Ford is definitely on the move in China," says Marco Gerrits, an automotive consulting partner with Boston Consulting Group's Beijing office. Gerrits noted that Ford's Escape compact SUV has become a hip alternative to Tiguan, Volkwagen's big seller there. VW is the market leader in China.

    Ford's top seller in China is Focus, a compact car the Chinese pronounce "FO-kuh-suh," according to Trevor Hale, a Ford spokesman there.

    Mulally has been touring Ford's operations in Asia for the past week. He was in the region to promote the introduction of the automaker's Transit Connect small van, which may be outfitted as a taxi. (During his Asian tour, Mulally, 68, brushed off questions about reports that he is considering leaving Ford to become chief executive officer at Microsoft.)

    Hong Kong currently has about 18,000 taxis, virtually all of them Toyotas (TM), with a sprinkling of Nissans. The Transit Connect will need approval from Hong Kong authorities before taxi operators can even consider them.

    On Thursday, Ford posted strong third-quarter net income of $1.27 billion or 31 cents a share on 12% higher revenue of $36 billion. Factored into the results were narrowed losses in Europe, a trouble spot for Ford, and $126 million in profit from Asian/Africa, which includes, China -- nearly triple the level of a year ago.

    Ford's market share in China at the end of Mulally's first year on the job was 2%. It's now approaching 4%, even as China's overall auto market continues to grow. Ford aims to have a 6% share of the Chinese auto market by 2015.

    There's a hint of historical irony in Ford's push in China. Back in 1924, Sun Yat-sen, China's first president, wrote to Henry Ford inviting him to bring his industrial empire to the country. An assistant in Ford's office wrote back, indicating that the automaker's founder had no plans to visit.

    With the possibility of rapid auto market growth in Europe and the U.S. just about impossible, the rest of the world, and particularly China, holds lots of near-term potential for Ford and other global automakers. In Ford's case, the company has swiftly turned around what could have been a blown opportunity.

    经过缓慢的增长，福特公司（Ford）终于在中国站稳脚跟。艾伦•穆拉利担任公司CEO之后收获了多项成就，而这就是其中之一。

    今年到目前为止，这家公司在中国的销量已经达到647,849辆，年比增长达到了惊人的51%。五年前，福特在中国的年销量仅有250,000辆，外界普遍认为它在中国毫无希望。但过去几个月，它的销量直逼年销售100万辆的规模。

    2006年，穆拉利离开波音（Boeing）来到福特。当时，福特公司在多个一线市场都缺乏核心领导人物，包括亚洲市场。小比尔•福特将公司交给穆拉利，2009年，穆拉利派了一只由韩瑞麒领导的新团队来到中国。目前，韩瑞麒负责西半球业务。福特表示，公司投入了49亿美元，用于提高汽车产量，扩大产能。

    波士顿咨询集团（Boston Consulting Group）驻北京汽车咨询合伙人贺马克说：“福特在中国市场正在稳步增长。”贺马克表示，福特翼虎（Escape）紧凑型SUV已经成为大众（Volkwagen）畅销车途观（Tiguan）的替代车型，极受欢迎。大众是中国汽车市场的领导者。

    福特中国发言人何川表示，福特在中国的畅销车型是紧凑车型福克斯(Focus)。

    上周，穆拉利视察了福特的亚洲业务。穆拉利计划在亚洲地区推广Transit Connect小型车，进军出租车市场。【有报道称68岁的穆拉利正在考虑离开福特前往微软公司（Microsoft）担任首席执行官，对此穆拉利在亚洲视察期间并未予以回复。】

    目前，香港约有18,000辆出租车，几乎全部为丰田（Toyota），很少一部分为日产（Nissan）车型。Transit Connect需要首先获得香港政府当局的批准，之后出租汽车公司才会考虑引进这个车型。

    上周四，福特公司公布，第三季度净收入达到了12.7亿美元或每股31美分，收入增长了12%，达到了360亿美元。促成这一结果的因素包括欧洲损失减少（这个问题一直是福特的麻烦所在），亚非市场（包括中国在内）利润达到1.26亿美元，同比增长了三倍。

    穆拉利上任第一年年底，福特在中国的市场份额约为2%。目前已经达到4%，而且中国汽车市场总体仍在持续增长。福特的目标是截至2015年占领6%的份额。

    关于福特打入中国市场，历史上曾有过与此相关的一件事，如今看来多少有些讽刺意味。早在1924年，当时中国第一任总统孙中山先生曾写信给亨利•福特，邀请他将他的工业帝国带到中国。福特办公室的一位助手回信称，这位汽车公司创始人并没有打算去中国的计划。

    欧美汽车市场要想实现快速增长几乎不太可能，因此，对于福特和其他全球性汽车公司而言,世界其他地区，尤其是中国拥有巨大的短期潜力。福特这次快速转身，总算是赶上了一个大好机会。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓