Ford says China sales up 47 pct in first qtr

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Tuesday it had posted a 47 percent gain in first-quarter sales through affiliates in China, with 90,791 vehicles sold.

Ford said its passenger car joint-venture, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile, had increased quarterly sales by 58 percent to 61,789 units compared with the same period a year earlier.

Jiangling Motor Corp, the joint-venture handling Ford's commercial vehicles like the Ford Transit van, posted sales of 23,785 vehicles, Ford said in a statement.

Ford included sales of imported Land Rover and Jaguar models in its first-quarter sales results for China. Ford has sold those brands to Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO) in a $2.3 billion deal that closed last month.