Ford H1 China sales rise 21 percent over year ago

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Tuesday it had posted a 21 percent gain in first-half China sales over the same period last year, with 172,411 vehicles sold.

First-half sales of Ford brand passenger cars and commercial vehicles reached 103,698 units, a 15-percent year-over-year increase, the company said in a statement.

In the first half of this year, sales of the venture combining Ford with Japanese partner Mazda Motor Co (7261.T) and the mainland's Changan Automobile Co (000625.SZ) saw sales rise 25 percent to 116,903 units.

Changan Ford Mazda said in April, however, it expected sales growth this year to match the 60 percent seen in 2007. A Ford official said the 25 percent growth for the venture met its expectations.

Ford, the number-two U.S. automaker, is a relative latecomer to the world's second-largest auto market, currently dominated by General Motors Corp GM.N and Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE).

In September 2007, Ford unveiled a $510 million vehicle manufacturing plant in the eastern city of Nanjing, near Shanghai, along with its China partners, boosting its car production capacity in the country to more than 410,000 units.

"Despite challenging events that had significant impact in China and on the economy as a whole this year, we were still able to achieve healthy growth through the first six months," said Robert Graziano, president and CEO of Ford Motor China.

Changan Ford Mazda's plant in Sichuan was evacuated briefly after a strong earthquake hit the area in May. The plant has an annual production capacity of 250,000 vehicles.

($=6.86 yuan)

(Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by Keiron Henderson)