Ford H1 China sales rise 21 percent over year ago

BEIJING, July 8 (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.

"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.

Ford's plant in Sichuan was evacuated for several minutes after a strong earthquake hit the area in May. The plant is run with affiliate Mazda Motor (7261.T) and China's Changan Automobile Co (000625.SZ), and has an annual production capacity of 250,000 vehicles.

($=6.86 yuan) (Reporting by Kirby Chien; editing by Jonathan Hopfner)