Ford sees price pressure in China as market slows

Ford Motor (F.NYSE) is beginning to experience price pressure as China’s auto market growth slows, Bloomberg reported. “In the last three or four months, the auto industry is clearly not growing at the rate it was last year or even in the first quarter. We have seen some pricing pressure,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s group vice president and Asia head. The US automaker’s sales are up 13-14% so far this year, outpacing the broader market’s 5% growth rate. Ford expects Beijing to eventually take measures to stimulate auto sales, and reckons the market could have annual growth of 5-10% over the next five years. Ford is investing US$1.6 billion to build four factories in China, and is rolling out 15 new models in an effort to triple its production by 2015.