Beijing (ZXZC)- China’s major commercial vehicle maker, Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd. (JMC), reported year-on-year growth in its annual sales volume in 2021, thanks to its SUV and light bus sectors.

Equator; photo credit: JMC-Ford

According to the automaker, JMC sold 101,516 light buses in 2021, increasing 9.16% from a year ago. The cumulative sales volume of JMC’s SUVs amounted to 53,481 vehicles, jumping 21.48% compared to the previous year. Additionally, the company sold 67,906 units of pick-up trucks, up 4.14% from the earlier year.

In 2021, the company sold a total of 341,008 vehicles, edging up 2.99% year on year.

Notably, JMC has been laying out in the passenger vehicle field in the past year.

In September, the company announced that it would co-establish another joint venture with its second-largest shareholder, Ford Motor, dedicated to passenger vehicles. Months later, the joint venture, Jiangling Ford Motor Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., was officially incorporated on December 27th. JMC owns 51% of the company’s stake, while Ford Motor owns the rest.

The business scopes of the joint venture include the sales of fossil-fueled vehicles and new energy vehicles, auto parts, PHEV-dedicated engines, charging piles, centralized quick-charging stations, battery swap facilities, and the facilities for NEV production testing.

Moreover, JMC is also picking up on the automotive intelligence trend. It has formed a cooperation with China’s leading autonomous driving developer, WeRide, and China’s renowned express delivery carrier, ZTO, to accelerate the scaled application of driverless Robovans.