(Reuters) -Ford Motor Co mentioned on Thursday it has promoted Sam Wu to go up its China enterprise because the U.S. automaker seeks to reverse a greater than five-year gross sales stoop on the earth’s largest auto market.

Wu will transfer as much as the position of president and chief government of Ford China from his present place as its managing director and chief working officer on March 1, Ford mentioned in a press release. He takes over from Anning Chen, who will retire from the corporate on Oct. 1.

Chen, a former Ford engineer and chairman of Chery Jaguar Land Rover in China, was appointed in 2018. The U.S. automaker’s China gross sales had begun to contract in late 2017, partially as a result of lack of a well-liked SUV for the market.

Since 2019, it has launched a collection of latest fashions in China however restoration has been bumpy, partially as a result of rise of native electrical car opponents in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its companions in China are Changan Car Group and Jiangling Motors Group

Gross sales final yr throughout China’s auto trade have been notably dismal, as COVID lockdowns hit client demand in addition to manufacturing.

For the primary three quarters of 2022, Ford bought 378,000 automobiles in China. That compares with 624,000 in 2021 and 602,627 in 2020, effectively beneath the 1.19 million bought in 2017.