Ford Motor Co's car venture with partner Chongqing Chang'an Auto Co will expand its number of dealerships by 25 percent this year to 300 to accelerate its expansion in the world's No 1 car market.

According to Wesley Liu, vice-manager of the sales division at Chang'an Ford, the company will develop about 60 new dealerships this year, 30 percent of them in first- and second-tier cities, with remainder in less developed urban areas.

After maintaining a rapid pace in building its sales network for several years, the joint venture now has 241 authorized outlets across the country.