A screen shot of Changan Ford's Weibo post.

Changan Ford, a joint venture between US automaker Ford Motor Co and China's Changan Automobile, apologized on Tuesday after a promotional video for one of its new cars showing a girl's skirt being lifted up sparked outrage among Chinese netizens, with some accusing the ad of being sexist and offensive to women.

In a statement posted on its official Sina Weibo account, Changan Ford said that it has immediately deleted the content and sincerely apologizes for the mistake, adding that Changan Ford will strictly "abide by the correct concept of internet content". 

The since-deleted promotional video featured a girl who appears to be struggling to hold down her white skirt as a fast-moving car passes by, in an apparent attempt to show off the car's speed. 

The video was posted under the caption: "Is it true that boys run at a high speed in Japanese animes can lift girls' skirts?" with a follow-up hashtag "A feast for your eyes."

The posts immediately sparked outrage among Chinese netizens. "Speechless! Do you use this kind of sleaze as a slogan? Would you laugh when someone lifts your sister's skirt," a Chinese netizen commented on Weibo.

The outrage also came from official media outlets. In a brief commentary, CCTV.com said that such vulgar advertisement will only hurt the image of the company and even its long-term sales, noting that the company might have known the vulgar nature of the move, and still went ahead with it in an attempt to draw attention and boost sales.  

Changan Ford sold 213,680 vehicles in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 16.7 percent comparing with 2019, according to media reports.