Ford: 120 years of innovation and achievement
Ford is an American automobile manufacturer founded in June 1903 by Henry Ford. With the help of eleven investors, he formed the Ford Motor Company and produced his first automobiles in late July 1903. In a factory near Detroit, Ford produced 19 different models in 5 years. The first big success came to the brand in 1908 with the Ford T model, which sold over fifteen million copies. It was during this large-scale production that "Fordism" was introduced, which was later developed in most of the car manufacturing plants. To avoid oversaturation of the market, Henry Ford came up with the principle of updating versions of his cars. The Ford T model allowed the brand to expand production in Asia and South America. During World War I, it produced equipment for the Allies (airplanes, tanks, submarines, ambulances, etc.).
In 1919, Henry Ford retired and his son Edsel Ford became his worthy successor. In 1927, the Ford T was replaced by the Ford A. The brand became more Europeanized, especially in France and Germany, where Ford had its continental headquarters in Cologne. In 1932, the first Ford V8 engine was launched. That same year, Ford signed an agreement with a Soviet company (GAZ) that would later produce cars under license from Ford. On January 18, 1937, the American manufacturer sold its 25 millionth car.
Ford was no exception during World War II, producing cars (tanks, jeeps) and bombers for the Allies as well as for the Red Army at its Russian plants and for the Nazis at its German plants. Henry Ford took over the company at the end of World War II and died in 1947. His industrial success was enormous, but many Ford biographies are silent about his somewhat Nazi past. After this period, Ford's future was in jeopardy, so Henry Ford's grandson set about resuscitating the brand by relocating production.
In 1959, the Ford Credit Company was established. In 1964, the first Ford Mustang automobile saw the light of day in the United States. In 1979, Ford acquired a stake in Mazda, and in 1996 became the largest shareholder of the Japanese brand. In the 1990s, the American manufacturer acquired luxury brands (Aston Martin, Jaguar, etc.), then in 2000 - Land Rover, and in 2008 finally sold them. In 2006, Ford Group owned eight automobile brands, but today there are only two (Ford and Lincoln), the rest have been sold or discontinued.
Ford is one of the world's leading automakers. Ford vehicle sales account for 92% of total sales. The company employs more than 160,000 people in 200 countries. The Ford brand still holds a strong position in the used car market, with more than one million cars sold in Europe.
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