Ford
The Ford Motor Company (commonly referred to as simply Ford) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903.
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| Industry | Automotive |
| Headquarters | Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. |
| Founded | June 16, 1903 |
| Founder | Henry Ford |
| Parent | – |
| Key people | William C. Ford, Jr.(Executive Chairman); Mark Fields (President & CEO) |
| www.ford.com | |
Brands currently owned by Ford
Brands owned earlier by Ford
Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker (preceded by General Motors) and the fifth-largest in the world based on 2010 vehicle sales. At the end of 2010, it was the fifth largest automaker in Europe.Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion.
The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, still retain 40 percent voting rights.
History
The Beginning- Henry Ford’s first attempt at a car company under his own name was the Henry Ford Company on November 3, 1901, which became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902, after Ford left with the rights to his name.
- The Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge (who would later found their own car company).
- Henry Ford was 39 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the world’s largest and most profitable companies, as well as being one to survive the Great Depression. As one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world, this company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years.
- Within a decade the company would lead the world in the expansion and refinement of the assembly line concept; and they soon brought much of the part production in-house in a vertical integration that seemed a better path for the era.
- In 1908 Ford introduced the first engine with a removable cylinder head, in the Model T. In 1927, introduced the Model A, the first car with safety glass in the windshield. Launched the first low priced V8 engine powered car in 1932.
- In 1990 and 1994 respectively, Ford also acquired Jaguar Cars and Aston Martin.
- Most of the corporate profits came from financing consumer automobile loans through Ford Motor Credit Company.
- By 2005, both Ford and GM’s corporate bonds had been downgraded to junk status, as a result of high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce, soaring gasoline prices, eroding market share, and an over dependence on declining SUV sales.
- In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to profitability. Fields previewed the Plan, named The Way Forward, at the December 7, 2005 board meeting of the company and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006.
- “The Way Forward” included re-sizing the company to match market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, closing 14 factories and cutting 30,000 jobs.
- Ford moved to introduce a range of new vehicles, including “Crossover SUVs” built on unibody car platforms, rather than more body-on-frame chassis.
- In developing the hybrid electric power-train technologies for the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, they licensed similar Toyota hybrid technologies to avoid patent infringements.
- Ford announced that it will team up with electricity supply company Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine the future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. Under the multi-million-dollar, multi-year project, they will convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE will evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility’s electrical grid.
- In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $25 billion, placing substantially all corporate assets as collateral.
- The automaker reported the largest annual loss in company history in 2006 of $12.7 billion, and estimated that it would not return to profitability until 2009. However, Ford surprised Wall Street in the second quarter of 2007 by posting a $750 million profit. Despite the gains, the company finished the year with a $2.7 billion loss, largely attributed to finance restructuring at Volvo.
- On June 2, 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.
- In 2012, Ford’s corporate bonds were upgraded from junk to investment grade again, citing sustainable, lasting improvements.
Brand Reach
*Brand reach indicates the regions/countries in which the brand sells its products or services
Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, North & South America
Sources: wikipedia;
Editor review
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GoodSummary
The Ford Motor Company (commonly referred to as simply Ford) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903.
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