Ford

History

Ford started its European operation in Manchester, UK, in 1911. As a result of the economy boom in America, US cars grew in size and engine capacity, thus no longer fulfilled the requirements for economy in Europe. That called for some completely different models to be specially developed for the Europe.

Today, the European Ford has plants in various European countries but the headquarters and main R&D center are in Germany. Up to the early 90?s there were little sharing between the European arm and the Detroit headquarters. However, as components sharing became a way for survival in these days, the European Ford and Detroit relies more on each other. For example, the Cougar, Mondeo, Focus and Duratec V6 are shared between them.

Traditionally, we refer European Ford to the Ford brand only, but today it also consists of Jaguar (bought in 1990), Volvo (bought in 1998), Aston Martin (took over in 1987) and Land Rover (sold by BMW in 2000). However, these premier brands are managed by ex-BMW man Wolfgang Reitzle, who reports directly to Ford?s CEO Jac Nasser in Detroit. There are plans for more platform sharing among the various operations within Ford?s empire - the platform for next Mondeo will be shared with a baby Jaguar (code name X400) and perhaps the replacement for Volvo S40. The Jaguar S-Type was developed on the platform of Lincoln LS.

Under the new global strategy, Jaguar will be the focus of expansion. Its production capacity will be multiplied to take on BMW. The Volvo?s mission is left to be determined, but its valuable leading edge and image in safety could make it a nightmare to Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. Aston Martin will be pumped up in volume to rival Ferrari and the restructured Lamborghini. "Jewel of the crown" Land Rover is going to be benefited by the cost sharing as well. It is intended to be the "Offroader of Jaguar".

Without counting the premier brands, the European Ford is still one of the 6 biggest European car makers.