110-680: The Ford River Rouge complex (commonly known as the Rouge complex , River Rouge , or The Rouge ) is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan , along the River Rouge , upstream from its confluence with the Detroit River at Zug Island . Construction began in 1917, and when it was completed in 1928, it was the largest integrated factory in the world, surpassing Buick City , built in 1904. It inspired
220-611: A "vote of confidence" because of the pro-business climate being fostered in part by President-elect Donald Trump , Ford had canceled plans to invest $ 1.6 billion in a new plant in Mexico to manufacture the Ford Focus ; instead, the company would invest $ 700 million in Michigan , which it planned to use to create 700 new jobs. The Focus would now be manufactured in the existing plant in Mexico. Also in 2017, Ford began development of
330-503: A $ 2.7 billion profit in fiscal year 2009, the company's first full-year profit in four years. In 2012, Ford's corporate bonds were upgraded from junk to investment grade again, citing sustainable, lasting improvements. On October 29, 2012, Ford announced the sale of its climate control components business, its last remaining automotive components operation, to Detroit Thermal Systems LLC for an undisclosed price. On November 1, 2012, Ford announced that CEO Alan Mulally would stay with
440-486: A $ 50 million mechanical treatment facility. Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford ) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan , United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand. The company
550-685: A 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors . The Henry Ford Company was Henry Ford's first attempt at a car manufacturing company and was established on November 3, 1901. This became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902, after Ford left with the rights to his name. In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory, with $ 28,000, equivalent to $ 950,000 in 2023, in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge , who later founded
660-586: A U.S. steelmaker. The new Dearborn Truck factory famously features a vegetation-covered roof and rainwater reclamation system designed by sustainability architect William McDonough . This facility is still Ford's largest factory and employs some 6,000 workers. Mustang production, however, has moved to the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan . Tours of the Rouge complex were
770-408: A bidder at all (for example, in public transport projects with "buy national" rules). A semi-knocked-down kit ( SKD ) or incompletely disassembled kit (although it has never been assembled) is a kit of the partially assembled parts of a product. Both types of KDs, complete and incomplete, are collectively referred to within the auto industry as knocked-down export ( KDX ), and cars assembled in
880-579: A car assembly industry as a means of import substitution and providing local employment, despite the small size of the local market. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, including the lowering of import tariffs, and the ability to import Australian-built vehicles duty-free under the CER agreement, many car companies ended assembly in New Zealand. They switched to importing completely built-up vehicles from Japan , Australia, or Europe. More significantly,
990-402: A decade the company led the world in the expansion and refinement of the assembly line concept, and Ford soon brought much of the part production in-house, via vertical integration . Henry Ford was 39 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which became one of the world's largest and most profitable companies. It has been in continuous family control for over 100 years, and is one of
1100-905: A driver that killed two men while using BlueCruise. In November 2024, Ford announced that it would cut 800 jobs in the UK and 2,900 in Germany to try and reduce costs. The key trends for the Ford Motor Company are (as of the financial year ending December 31): Members of the Ford board as of March 2023 are: William Clay Ford Jr. (executive chairman), Jim Farley (president and CEO), Kimberly Casiano , Alexandra Ford English (daughter of William Clay Ford Jr.), Henry Ford III (son of Edsel Ford II ), William W. Helman IV, Jon Huntsman Jr. , William E. Kennard , John C. May, Beth E. Mooney , John L. Thornton , John Veihmeyer , Lynn Vojvodich Radakovich, and John S. Weinberg. Jim Farley succeeded Jim Hackett as
1210-596: A female workforce was employed. CKD military vehicles could be stored for shipment in one-vehicle-per-crate form (or SUP, Single Unit Pack), or as several vehicles (usually two to three) divided in two or more crates. Vehicles shipped to certain countries could be lacking some items, such as cabs, beds, or tires, that were built and provided locally. Mahindra & Mahindra Limited in India began its business in 1947 with assembling CKD Jeeps . Mahindra expanded its operations to include domestic manufacture of Jeep vehicles with
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#17327796545501320-768: A first partnership agreement with AMC to assemble Rambler automobiles in Europe . Beginning in 1962, and continuing until 1967, AMC also sold CKD kits of its passenger cars to Renault. They were assembled in Renault's factory in Haren, Belgium , and sold through its dealers in Algeria , Austria , Belgium , France , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The deal allowed AMC to sell its cars in new markets without significant foreign direct investment (FDI). The arrangement benefited
1430-609: A high level of local content under license from Kaiser Jeep Corporation and later American Motors Corporation (AMC). In the 1950s and 1960s, Lotus Cars sold its Lotus Seven car in CKD form to avoid the UK purchase tax that applied to sales of fully assembled vehicles. By 1959, and with the introduction of the Mini , British Motor Corporation (BMC) products were still either imported or assembled from CKD kits in several international markets. In 1961, Renault began negotiations for
1540-410: A long tradition. Free bus tours of the facility began in 1924 and ran until 1980, at their peak hosting approximately a million visitors per year. They resumed in 2004 in cooperation with The Henry Ford Museum with multimedia presentations, as well as viewing of the assembly floor. The Ford Rouge Factory Tour had 148,000 visitors in 2017. Hourly workers from both Ford and Cleveland Cliffs facilities at
1650-484: A market, particularly in shipping to foreign nations, and serves as a way of counting or pricing. CKD is a common practice in the automotive , bus , heavy truck , and rail vehicle industries, as well as electronics, furniture and other products. Businesses sell knocked-down kits to their foreign affiliates or licensees for various reasons, including the avoidance of import taxes, to receive tax preferences for providing local manufacturing jobs, or even to be considered as
1760-633: A new assembly facility on the Miller Road side of the complex, currently producing Ford F-150 pickup trucks. The River Rouge complex manufactured most of the components of Ford vehicles, starting with the Model T. Many of the vehicles were compiled into " knock-down kits ", then sent by railroad to various branch assembly locations across the United States in major metropolitan cities to be locally assembled, using local supplies as necessary. After
1870-479: A new mixed-use urban campus in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit , with its purchase, renovation, and occupation of The Factory at Michigan and Rosa Parks. The new site was expected to have a major focus on the development of autonomous vehicle and electric vehicle technology. Ford later began buying up other parcels of land in Corktown including a very high-profile purchase of Michigan Central Station which
1980-443: A plan to return the company to profitability. Fields previewed the plan, named The Way Forward , at the board meeting of the company on December 7, 2005, and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" included resizing 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
2090-489: A plant that was expected to have an annual output of 150,000 units. Daimler AG has a CKD assembly plant in South Carolina that re-assembles Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans for sale in the United States and Canada at Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner dealers, along with Dodge dealers before Fiat Group 's takeover of Chrysler Group LLC —essentially to circumvent the 25% tariff on imported light trucks known as
2200-412: A product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or region for final assembly. CBU , on the other hand, stands for "Completely Built Up" and signifies import of a finished product. A common form of knock-down is a complete knock-down ( CKD ), which is a kit of entirely unassembled parts of a product. It is also a method of supplying parts to
2310-508: 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 powertrain technologies for the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, the company licensed similar Toyota hybrid technologies in order to avoid patent infringements. Ford announced that it would team up with electricity supply company Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine
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#17327796545502420-440: A result of high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce , soaring gasoline prices, eroding market share, and an overdependence on declining SUV sales. Profit margins decreased on large vehicles due to increased "incentives" (in the form of rebates or low-interest financing) to offset declining demand. In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop
2530-491: A self-driving car startup. In May 2017, Ford announced cuts to its global workforce amid efforts to address the company's declining share price and to improve profits. The company is targeting $ 3 billion in cost reduction and a nearly 10% reduction in the salaried workforce in Asia and North America to enhance earnings in 2018. Jim Hackett was announced to replace Mark Fields as CEO of Ford Motor. Mr. Hackett most recently oversaw
2640-462: A standard deep-dish steering wheel, optional front, and, for the first time in a car, rear seatbelts, and an optional padded dash. Ford introduced child-proof door locks into its products in 1957, and, in the same year, offered the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car. In late 1955, Ford established the Continental division as a separate luxury car division. This division
2750-491: A ten-year building project. The result would see the number of Ford employees working in these areas doubling, to 24,000. During construction, some 2000 of the employees were relocated out of the campus to a temporary location in a disused section of the local shopping mall. Facilities would also be altered to allow ride-sharing and electric and self-driving vehicles. Estimates of the construction cost were $ 1.2 billion. On January 3, 2017, Ford CEO Mark Fields announced that in
2860-492: A three-story structure, is part of the legendary Dearborn Assembly Plant, which started producing Model A's in the late 1920s and continued production of Ford full-sized coupes and sedans through 2004. After the war, production turned to Fordson tractors . Although the Rouge produced nearly all the parts of the Model T , assembly of that vehicle remained at Highland Park . It was not until 1927 that automobile production began at
2970-701: A version of Daewoo Lanos for full-scale production and equipping it with a domestic engine. The German automotive giant Volkswagen Group also produces SKDs in Ukraine at its Solomonovo plant, producing cars under its Škoda and Volkswagen Passenger Cars marques . In Russia , KD assembling facilities are owned by Avtotor , which produced Hummer H2 , BMW 3 Series , and BMW 5 Series in Kaliningrad , and Renault Logan in Moscow using facilities that once belonged to AZLK . In Kaluga , Volkswagen Group had
3080-413: Is 129 km/h (80 mph). BlueCruise uses sensors and cameras to regulate the car's speed and to keep track of speed limits and road signs. It also monitors and keeps a safe distance from other vehicles. It also comes equipped with an eye-tracking system. If the driver stops looking at the road then the car will gradually reduce its speed. This technology will initially be offered in Ford's 2023 model of
3190-544: Is a driver safety program aimed at teens that were developed together with the Governors Highway Safety Association and safety experts. The Ford Volunteer Corps allows Ford employees and retirees to sign up for volunteering work on local projects in more than 40 countries. The organization invests $ 18 million annually in education in the United States and around the world, but accepts applications only from nonprofit organizations registered in
3300-474: Is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family . They have minority ownership but a plurality of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines . By 1914, these methods were known around
3410-632: Is not an option". Ford and the United Auto Workers , representing approximately 46,000 hourly workers in North America, agreed to a historic contract settlement in November 2007 giving the company a substantial break in terms of its ongoing retiree health care costs and other economic issues. The agreement included the establishment of a company-funded, independently run Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust to shift
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3520-507: Is planned to become the hub of their Corktown campus, and the adjacent Roosevelt Warehouse . Ford expects to move 2,500 of its employees, roughly 5 percent of its southeast Michigan workforce, to the campus with space for an additional 2,500 entrepreneurs, technology companies and partners. Bill Ford envisioned the first-floor concourse of the train station to be a public gathering place with retail outlets and restaurants. In February 2017, Ford Motor Co. acquired majority ownership of Argo AI ,
3630-465: Is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker, behind General Motors , and the sixth-largest in the world , behind Toyota , Volkswagen Group , Hyundai Motor Group , Stellantis , and General Motors, based on 2022 vehicle production. At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth-largest automaker in Europe. The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares , retain 40 percent of
3740-480: Is to be rebranded as Ford Pro, to focus on vehicle distribution and service. In August 2022, Ford announced it planned layoffs of roughly 3,000 employees and contract workers, confirming earlier reporting. The cuts would mostly affect divisions in the US, Canada, and India, which Jim Farley said would allow the company to prepare for the future of electric, software-heavy vehicles. In February 2023, Ford announced that it
3850-606: The 504 pick-up . The 404 and 504 were massively marketed worldwide through local CKD assembly shops: the 404 was assembled, besides France and Argentina, in Australia , Belgium, Canada (at the SOMA plant shared with Renault), Chile, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, New Zealand , Nigeria, Portugal, Perú, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Uruguay; the 504, mainly in Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, South-Africa, Australia, and China by
3960-602: The CMP family , were crated and shipped overseas in KD form, in various degrees of completeness, to Allied countries to sustain their war effort. Assembly lines were preferably set up in local automotive factories where appropriate tooling and equipment could be easily found, but, where needed, other types of buildings could be used, especially in on-the-field situations, and on occasion, even open-air rebuilding camps were set up, managed by military personnel. Owing to male mobilization, sometimes
4070-692: The Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company . The first president was not Ford, but local banker John S. Gray , who was chosen in order to assuage investors' fears that Ford would leave the new company the way he had left its predecessor. During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue and later at its factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit , Michigan . Groups of two or three men worked on each car, assembling it from parts made mostly by supplier companies contracting for Ford. Within
4180-537: The Ford Foundation ), based in Dearborn, Michigan, is the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company. Established in 1949 by Henry Ford II , the organization is a nonprofit corporate foundation financed by contributions from Ford Motor Company. In 2017, it contributed $ 63 million to various causes with a focus on education, driving safely and community building. The Ford Driving Skills for Life program
4290-748: The Ford Transit and later the Ford Escort and the Ford Capri became common to both companies. In 1970, the Ford Taunus and the Ford Cortina came into production with a common base construction, both models being produced in left hand drive and right hand drive . Later on, the models became identical and the respective models right- and left-hand-drive exclusively. Rationalisation of model ranges meant that production of many models in
4400-757: The Guangzhou Peugeot Automobile Company which developed a specific crew cab version. In 1968, the independent German automotive firm, Karmann , began assembly of CKD kits of AMC's newly introduced Javelin for distribution in Europe. American Motors also provided right-hand drive versions of their automobiles to markets such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa . The components were shipped in containers to Australia from AMC's plants in Kenosha, Wisconsin , or Brampton, Ontario . Assembly of Rambler and AMC vehicles in Australia
4510-739: The Paykan (meaning "arrow" in Persian ). Bought by Chrysler in 1967 and then part of the sale to the PSA Group by the Chrysler Corporation of its European operations in late 1978, the Rootes business basis in Iran became the primer for the very significant PSA Peugeot Citroën business in Iran involving engine and CKD deliveries, particularly from the 405, introduced in 1990 and facelifted as
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4620-573: The Transit van continued at the company's Southampton facility until mid-2013, engines at Bridgend and Dagenham , and transmissions at Halewood . Development of European Ford is broadly split between Dunton in Essex (powertrain, Fiesta/Ka, and commercial vehicles) and Cologne (body, chassis, electrical, Focus, Mondeo) in Germany. Ford also produced the Thames range of commercial vehicles, although
4730-616: The VW Sharan and SEAT Alhambra . With the introduction of the third generation of the Galaxy, Ford has moved the production of the people-carrier to the Genk plant, with Volkswagen taking over sole ownership of the Setúbal facility. Knock-down kit A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit , knocked-down kit , or simply knockdown or KD ) is a collection of parts required to assemble
4840-837: The industrialization of that country and consequently the Soviet war effort during World War II . To that end, in 1944, Stalin wrote a letter to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stating that Henry Ford was "one of the world's greatest industrialists". During World War II, the United States Department of War picked Ford to mass-produce the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber at its Willow Run assembly plant. Ford Werke and Ford SAF , Ford's subsidiaries in Germany and France, respectively, produced military vehicles and other equipment for Nazi Germany 's war effort . Some of Ford's operations in Germany at
4950-777: The Île Seguin Renault factory in 1920, the GAZ factory built in the 1930s in the Soviet Union , the Volkswagen factory near Fallersleben in Germany from 1938, the FIAT factory at Torino ( FIAT Mirafiori factory ) in Italy from 1939 as well as the later Hyundai factory complex in Ulsan, South Korea , which was developed beginning in the late 1960s. Designed by Albert Kahn , River Rouge
5060-639: The " Buy America Act " provisions (49 USC 5323(j) and 49 CFR Part 661) for public agencies purchasing new equipment with federal funds. North American Bus Industries opened operations in Anniston, Alabama , in 1993, with incomplete buses shipped from Budapest , Hungary , to Anniston for final assembly. NABI expanded production operations in Anniston to allow full production with its first fully domestically produced bus unit in 2008. The practice of selling "knocked down" railcars, called by that name, pre-dates
5170-768: The " Chicken Tax ". The Sprinter was eventually replaced in the Dodge/ Ram lineup with the similar Ram ProMaster, a rebadged Fiat Ducato . Unlike the CKD Dodge Sprinter, the ProMaster is fully imported to the U.S. from a Chrysler plant in Mexico under of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In 2009, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited announced that it would export pickup trucks powered by diesel engines from India to
5280-418: The 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m) Dearborn truck assembly plant was covered with more than 10 acres (4.0 ha) of sedum , a low-growing groundcover . The sedum retains and cleanses rainwater and moderates the internal temperature of the building, saving energy. The roof is part of an $ 18 million rainwater treatment system designed to collect and clean rainwater annually, sparing Ford from
5390-399: The 1960s, Ford began to decentralize manufacturing, building several factories in major metropolitan centers. The Rouge was downsized, with units (including the famous furnaces and docks) sold off to independent companies, many still operating independently to this day. On May 26, 1937, a group of workers attempting to organize a union at the Rouge were severely beaten, an event later called
5500-613: The 1970s, manufactures the Transit Connect compact panel van as well as the "Jumbo" and long-wheelbase versions of the full-size Transit. This new production facility was set up near Kocaeli in 2002, and its opening marked the end of Transit assembly in Genk. Another joint venture plant near Setúbal in Portugal, set up in collaboration with Volkswagen , formerly assembled the Galaxy people-carrier as well as its sister ships,
5610-921: The 20th century, as evidenced by an advertisement by JG Brill Company in the Street Railway Journal from 1898. Many rail equipment builders have used kits or incomplete vehicles, often to meet local assembly and production requirements or quotas, or to satisfy tariffs. Some examples include: Unserviceable military aircraft are also sold as "knock-downs" after they have ended their service life , packaging them with serviceable aircraft. This allows them to be used for cannibalization of spare parts . The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus uses knock-down kits to assemble A320 family aircraft outside Europe. The Airbus A320 final assembly line in Tianjin , China, assembles fuselage, wing, and tail sections made in Europe with avionics and engines made in
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#17327796545505720-549: The Airbus Tianjin and Mobile plants receive their fuselages, wings, and tail sections from Europe via ocean freight using specially designed ships , as the plants are located in port cities. From 1908 to 1940, the Sears, Roebuck & Co. mail-order catalog offered over 400 styles of homes. Buyers were provided with all of the materials and the instructions needed to build a house. Everything that arrived by train or in
5830-448: The Battle of the Overpass . Peter E. Martin 's respect for labor led to Walter Reuther , a UAW leader, allowing Martin to be the only Ford manager to retrieve his papers or gain access to the plant. The Rouge was one of only three locations where Ford manufactured the Mustang; the other sites were Metuchen Assembly in Edison, New Jersey , and San Jose Assembly in Milpitas, California . By 1987, only Mustang production remained at
5940-400: The Dearborn Assembly Plant (DAP). In 1987 Ford planned to replace that car with the front wheel drive Ford Probe , but public outcry quickly turned to surging sales. With the fourth-generation Mustang a success, the Rouge was saved as well. Ford decided to modernize its operations. A gas explosion on February 1, 1999, killed six employees and injured two dozen more, resulting in the idling of
6050-408: The Detroit United Auto Workers union announced that after discussion with the leaders of General Motors , Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , the carmakers would partially shut down factories on a "rotating" basis to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic . On March 24, representatives of Ford announced that production in the US, Canada, and Mexico would not resume on March 30 as originally planned, amid
6160-458: The EU or the United States and locally sourced components for interiors. Airbus opened a similar A320 final assembly line in the United States in September 2015, located in Mobile, Alabama ; again using European-made fuselages, wings, and tail sections. However, the Mobile final assembly line will use more locally sourced components than the Tianjin line; engines, interior components, and avionics will be sourced mainly from American suppliers. Both
6270-410: The Ford Fund announced its official name has changed to Ford Philanthropy. Ford has had manufacturing operations worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. Ford also helped the Soviet Union to construct Russian automaker GAZ . In May 2010, Ford reported that its sales increased 23% for
6380-593: The French automaker because its product range lacked large-sized cars, and it needed to offer an "executive" model for its European markets. The situation changed by 1977. By this time, AMC sought outside support for a new car in the sub-compact market segment, which led to the first of many agreements with Renault. Volvo's Halifax Assembly Plant , which opened in 1963, completed vehicles in CKD form from Sweden for North American consumers. Halifax Assembly closed in December 1998. In 1967, Rootes Group UK began exporting CKD Hillman Hunters to Iran where they were sold as
6490-428: The Mercury in 1939 as a higher-priced companion car to Ford. Henry Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, in order to compete with such brands as Cadillac and Packard for the luxury segment of the automobile market. In 1929, Ford was contracted by the government of the Soviet Union to set up the Gorky Automobile Plant in Russia initially producing Ford Model A and AAs, thereby playing an important role in
6600-481: The Models A , B, C, F, K, N, R, and S. Hundreds or a few thousand of most of these were sold per year. In 1908, Ford introduced the mass-produced Model T , which totaled millions sold over nearly 20 years. In 1927, Ford replaced the T with the Model A , the first car with safety glass in the windshield. Ford launched the first low-priced car with a V8 engine in 1932. In an attempt to compete with General Motors' mid-priced Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, Ford created
6710-424: The Mustang, due to declining demand and profitability. The Focus Active, a crossover SUV based on the newly unveiled fourth-generation Focus, was also intended to be marketed in the United States. Due to the vehicle being manufactured in China, Ford later announced that it would not release the Focus Active in the United States, due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese exports . In March 2020,
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#17327796545506820-465: The Netherlands, various parts are added to the car, most notably the rear subframe with the drive train as well as the battery pack. Motor Coach Industries opened its Pembina, North Dakota , assembly plant in 1963, as part of an expansion into the US market. Unfinished KD (knocked down) coach bodies are shipped from Winnipeg, Manitoba , by flatbed trailer and completed, outfitted, and delivered at Pembina. This practice simplifies US Customs and meets
6930-413: The Netherlands. It is used for the assembly of their Model S sedan and Model X SUV for the European Union , but not all of Europe since only cars imported to the EU benefit from circumventing the 10% import duty (e.g. cars to Norway are shipped directly from the United States). For the most part, the car is still manufactured in the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California . During the final assembly in
7040-421: The Pars in 1999 and 206 introduced in 2001. In 2004, Peugeot's partner Iran Khodro produced 281'000 Peugeot vehicles, securing a 36% market share. In 1967 as well, Peugeot introduced CKD-based production of a light pick-up vehicle based on the Peugeot 403 in Peugeot's Berazategui factory (in Buenos Aires ) under the name Peugeot 4TB. In 1973, this model was replaced by the 404 pick-up and later (1990) by
7150-482: The Rouge complex have been renovated and converted to "green" structures with a number of environmentally friendly features. In the summer of 1932, through Edsel Ford 's support, Mexican artist Diego Rivera was invited to study the facilities at the Rouge. These studies informed his set of murals known as Detroit Industry . The plant's first products were Eagle Boats , World War I anti-submarine warfare boats produced in Building B. The original Building B,
7260-425: The Rouge, with the introduction of the Ford Model A. During World War II the Rouge complex produced jeeps, aircraft engines, aircraft components and parts, tires and tubes, armor plate, and tractors. Other Rouge products included the 1932 Model B , the original Mercury , the Ford Thunderbird , Mercury Capri , and four decades of Ford Mustangs . The old assembly plant was idled with the construction and launch of
7370-473: The U.S. Education programs and scholarships include Alan Mulally Engineering Scholarship, Ford Blue Oval Scholars Program, Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3), Ford Driving Dreams Tour, Ford Fund/Detroit Free Press Journalism Scholarship, Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL), Grants to Individuals Program, HBCU Community Challenge, Smithsonian Latino Center Young Ambassadors Program, and William Clay Ford Automotive Design Scholarship. On April 29, 2024,
7480-441: The UK switched to elsewhere in Europe, including Belgium and Spain as well as Germany. The Ford Sierra replaced the Taunus and Cortina in 1982, drawing criticism for its radical aerodynamic styling, which was soon given nicknames, the "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship". In February 2002, Ford ended car production in the UK. It was the first time in 90 years that Ford cars had not been made in Britain, although production of
7590-424: The United States in knockdown kit (CKD) form, again to circumvent the chicken tax . Mahindra planned to export CKDs to the United States as complete vehicles that will be assembled in the United States from kits of parts shipped in crates. However, Mahindra's United States CKD and export plans never materialized and were subject to several lawsuits. In 2013, Tesla started operating an assembly plant in Tilburg ,
7700-440: The burden of retiree health care from the company's books, thereby improving its balance sheet. This arrangement took effect on January 1, 2010. As a sign of its currently strong cash position, Ford contributed its entire current liability (estimated at US$ 5.5 billion as of December 31, 2009) to the VEBA in cash, and also pre-paid US$ 500 million of its future liabilities to the fund. The agreement also gave hourly workers
7810-440: The chief executive officer of the company in August 2020; he previously served as Ford's chief operating officer. Hackett stayed in the company as an advisor until the second quarter of 2021. Ford is mainly owned by institutional investors, who own around 60% of shares. The largest shareholders in December 2023 were: The Ford Philanthropy, formerly known as the Ford Motor Company Fund (also known as Ford Fund, not affiliated with
7920-477: The company until 2014. Ford also named Mark Fields, its president of operations in the Americas, as its new chief operating officer Mulally was paid a compensation of over $ 174 million in his previous seven years at Ford since 2006. The generous amount has been a sore point for some workers of the company. In April 2016, Ford announced a plan to modernize its Dearborn engineering and headquarters campuses through
8030-400: The company; at the beginning the vaccination program would be in southeast Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, but it was to be expanded later on to other locations. In March 2022, Ford announced that it would restructure the company into three separate divisions. Ford Model E is to focus on electric vehicles; Ford Blue is to focus on internal combustion vehicles; and the existing commercial division
8140-566: The complex are represented by UAW Local 600. A fleet of three Ford-owned Great Lakes freighters initially named for the Ford grandsons and later renamed for top company executives, was based at the River Rouge Plant. The deckhouse of the SS Benson Ford was transported by crane barge to Put-in-Bay, Ohio and placed on an 18-foot cliff as a private home above Lake Erie. In September, 2020 Ford announced construction of
8250-642: The cost of credit default swaps to insure the debt of Ford was 68 percent of the sum insured for five years, in addition to annual payments of 5 percent. That meant $ 6.8 million paid upfront to insure $ 10 million in debt, in addition to payments of $ 500,000 per year. In January 2009, Ford reported a $ 14.6 billion loss in the preceding year, a record for the company. The company retained sufficient liquidity to fund its operations. Through April 2009, Ford's strategy of debt-for-equity exchanges erased $ 9.9 billion in liabilities (28% of its total) in order to leverage its cash position. These actions yielded Ford
8360-443: The country of origin and exported whole to the destination market are known as built-up export ( BUX ). Technically, the terms "knock-down", "incompletely disassembled kit", and "kits of parts" are all misnomers because the knock-downs were never built up in the first place. The parts shipments are often not in the form of kits, but rather bulk-packed by type of part into shipping containers . The degree of "knock-down" depends on
8470-484: The desires and technical abilities of the receiving organization or government import regulations. Developing nations may pursue trade and economic policies that call for import substitution or local content regulations. Companies with CKD operations help the country substitute the finished products it imports with locally assembled substitutes. Knock-down kit assembly plants are less expensive to establish and maintain because they do not need modern robotic equipment, and
8580-585: The easing of import restrictions led to many used imports , because they were less expensive than locally assembled used cars, and outsold the 'NZ New' vehicles. The last companies to construct CKD kits in New Zealand were Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi , and Honda , which closed their plants in 1998 when the government announced plans to abolish import tariffs on cars. Other examples include Ukraine , which has almost prohibitive import taxes on finished cars. AutoZAZ assembles CKD kits of some Lada , Opel , Mercedes-Benz , and Daewoo cars. It went as far as adopting
8690-455: The electric Mustang Mach-E SUV. According to Thatcham Research, an automotive research company, this model is not a self-driving car. It is classified as a level 2 or partial automation assistance system. This means that technology controls two or more driving aspects but still requires human driver control in cases of emergencies. The driver is still legally responsible for accidents. In August 2024 Pennsylvania State Police filed charges against
8800-478: The formation of Ford Smart Mobility, a unit responsible for experimenting with car-sharing programs, self-driving ventures and other programs aimed at helping Ford better compete with Uber , Alphabet Inc. and other tech giants looking to edge in on the auto industry. On April 25, 2018, Ford announced that it would discontinue passenger cars in the North American market in the next four years, except for
8910-436: The further coronavirus pandemic spread. In the first quarter of 2020, Ford's sales dropped by 15%, entailing the loss of $ 2 billion. With the change in the demand for the sport vehicles, on January 6, 2021, Ford reported a sales fall of 9.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 542,749 vehicles, compared to 601,862 in 2019. In April 2021, Ford said that it would provide COVID-19 vaccines for its employees, who were to obtain them at
9020-551: The future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. Under the multimillion-dollar, multi-year project, Ford is to convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE is to evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles are to be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford. William Clay Ford Jr. , great-grandson of Henry Ford (and better known by his nickname "Bill"),
9130-434: 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. During congressional hearings held in November 2008 at Washington D.C., Ford's Alan Mulally stated that "We at Ford are hopeful that we have enough liquidity. But we also must prepare ourselves for
9240-488: The industry. Mulally stated that "In addition to our plan, we are also here today to request support for the industry. In the near-term, Ford does not require access to a government bridge loan. However, we request a credit line of $ 9 billion as a critical backstop or safeguard against worsening conditions as we drive transformational change in our company". GM and Chrysler received government loans and financing through T.A.R.P. legislation funding provisions. On December 19,
9350-400: The job security they were seeking by having the company commit to substantial investments in most of its factories. 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
9460-585: The largest family-controlled companies in the world. The first gasoline-powered automobile was created in 1885 by the German inventor Karl Benz , with his Benz Patent-Motorwagen . More efficient production methods were needed to make automobiles affordable for middle class people. To which Ford contributed by, for instance, introducing the first moving assembly line in 1913 at the Ford factory in Highland Park . Between 1903 and 1908, Ford produced
9570-422: The last vehicle built at the historic site. Demolition of the historic DAP facility was completed in 2008. All that remains is a 3000 place parking lot to hold light truck production from the new Dearborn Truck Plant. Today, the Rouge site is home to Ford's Rouge Center. This industrial park includes six Ford factories on 600 acres (2.4 km) of land, as well as steelmaking operations run by Cleveland Cliffs,
9680-466: The mail was designed to fit together, therefore buyers could build the houses themselves or hire contractors. Sears sourced building materials at a high volume, thus keeping prices low and competitive with the local builders. Knock-down furniture dates back to at least the mid-19th century, with the 1859 Thonet No. 14 chair bentwood chair being easily disassembled for transportation. In the late 1940s, Australian designer Frederick Charles Ward founded
9790-426: The manufacturer needs to "localize" the car further, i.e., increase the share of parts produced by local manufacturers, such as tires, wheels, seats, headlights, windscreens and glass, batteries, interior plastics, etc., even down to the engine and transmission. At some point, the steel body could be pressed, welded, and painted locally, effectively making KD assembly only a few steps away from full-scale production. By
9900-541: The mid-to-late 1990s, Ford continued to sell large numbers of vehicles, in a booming American economy with a soaring stock market and low fuel prices. With the dawn of the new century, legacy health care costs , higher fuel prices, and a faltering economy led to falling market shares, declining sales, and diminished profit margins. 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
10010-545: The month, and that 37% of its sales came from fleet sales. In June 2010, sales to individual customers at dealerships increased 13% while fleet sales rose by 32%. In the first seven months of 2010, fleet sales of Ford for the same period rose 35% to 386,000 units while retail sales increase 19%. Fleet sales account for 39 percent of Chrysler's sales and 31 percent for GM's. At first, Ford in Germany and Ford in Britain built different models from one another until 1965, when
10120-485: The new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, where their electric vehicles will be produced. In 2021, the vehicle center opened, and Ford's first all electric truck, the Ford F-150 Lightning , will be the first vehicle model produced there. In 1999, architect William McDonough entered into an agreement with Ford Motor Company to redesign its 85-year-old, 1,212-acre (490 ha) Rouge River facility. The roof of
10230-473: The past two years and will lose a similar amount in 2023 as the company looks to significantly invest in Electric Technology. The Ford Model E is expected to be profitable by 2026. In April 2023, United Kingdom ministers approved Ford's BlueCruise technology. Because of this assisted driving technology, Ford drivers can now legally take their hands off the wheel on certain roads. Its top speed
10340-493: The power plant. Michigan Utility CMS Energy built a state-of-the-art Power Plant across Miller Road to replace the electricity and steam production, as well as the blast furnace waste gas consumption of the original power plant. As it ended production, Dearborn Assembly Plant was one of six plants within the Ford Rouge Center. The plant was open from 1918 to May 10, 2004, with a red convertible 2004 Ford Mustang GT being
10450-407: The prospect of further deteriorating economic conditions". He went on to state that "The collapse of one of our competitors would have a severe impact on Ford" and that Ford Motor Company supported both Chrysler and General Motors in their search for government bridge loans during the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis . Together, the three companies presented action plans for the sustainability of
10560-549: The retirement of president and chief operations officer Jim Padilla in April 2006, Bill Ford assumed his roles as well. Five months later, in September, Ford named Alan Mulally as president and CEO, with Ford continuing as executive chairman. In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $ 25 billion, placing substantially all corporate assets as collateral. Chairman Bill Ford has stated that "bankruptcy
10670-438: The time Henry Ford co-wrote his 1922 memoir, My Life and Work , the Ford Motor Company was already shipping car parts from its Michigan plants for final assembly in the regions of the United States or foreign countries where the cars would be sold. During World War II , a significant number of US- and Canadian-built vehicles, most notably light and heavy trucks like Willys MB / Ford GPW /GPA, GMC-353/ CCKW , and vehicles from
10780-487: The time were run using forced labor . The creation of a scientific laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1951, doing unfettered basic research, led to Ford's involvement in superconductivity research. In 1964, Ford Research Labs made a key breakthrough with the invention of a superconducting quantum interference device or SQUID . Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956 , which included such innovations as
10890-499: The titanic Rouge was able to turn raw materials into running vehicles within this single complex, a prime example of vertical-integration production. Some of the River Rouge buildings were designed by architect Albert Kahn . His Rouge glass plant was regarded at the time as an exemplary and humane factory building, with ample natural light provided through windows in the ceiling. Since the late 20th century, several buildings at
11000-733: The use of this brand name was discontinued with the introduction of the Ford Transit in 1965. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo, Galaxy , S-Max and Kuga in Valencia (Spain), Fiesta in Cologne (Germany), Focus in Saarlouis (Germany), Ecosport and Puma in Craiova (Romania). Ford also owns a joint-venture production plant in Turkey. Ford Otosan , established in
11110-668: The voting rights. During the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis , the company struggled financially but did not have to be rescued by the federal government, unlike the other two major US automakers. Ford Motors has since returned to profitability, and was the eleventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2017 of $ 156.7 billion. In 2023, Ford produced 4.4 million automobiles, and employed about 177,000 employees worldwide. The company operates joint ventures in China ( Changan Ford ), Taiwan ( Ford Lio Ho ), Thailand ( AutoAlliance Thailand ), and Turkey ( Ford Otosan ). Ford owns
11220-417: The wheels, internal combustion engine , transmission , and battery . They are either supplied as parts for assembly (a "complete" kit) or obtained from third parties (an "incomplete" kit); all of the interiors are already installed at the originating factory. The term SKD for semi-knocked-down refers to a kit with a complete, welded car body, usually coated or already painted. To gain extra tax preferences,
11330-400: The workforce may be less costly than in the country of origin. The plants may also be effective for low-volume production. The CKD concept allows firms in developing markets to gain expertise in a particular industry. At the same time, the CKD kit exporting company gains new markets that would otherwise be closed. In the automotive industry, the most basic form of a vehicle in the KD kit lacks
11440-707: The world as Fordism . Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover , acquired in 1989 and 2000, respectively, were sold to the Indian automaker Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010. In the third quarter of 2010, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed upscale cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938. Ford
11550-495: Was appointed executive chairman in 1998, and also became chief executive officer of the company in 2001, with the departure of Jacques Nasser , becoming the first member of the Ford family to head the company since the retirement of his uncle, Henry Ford II , in 1982. Ford sold motorsport engineering company Cosworth to Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven in 2004, the start of a decrease in Ford's motorsport involvement. Upon
11660-515: Was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1978 for its architecture and historical importance to the industry and economy of the United States. The Rouge complex measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide by 1 mile (1.6 km) long, including 93 buildings with nearly 16 million square feet (1.5 km) of factory floor space. With its own docks in the dredged Rouge River , 100 miles (160 km) of interior railroad track, its own electricity plant , and integrated steel mill ,
11770-576: Was done by Australian Motor Industries (AMI) in Port Melbourne, Victoria . Local content requirements were met by using Australian suppliers for the interiors (seats, carpeting, etc.) as well as for lights, heaters, and other components. Various Rambler models were assembled in New Zealand from the early 1960s until 1971 by Campbell Motors in Thames (later Toyota New Zealand ), which had also built Toyota , Datsun (later known as Nissan) , Hino, Renault, and Peugeot cars. New Zealand had developed
11880-582: Was going to cut 3,800 jobs across Europe, with the job cuts mainly focusing on their German and British workforce. Ford will be cutting 2,300 jobs from Germany, 1,300 from the United Kingdom, and an additional 200 jobs in the rest of Europe, according to the head of Ford Germany, Martin Sander. The cuts will mainly be done to the company's engineers. Ford also announced during the year that their electric vehicle business had lost $ 3 billion before taxes over
11990-552: Was introduced on April 17, 1964, during the 1964 New York World's Fair , where Ford had a pavilion made by The Walt Disney Company . In 1965, Ford introduced the seat belt reminder light. With the 1980s, Ford introduced several highly successful vehicles around the world. During the 1980s, Ford began using the advertising slogan, "Have you driven a Ford, lately?" to introduce new customers to their brand and make their vehicles appear more modern. In 1990 and 1994, respectively, Ford also acquired Jaguar Cars and Aston Martin . During
12100-511: Was responsible for the manufacture and sale of the famous Continental Mark II . At the same time, the Edsel division was created to design and market that car starting with the 1958 model year. Due to limited sales of the Continental and the Edsel disaster, Ford merged Mercury, Edsel, and Lincoln into "M-E-L," which reverted to "Lincoln-Mercury" after Edsel's November 1959 demise. The Ford Mustang
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