Ford Motor Company facts for kids

"Ford" redirects here. For other uses, see Ford (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Ford Motor Company

The Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, also known as the Glass House
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: F S&P 100 Component S&P 500 Component
Industry	Automotive
Founded	June 16, 1903; 120 years ago (1903-06-16)
Founder	Henry Ford
Headquarters	Dearborn, Michigan , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	William Clay Ford Jr. (Executive Chairman) Jim Hackett (President & CEO)
Products	Automobiles Luxury Vehicles Commercial Vehicles Automotive parts Pickup trucks SUVs
Production output	6.0 million vehicles (2018)
Services	Automotive finance Vehicle leasing Vehicle service
Revenue	US$160.33 billion (2018)
Operating income	US$3.27 billion (2018)
Net income	US$3.67 billion (2018)
Total assets	US$256.54 billion (2018)
Total equity	US$35.93 billion (2018)
Owners	The Vanguard Group (5.82%) Evercore Wealth Management (5.58%) Ford family (2% equity; 40% voting power)
Number of employees	199,000 (December 2018)
Divisions	Ford Lincoln Motorcraft
Subsidiaries	List Transportation Ford Australia Ford Performance Vehicles (Until 2014) Ford do Brasil Troller Ford of Europe Ford of Britain Ford Germany Ford Romania Ford Performance Ford Team RS Special Vehicle Team Ford Lio Ho (70%) AutoAlliance Thailand (50%) Blue Diamond Trucks (50%) Ford Sollers (50%) Otosan (41%) Changan Ford (35%) Jiangling Motors (32%) Finance Ford Credit Other Automotive Components Holdings Getrag (50%) International Ford of Argentina Ford of Canada Ford of India Ford of Japan Ford of Korea Ford of New Zealand Ford of China Ford of Philippines Ford of Taiwan

The Ford Motor Company (often known as Ford) is an American company that makes vehicles. This company is named after its founder, Henry Ford.

These brands are also made by Ford:

History
- Mass production on the line
- Early growth
British Models
American Models
Images for kids
See also

History

In 1896, Henry Ford had an idea to make a Quadricycle, the first "horseless carriage" he built. This four-wheeled vehicle was very different from cars we drive now. It was very different even from vehicles Ford produced just a few years later. Even so, this was the start of Ford's career as a businessman. Until the Quadricycle, Ford's work had been experimental and theoretical. For example, in the 1890s, Ford built a gas engine on his kitchen table — just an engine with nothing to power. Enough people liked the Quadricycle, and much could be done with the it, so it led to the beginning of Ford's business.

Ford Motor Company started on June 16, 1903, when Henry Ford and 11 business helpers signed papers to form the company. Their first Ford production car, the Model A, was sold in Detroit, Michigan a few months later. (This Model A should not be confused with their more famous Model A, which came out in 1927). With $280,000 (around 165 000 pounds), the early businessmen made what was to become one of the world's largest companies. Few companies changed the history and development of industry and society in the 20th century as much as Ford Motor Company.

Mass production on the line

Ford Motor Company's most important contribution to automotive manufacturing was the (moving) assembly line. First implemented at the Highland Park plant (in Michigan, US) in 1913, this new method let each workers to stay in one place, to do the same job repeatedly as the vehicles went by on the assembly line. The line proved to be very efficient; it helped the company make more cars, and make them cheaper than other car companies could do at the time. Before using the assembly line, Ford made 12,000 Model T's in a year. With the assembly line, Ford could make 12,000 Model T's in just two days. Ford had discovered how to make more cars that more people could afford to buy. He even paid his workers higher salaries than other car companies and still made money.

Early growth

Henry Ford insisted that the company's future lay in the production of affordable cars for a mass market. In 1903, the company began using the first 19 letters of the alphabet to name new cars. In 1908, the Model T was born, and it was sold for 19 years. By selling 15 million Model T's, Ford Motor Company became a giant company which spanned the globe. They built plants in the Soviet Union, Japan and other places. Ford started making farm tractors, trucks and school buses. In 1925, Ford Motor Company bought the Lincoln Motor Company. It uses that name to build luxury cars. In the 1930s, the name "Mercury" was given to its mid-priced cars. Ford Motor Company was growing.

British Models

A British Ford dealership in Wetherby, West Yorkshire.

The 1920s

Model A

The 1930s

1932 Ford Model B Coup

Model B
Ford Rheinland
Ford V8
Ford Taunus

The 1950s

Ford 12M '52 - '62
Ford 15M '55 - '59
Ford 17M '57 - '60

The 1960s

Ford P3
Ford P4
Ford P5
Ford P6
Ford P7
Ford Capri
Ford Transit

The 1970s

Ford Consul
Ford Taunus
Ford Escort
Ford Fiesta
Ford Granada
Ford Capri

The 1980s

Ford RS200
Ford Capri
Ford Escort
Ford Orion
Ford RS200
Ford Sierra
Ford Scorpio

The 1990s

Ford Cougar buggatti
Ford Escort
Ford Explorer
Ford Focus (2001 and 2002)
Ford Galaxy (VW Sharan and Seat Alhambra)
Ford Ka
Ford Maverick
Ford Mondeo
Ford Probe
Ford Puma
Ford Windstar

The 2000s

Ford Focus C-MAX
Ford Focus ST
Ford Fusion (British)
Ford StreetKa
Ford Transit Connect
Ford Tourneo Connect
Ford S-MAX
Ford Focus Cabriolet (2006)
Ford CUV (2007, )

American Models

Current

Ford EcoSport
Ford Edge
Ford Escape
Ford Expedition
Ford Explorer
Ford F-Series Pickups
Ford F-Series Super Duty
Ford F-Series Commercial Truck
Ford Fiesta Hatchback
Ford Fiesta Sedan
Ford Flex
Ford Focus Hatchback (American)
Ford Focus Sedan (American)
Ford Fusion (American)
Ford Mustang
Ford Taurus
Ford Transit
Ford Transit Connect

Images for kids

Founder Henry Ford c. 1919
A 1910 Model T (introduced in 1908), photographed in Salt Lake City
B-24 Liberator bombers being mass-produced at Ford's Willow Run assembly plant in 1944
William Clay Ford Jr., great-grandson of Henry Ford, serves as the executive chairman at the board of Ford Motor Company.
Horton Classic Car Museum, Nocona, Texas.
The historic, once abandoned Michigan Central Station was purchased by Ford Motor Company in May 2018 and is expected to undergo a significant four-year renovation.
Ford dealer in Garden City, New York, c. 1930–1945
Ford's Dunton Technical Centre in Laindon, United Kingdom, the largest automotive research and development facility in the country
The Ford Research Center in Aachen, Germany
Ford FG X Falcon (Australia) (2014–2016; 2014 model shown)
The Ford stamping plant in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It closed in 2016.
The 2017 model year F-150
An advertisement for the 1939 Ford V-8 pick-up truck
An advertisement for the 1961 Ford H-Series truck
A Ford B700 bus chassis, with a body by Thomas Built
A 1937 Ford Transit Bus in Seattle
A Ford N series tractor
Arie Luyendyk's record-setting Ford Cosworth-powered IndyCar from 1996
Ryan Blaney driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 2016 at Michigan International Speedway
Jari-Matti Latvala driving the Ford Focus RS WRC 09 in 2010
A GT racing version of the Ford Mustang, competing in the Koni Challenge in 2005
Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon V8 Supercar at Eastern Creek in Australia in 2008
The Ford Focus Flexifuel was the first E85 flexible fuel vehicle commercially available in the European market.
Ford Escape plug-in hybrid test vehicle
Alan Mulally (wearing red tie) with then-President George W. Bush at the Kansas City Assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri, on March 20, 2007, touting Ford's new hybrid cars
The Azure Transit Connect Electric was produced between 2010 and 2012 as a collaboration between Azure Dynamics and Ford Motor Company.
The Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid shares its powertrain with the Ford C-Max Energi.
Ford Mustang Mach-E