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Ford Motor history
Ford Motor company history timeline
Apparently his father loaned him $5,000 with which he bought Ford stock on June 27, 1903.
During June of 1903; Henry Ford, James Couzens and C.H Wills were on salaries, there were also seven hourly workers working ten-hour days, six days a week, for a weekly pay varying from $8.00 to $18.00.
With $28,000 of capital raised from friends and neighbors, Henry Ford established a new shop on June 16, 1903.
For the period between July 23 and September 30, 1903, sales of 195 vehicles produced an income of $142,481.72 with net profits of $36,957.
Things were changing for the better when Henry Ford celebrated his fortieth birthday on July 30, 1903.
1903 Election of Board of Directors: Mr.
The Ford Motor Company was officially incorporated in 1903, when founder Henry Ford launched his venture in a converted factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit.
By April of 1904, attorneys Anderson & Rackham were handling the Ford Motor Company purchase of a Beaubien Street site for $23,500, and overseeing the building of a much larger factory to cost $76,500.
A Canadian plant was established in Walkerville, Ontario, on August 17, 1904.
The company’s first international sales branch opened in Paris in 1908.
In 1908, Ford introduced the mass-produced Model T, which totaled millions sold over nearly 20 years.
7, 1913: The Highland Park plant in Michigan begins operations as the first moving automobile assembly line in the world.
In 1914, Ford began offering a $5 a day wage to its factory employees.
5, 1914: Ford begins offering $5 per day for eight-hour work days and 15,000 job seekers clamor for 3,000 jobs at the Model T Plant in Highland Park.
In 1918, Henry Ford officially retired from the company, naming his son Edsel president and ceding to him a controlling interest.
Between January 1 and April 19, 1921, the Ford Motor Company had $58 million in financial obligations due, and only $20 million available to meet them.
1922: Lincoln Motor Company is acquired.
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.
Edsel Ford was more enthusiastic about the development of the aircraft industry than his father, and in 1925 persuaded his fellow shareholders (all family members) to purchase the Stout Metal Airplane Company.
In 1926, General Motors Corporation introduced its Chevrolet automobile, a more stylish and powerful car.
In 1927, Ford replaced the T with the Model A, the first car with safety glass in the windshield.
The British Ford Company was formed in 1928 and shortly thereafter the German Ford Company was founded.
Ford launched the first low-priced car with a V8 engine in 1932.
But Henry Ford, who had supported President Hoover in the election, advised his workers to resist union organization, and in 1935 raised the company's minimum wage to $6 per day.
In 1937, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union began a campaign to organize Ford workers by sponsoring the employee occupation of a Ford plant in Kansas City.
In 1938 Ford introduced the first Mercury, a car in the medium price range between Ford and Lincoln.
In an attempt to compete with General Motors' mid-priced Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, Ford created the Mercury in 1939 as a higher-priced companion car to Ford.
In 1940, Henry Ford, who opposed American involvement in World War II, canceled a contract (arranged by Edsel) to build 6,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engines for the British Royal Air Force, and 3,000 more for the United States Army.
March 1, 1941: Ford begins to produce general-purpose "jeeps" for the United States military and shifts completely to military production starting in Feb.
Edsel Ford died unexpectedly in May 1943 at the age of 49.
In late 1955, Ford established the Continental division as a separate luxury car division.
Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956, which included such innovations as 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 1958, the much heralded 410 horsepower Edsel made its debut.
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.
1963: Ford Mustang is released.
Henry Ford relinquished his position as chief executive officer to Philip Caldwell in October 1979.
In 1980, the company lost $1.54 billion, despite strong profits from the truck division and European operations.
In 1984, with costs reduced, Ford started to repurchase 30 million shares (about 10 percent of the company's stock). Its production of cars in Mexico was increased, and through its interest in Kia Motors, output was stepped up in South Korea.
1985: Ford Taurus is introduced.
The attempted acquisition of the Italian car maker Alfa Romeo in 1986 failed, due to a rival bid from Fiat.
7, 1987: Ford acquires 75 percent of Aston Martin Lagonda, Ltd.
31, 1988: Ford's worldwide earnings were $5.3 billion, the highest of any auto company to date.
1, 1989: Ford spends $2.5 billion to buy Jaguar Cars.
March 15, 1990: Ford introduces the Explorer sport utility vehicle.
In the United States, automotive losses reached an equally staggering $2.2 billion on the heels of a $17 million loss in 1990.
In 1991, Ford's worldwide automotive operations lost an enormous $3.2 billion after recording a $99 million profit the year before.
The financial disaster of 1991, however, was just a prelude to more pernicious losses the following year, as the global recession reached its greatest intensity.
July 1, 1992: Ford buys 50 percent of Mazda Motor Manufacturing and changes that company's name to AutoAlliance International.
In 1992, with revenue swelling to slightly more than $100 billion, Ford posted a $7.38 billion loss.
April 18, 1993: Ford begins production of the Flexible-Fuel Vehicle (FFV) Taurus.
June 20, 1993: Ford opens its first dealerships in China.
Toward this end, Ford reorganized its production and distribution operations in mid-1994 to better respond to the changing economic structure of the numerous countries in which Ford operated facilities.
21, 1997: Ford sells the first taxicabs run on natural gas to New York City.
His cost-cutting efforts earned Nasser the nickname Jac the Knife, but once he was named Ford's chief executive in 1998, the characterization of his influence took on an added dimension.
1999: Swedish automaker Volvo is acquired in a $6.45 billion deal.
August 2000: Bridgestone/Firestone recalls 6.5 million tires after 271 rollover deaths in Ford Explorers.
May 2001: Ford Motor unilaterally recalls 13 million more tires and Bridgestone/Firestone dumps Ford as a customer, saying Ford was using the tire maker as a scapegoat to deflect attention from problems with the Ford Explorer.
2001: The company takes a $2.1 billion charge to cover the cost of replacing Firestone tires on its vehicles; William Clay Ford, Jr., is named CEO.
In a speech quoted in a November 2002 Fortune article, CEO Ford reminded his work force "We've come back from adversity many times in our history.
In early 2002, Ford launched a major restructuring effort that included the closure of five plants, the elimination of 35,000 jobs, over $9 billion in cost cutting measures, and the shuttering of several car lines including the Mercury Cougar and the Lincoln Continental.
The company forged ahead in 2002 cutting its losses to $559 million.
In response, Ford sold some non-core assets and ramped up new product development, launching the Ford Focus C-MAX in Europe, the Jaguar XJ, the Volvo S40, a new Ford F-150, the Ford Freestar, and the Mercury Monterey in 2003.
Ford anticipated launching 40 new products in 2004 including the new Mustang and the Escape Hybrid, the first gasoline/electric SUV. Overall, the company planned to have 150 new products in the marketplace by mid-decade.
James J. Padilla, elected chief operating officer in 2004, and William Clay Ford, Jr., indeed faced a long road ahead.
Ford sold motorsport engineering company Cosworth to Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven in 2004, the start of a decrease in Ford's motorsport involvement.
The changes will save Ford about $650 million a year. (Ford's health-care bill for 2005 was $3.5 billion.)
22, 2005: The United Auto Workers agrees to a deal with Ford in which 99 cents an hour of any future wage increases will go towards a health-care fund.
2005: Ford loses market share for the 10th year in a row, and also loses its place as America's best-selling brand to GM's Chevrolet.
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.
Upon the retirement of president and chief operations officer Jim Padilla in April 2006, Bill Ford assumed his roles as well.
In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $25 billion, placing substantially all corporate assets as collateral.
However, Ford surprised Wall Street in the second quarter of 2007 by posting a $750 million profit.
On June 2, 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.
In 2008 Ford alone, of the big three American automakers, avoided bankruptcy and a government bailout.
The loans would allow the auto companies to continue operating through March 2009, when they were required to demonstrate “financial viability” or return the money.
Able to avoid bankruptcy—for which both General Motors and Chrysler filed—Ford experienced increased sales and market share in 2009.
These actions yielded Ford a $2.7 billion profit in fiscal year 2009, the company's first full-year profit in four years.
In 2010 the automaker sold Volvo to the Chinese company Zhejiang Geely Holding.
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.
In 2012, Ford's corporate bonds were upgraded from junk to investment grade again, citing sustainable, lasting improvements.
In April 2016, Ford announced a plan to modernize its Dearborn engineering and headquarters campuses through a ten-year building project.
In 2016 Ford Smart Mobility was created to develop car-sharing ventures and self-driving vehicles, among other initiatives.
On January 3, 2017, Ford CEO Mark Fields announced that in a "vote of confidence" because of the pro-business climate being fostered in part by President-elect Donald Trump, Ford has canceled plans to invest $1.6 billion in a new plant in Mexico to manufacture the Ford Focus.
In February 2017, Ford Motor Co. acquired majority ownership of Argo AI, 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.
Also in 2017, Ford began development of 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.
On April 25, 2018, Ford announced that it will discontinue passenger cars in the North American market in the next four years, except for the Mustang, due to declining demand and profitability.
However, in 2018 Ford announced that it was phasing out all its passenger cars, except the Mustang and Ford Focus Active.
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.
In March 2020, 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.
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.
In April 2021, Ford said that it will provide Covid-19 vaccines for its employees who will get them at the company, at the beginning the vaccination program will be in Southeast Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, but will be expanded later on to other locations.
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