Everything about Ford Motor Company Of Australia totally explained
Ford Australia is the
Australian subsidiary of
Ford Motor Company and was founded in
Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of
Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA.
Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire (later
Commonwealth) countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian investors.
Its first products were Model Ts assembled from
Complete Knock Down (CKD) kits provided by Ford of Canada. Nevertheless, it's best known in more recent times for producing the
Falcon, originally a
U.S. model introduced in Australia in 1960, but adapted to Australian requirements and road conditions. Since the release of the XA model in 1972, Falcons have been fully Australian designed. It also produces a
four wheel drive model called the
Territory.
Ford Australia is the only Australian car manufacturer which designs and manufactures its own unique high-volume engines.
Ford invents the Ute
In
1934 the company invented the
ute. The inventor of the ute was Ford engineer
Lewis Bandt. During the Depression, banks wouldn't extend credit to farmers to purchase passenger cars- in the belief they were unnecessary luxuries. However, they'd lend money for the purchase of "working" vehicles. The ute fulfilled the need of farmers to have a workhorse which could also be used "to take the wife to church on Sunday".
Other Australian Fords
Ford Australia started by assembling Model T's. As Ford introduced new models, these were assembled in Australia.
During World War II, Ford Australia ceased producing cars to commence military production to support the war effort.
Post World War II models
After World War II, Ford recommenced assembly of imported Ford models. Initially, they assembled the UK sourced
Pilot, then a range of British cars, including the
Prefect,
Consul,
Zephyr and
Zodiac.
Ford also assembled the Canadian Ford V8.
Hatchback
The
Laser was produced in Ford's plant at
Homebush in
Sydney, from 1981 until September 1994 when the plant closed, after which they were fully imported from Japan. The Laser was replaced by the
European Ford Focus in
2002. It is currently offered in sedan and hatchback variants with a 2.0L engine, which is one of the market leaders in sales. The
Fiesta, heavily promoted as a product of
German engineering, has been also a decent seller. The 2010 Ford Focus will be built at the company's
Broadmeadows plant
(External Link
).
Mid-size
Mid-size cars assembled in Australia included the
Ford Anglia,
Escort and
Cortina from the
UK. These were adapted for the Australian market: for example, from 1972, the Cortina was available with the option of either a 3.3 litre or 4.1 litre 6 cylinder engine. In
1977, lack of capacity meant that the Cortina wagon was in fact assembled in
Renault's (now long since closed) Australian factory.
The Cortina's replacement, the
Mazda-based
Telstar, was initially assembled in Australia. In 1989 the Telstar sedan was replaced by the locally assembled
Nissan-based
Ford Corsair. When Nissan shut down its Australian manufacturing operations in 1992 the imported Telstar resumed its former position. In 1995 the Telstar was dropped in favour of the
Mondeo, imported from
Belgium.
Ford Australia dropped the Mondeo in
2001, arguing at the time that the segment of the market in which it competed was in decline, but 2007, it announced that it would introduce the new
Mk IV model in Australia.
(External Link)
Large family car
The North American Ford Falcon was assembled in Australia in 1960. The Australian and American product lines separated during the mid 1960s when the US Ford product proved inconsistent with Australian desires and requirements; In fact the initial Falcon required extensive re-engineering beyond standard RHD adaptation for Australian conditions. Since its initial offerings the
Falcon has proven to be Ford Australia's most popular car.
Ford has manufactured over three million units since 1960, and has topped the sales charts on many occasions. Currently the Falcon lineup is offered in sedan, station wagon, and utility body styles, however in the past panel vans and hardtops were offered. Falcons have dominated the ranks of taxis in Australia and New Zealand, along with sister car, the Ford Fairlane, and have been widely used as police cars, especially in performance variants.
Four-wheel drive
Since 2004, the
Ford Territory has been built on the same production line as the Falcon. The Territory has been the most popular Four-wheel drive in Australia since its release.
The
Ford Discovery Centre, a museum of the history of the Ford Motor Company in Australia is located in Geelong.
Regional Product Development Centre
Ford of Australia has been designated as one of five (worldwide) full service product development centres, specifically for the Asia Pacific and African regions. Products launched so far include the Ford Ikon and Fiesta in India and the Ford Bantum ute and Ikon (a re-badged Fiesta) in South Africa. Future projects include a global light truck program.
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