page_title: History of Ford Motor Company
section_title: General corporate timeline
hierarchical_section_title: History of Ford Motor Company / General corporate timeline
caption_attribution_description: The First Mustang Produced - photographed by DougW of RemarkableCars.com at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, MI. This is Mustang Serial #1, produced in 1964, titled as a 1964 1/2 Mustang due to the fact that the first Mustangs did not come out until the middle of the year.
context_page_description: The Ford Motor Company is an American automaker and the world's fifth largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, the automaker was founded by Henry Ford, on June 16, 1903. Ford Motor Company would go on to become one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, as well as being one of the few to survive the Great Depression. The largest family-controlled company in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 110 years. Ford now encompasses two brands: Ford and Lincoln. Ford once owned 5 other luxury brands: Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Mercury. Over time, those brands were sold to other companies and Mercury was discontinued.
context_section_description: 1896: Henry Ford builds his first vehicle – the Quadricycle – on a buggy frame with 4 bicycle wheels.
  1898: Ford creates the Detroit Automobile Company; two and a half years later it is dissolved.
  1901: Ford wins high-profile car race in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. The Henry Ford Company is incorporated but discontinued the following year only to be reinvigorated by Henry Leland as the Cadillac Motor Company.
  1903: Ford Motor Company incorporated with 11 original investors. The Model A "Fordmobile" is introduced - 1,708 cars are produced.
  1904: Ford Motor Company of Canada incorporated in Walkerville, Ontario. Henry Ford teams up with Harvey Firestone of Firestone Tires
  1906: Ford becomes the top selling brand in the US, with 8,729 cars produced.
  1908: Model T is introduced. 15 million are produced through 1927.
  1909: Ford Motor Company (England) established, otherwise referred to as Ford of Britain
  1911: Ford opens first factory outside North America – in Manchester, England.
  1913: The moving assembly line is introduced at Highland Park assembly plant, making Model T production 8 times faster. Ford opens second world branch in Argentina as Ford Motor Argentina.
  1914: Ford introduces $5 ($128, adjusted for inflation) wage for a workday – double the existing rate.
  1916: Société française des automobiles Ford incorporated in Bordeaux, France, by Percival Perry, the head of Ford of Britain.
  1918: Construction of the Rouge assembly complex begins.
  1919: Edsel Ford succeeds Henry as Company President.
  1920: Ford temporarily shuts down due to low sales. After removing unnecessary administrative expenses and waste, Ford reopens.
  1921: Ford production exceeds 1 million cars per year, nearly 10 times more than Chevrolet - the next biggest selling brand.
  1922: Ford purchases Lincoln Motor Company for US$8 million ($122 million, adjusted for inflation).
  1925: Ford introduces Ford Tri-Motor airplane for airline services, and a factory was built in Yokohama, Japan in February.
  1926: Ford Australia is founded in Geelong, Victoria, Australia,
  1927: Model T production ends, Ford introduces the next generation Model A, from the Rouge complex.
  1929: Ford regains production crown, with annual production peaking at 1.5 million cars
  1931: Ford and Chevy brands begin to alternate as U.S. production leaders, in battle for automobile sales during the Great Depression.
  1932: Ford introduces the one-piece cast V8 block. It makes the Model 18 the first low-priced V8-powered car. In London Royal Albert Hall the Model 19, or as it was marketed Model Y, are introduced February 19. The first of a long line of small European Fords.
  1936: Lincoln-Zephyr is introduced.
  1938: The German consul at Cleveland awards Henry Ford the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner. There is some evidence Ford had Nazi sympathies, at least before World War II. He may have financed some Nazi activities, and was active in anti-semitic efforts.
  1939: Mercury division is formed to fill the gap between economical Fords and luxury Lincolns. Operated as a division at Ford until 1945
  1941: The Lincoln Continental is introduced. Ford begins building general-purpose "jeep" for the military. First labor agreement with UAW-CIO covers North American employees.
  1942: Production of civilian vehicles halted, diverting factory capacity to producing B-24 Liberator bombers, tanks, and other products for the war effort.
  1943: Edsel Ford dies of cancer at the age of 49, Henry Ford resumes presidency.
  1945: Henry Ford II becomes president.
  1945: Lincoln and Mercury are combined into a single division.
  1946: Ford sues the Allies for damages done to his factories in Dresden during the infamous bombing, and wins compensation.
  1946: The Whiz Kids, former US Army Air Force officers, are hired to revitalize the company. Automobile production resumes.
  1947: Henry Ford dies of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 83; Henry Ford II becomes new chairman.
  1948: F-1 Truck introduced. Lincoln Continental is introduced.
  1949: The '49 Ford introduces all-new po
caption: Mustang Serial #1, the first car launched in 1964
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