Ford Valencia Body and Assembly (VB&A) is a major car assembly plant located in Almussafes on the southern edge of the Valencian Community, Spain. With a production capacity of 450,000 vehicles a year and 8,000 employees, it is Ford's largest manufacturing complex outside of the United States. [1]
In 1973 the Ford Motor Company headed by Henry Ford II purchased 270 acres (1.1 km2) of orchard on the edge of Valencia. Exactly 1,000 days later, on 18 October 1976, the first Ford Fiesta rolled off the production line. [2] Just a week after that, on 25 October 1976, the king formally inaugurated the plant. [3] Construction had cost 680 million dollars. [2]
At the time when the plant was planned, the dictator Francisco Franco was still in charge of the Spanish government which pursued a fiercely mercantilist economic policy. The relatively short period that elapsed between the submission by Ford, on 23 December 1972, of their plan to the government and the plant's inauguration was seen as evidence of the government's enthusiasm for the project. [3] The domestic auto-industry at this time was nevertheless strongly protected, comprising partnerships between foreign automakers and Madrid based interests. [2] (most notably that between SEAT and Fiat). There was a requirement that Spanish built cars should incorporate at least 95% "domestic content" with any imported components subject to a 30% tariff: there was a further requirement that none of the foreign automakers could hold more than 49% of the capital [2] of a Spanish-based car manufacturer. Negotiations took place between Ford executive Dick Holmes and the Spanish government to secure a less restrictive framework for the Ford project in view of the size and potential benefit to Spain from the investment, but Ford were still required to commit to exporting two thirds of the plant's production outside Spain (which seems to have aligned with their existing objectives), and restricting their penetration of the Spanish domestic auto-market to less than 10%. [2] Political changes following Franco's death later culminated with Spain joining the European Economic Community in 1986 which rendered these restrictions redundant.
The plant was built and fitted out under the leadership of Hanns Brand, who had previously been responsible for building the recently opened Ford Saarlouis plant, which provided the blue-print for the Valencia project. [2] The plant began manufacturing engines (the Kent/Valencia unit) in April 1976, with the first Fiestas coming off the line in October of that year.
The Fiesta was seen as the right car for the times, and at the opening of the plant it was described as the model which might overtake the fifteen million sales of the Ford Model T. [2] The Spanish market waiting list for the car exceeded a year in April 1977. [2]
After the 1973 Oil Shock persuaded Ford to move ahead with the production of a Renault 5 competitor, the plant under construction in Valencia became the obvious location for the car's production. When it opened, the plant was the designated Fiesta production facility for Europe, though after Franco's death it also assembled Escort models. Ford-based Mazda vehicles have also been assembled at the Valencia plant.
The plant has produced over 9 million cars and was recently producing at the rate of 2,000 units per day.
In June 2022, Ford announced it will produce its future electric models at Ford Valencia Plant, leaving the future of the Saarlouis Body & Assembly plant past 2025 uncertain. [4]
In 1977 the plant employed 7,500 workers, and there was talk of this increasing to 10,000 as full capacity was reached. [2]
More recently, in 2006, with auto-production processes increasingly automated and Ford Europe suffering from serious over-capacity, the plant still had approximately 7,000 employees, and was estimated to account for 21,000 jobs when ancillary suppliers were included in the calculation. The plant is reckoned to account for 8.2% of the economic output of Valencia. [5]
The Ford Kent is an internal combustion engine from Ford of Europe. Originally developed in 1959 for the Ford Anglia, it is an in-line four-cylinder overhead-valve–type pushrod engine with a cast-iron cylinder head and block.
The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the Escort.
Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited is the Australian subsidiary of United States–based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in 1925 as an Australian outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford in the US. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights of Ford motor vehicles in the British Empire to Canadian investors.
Auto Alliance Co., Ltd. or AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) is the name of a joint venture automobile assembly firm co-owned by Ford and Mazda in Rayong province, Thailand. Modeled after the Ford-Mazda AutoAlliance International joint venture in the United States, AAT builds compact pickup trucks and SUVs primarily for the Southeast Asian market, with exports to Australia and other developing markets as well.
The Ford Escort is a small family car that was manufactured by Ford of Europe from 1968 until 2000. In total there were six generations, spread across three basic platforms: the original, rear-wheel-drive Mk.1/Mk.2 (1968–1980), the "Erika" front-wheel-drive Mk.3/Mk.4 (1980–1992), and the final CE-14 Mk.5/Mk.6 (1990–2002) version. Its successor, the Ford Focus, was released in 1998, but the final generation of Escort was phased out gradually, with the panel van version ending production in 2002 in favour of the Ford Transit Connect.
Jaguar Land Rover Halewood is a Jaguar Land Rover factory plant in Halewood, Merseyside, England, and forms the major part of the factory complex in Halewood which is shared with Ford of Britain who manufacture transmissions at the site, and who opened the site in 1962 as their Halewood Body & Assembly plant.
Ford-Werke GmbH is a German-based car manufacturing company headquartered in Merkenich-Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a fully-owned subsidiary of American Ford Motor Company. It operates two large manufacturing facilities in Germany, a plant in Cologne and a plant in Saarlouis, and serves as a major hub for Ford's presence in the European markets.
Ford Brasil is the Brazilian subsidiary of American automaker Ford Motor Company, founded on 24 April 1919. The operation started out importing the Ford Model T cars and the Ford Model TT trucks in kit form from the United States for assembly in Brazil. The Ford brand, however, had already been present in the country since 1904 with both vehicles being sold in Brazil.
Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany.
Ford Argentina S.C.A. is the Argentine subsidiary of Ford Motor Company founded in Buenos Aires in 1913. Its first products were Model Ts assembled from complete knock down (CKD) kits provided by Ford Motor Company in 1917. Nevertheless, Ford Motor Argentina is best known in more recent times for producing the Ford Focus and, previously, the Argentine version of the Ford Falcon, originally a U.S. model introduced in Argentina in 1961, but adapted to the Argentine market.
The automotive industry in Pakistan is one of fastest-growing industries in the country, growing by 171% between 2014 and 2018. It accounts for 7% of Pakistan's GDP and employed a workforce of over 6.8 million people as of 2024. Pakistan is the 15th largest producer of automobiles. Its contribution to the national exchequer is nearly US$5.4 billion. Pakistan's auto market is among the fastest growing in Asia. 384,000 cars were sold in 2023. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Pakistan had many Japanese cars. With the launch of the first Auto Policy in 2005, Pakistan launched its first indigenous car, Adam Revo. However, after the 2008 elections, the dollar started depreciating, and due to bad governance, many automakers began to halt production, with some exiting Pakistan. Currently, the auto market is dominated by Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and Suzuki. However, on 19 March 2016, Pakistan passed a second "Auto Policy 2016-21," which offers tax incentives to new automakers to establish manufacturing plants in the country. In response, Renault, Nissan, Proton Holdings, Kia, SsangYong, Volkswagen, FAW, and Hyundai have expressed interest in entering the Pakistani market. MG JW Automobile Pakistan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Morris Garages (MG) Motor UK Limited, owned by SAIC Motor, to bring electric vehicles to Pakistan. NLC signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to manufacture Mercedes Actros trucks in Pakistan. Pakistan has not enforced any automotive safety standards or model upgrade policies. A few older vehicle models, including the Bolan and Ravi, continue to be sold by Suzuki. On 8 July 2021, Jolta Electric launched the production of electric motorcycles.
Ford Saarlouis Body & Assembly (SB&A) is a major car plant located on the western edge of Saarlouis in the German Saarland. It belongs to Ford-Werke GmbH, the German subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company.
The automotive industry in Canada consists primarily of assembly plants of foreign automakers, most with headquarters in the United States or Japan, along with hundreds of manufacturers of automotive parts and systems, a sector represented by the APMA.
The automotive industry in Germany, is one of the largest employers in the world, with a labor force of over 857,336 (2016) working in the industry.
In the United States, the automotive industry began in the 1890s and, as a result of the size of the domestic market and the use of mass production, rapidly evolved into the largest in the world. The United States was the first country in the world to have a mass market for vehicle production and sales and is a pioneer of the automotive industry and mass market production process. During the 20th century, global competitors emerged, especially in the second half of the century primarily across European and Asian markets, such as Germany, France, Italy, Japan and South Korea. The U.S. is currently second among the largest manufacturers in the world by volume.
Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, London, operated by the Ford of Britain subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1931 and has produced 10,980,368 cars and more than 39,000,000 engines in its history. It covers around 475 acres and has received over £800 million of capital investment since 2000.
This article provides an overview of the automotive industry in countries around the world.
Ford Motor Company 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 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.
The Ford Fiesta Mk1 is the first generation of the Ford Fiesta supermini. It was introduced in 1976 as Ford Europe's first multi-national front-wheel-drive automobile, and was available in both 3-door hatchback and panel van derivatives. In 1983, the Fiesta was updated, and the Fiesta Mk2 was introduced.
The Brampton Assembly Plant is a former automobile manufacturing facility initially owned and operated by American Motors Corporation (AMC) in Brampton, Ontario. The factory began production in 1962 to build over 1.2 million AMC cars and Jeep vehicles through the automaker's acquisition by Chrysler in 1987, until it was closed in 1992.
| United States and Canada |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe |
| ||||
| Other locations |
| ||||
| Subsidiaries and brands |
|  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facilities |
| ||||||||||||
| Passenger cars | |||||||||||||
| Commercial vehicles |
| ||||||||||||
