 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
 Ford factory at São Bernardo do Campo | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1919; 106 years ago (1919) |
| Founder | Henry Ford |
| Defunct | 2021; 4 years ago (2021) (car factory) |
| Headquarters | São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo state, Brazil |
Key people | Daniel Justo (president and CEO) |
| Products | Cars,pickup trucks, commercial vehicles |
| Revenue |  US$5.41 billion[1] (2012) |
Number of employees | 6,171[2] |
| Parent | Ford Motor Company |
| Subsidiaries | Troller (1995–2021) |
| Website | ford.com.br |
Ford Motor Company Brasil Ltda. is the Brazilian subsidiary of American automakerFord Motor Company, founded on 24 April 1919. The operation started out importing theFord Model T cars and theFord Model TT trucks inkit form from the United States for assembly in Brazil. TheFord brand, however, had already been present in the country since 1904 with both vehicles being sold in Brazil.
Initially operating in rented buildings, Ford opened its own plant in 1921 in São Paulo. Called Solon Plant, it was a scaled-down Highland Park Plant, also designed byAlbert Kahn. Also, in 1928, a rubber plantation village was open inPará to supply tires and other parts, calledFordlândia. This was abandoned in 1934.
In 1953 Ford opened a new and bigger plant in São Paulo, known as the Ipiranga Plant, geared for local production.
Ford inaugurated a full blown manufacturing operation on 26 August 1957, with the firstFord F-600 medium truck, very similar to the US-madeF-600, leaving the production line featuring aY-block engine, 40% of its parts being Brazilian made. The remaining items were still imported from the United States, but gradually, as the number ofOEM parts suppliers in Brazil grew, this number decreased significantly. The F-600 was followed in 1958 by theF-100 pick-up truck and in 1959 by theF-350 light truck.
In 1958 the Ipiranga Plant was expanded with the start of local engine production, the 272 Y-block engine.
On 9 October 1967, Ford took control of troubledWillys-Overland do Brasil as majority shareholder and integrated the factory inSão Bernardo do Campo as well as the product mix of two mid-range sedans, theAero-Willys and theWillys Itamaraty, the utility vehicleWillys F-75, the pick-up truck F-75 and the ever-popular off-roaderWillys Jeep into their Brazilian line-up.
When Ford acquired Willys' Brazilian operation, they inherited a work-in-progress that evolved into thefront-wheel driveFord Corcel, that was widely based on theRenault 12, but had its very own design. The Corcel was one of the most popular cars in the 1970s, it sold well as a four-door sedan and the two-door coupe was launched for younger buyers. Of those the more prestigious was the Ford Corcel GT with more power, a black hood and aggressive looking racing stripes on the sides.
The mid-range sedan at the time was the ancient Ford (Willys) Aero, in fact, it was a modified version of the Aero-Eagle that Kaiser-Willys had started building in the USA way back in 1954 and had been on the market as Aero Willys. When Chevrolet launched theOpala in 1968, and it proved to be very popular in both the 2-door and 4-door models, Ford needed urgently a competitive replacement for the outdated Aero.
Ford do Brasil also built theFord Galaxie, one of the fewV8 cars ever produced in Brazil, launched in 1967. It was initially equipped with272cid or 292cid Y-blocks also used on pick-up trucks, using the North American 1966 four-door sedan body. It was the most expensive automobile produced in Brazil. In 1974 Ford opened an engine factory inTaubaté, nearSão Paulo, to accommodate the production of the 2.3L 4-cylinder engine used on the Brazilian Maverick and exported to the USA.
At the 1972 São Paulo Auto Show, in December, theFord Maverick was launched as a 1973 model, although it was nearly identical to the 1970 American model with contoured bumpers. Three models were available: the baseFord Maverick Super, the more poshFord Maverick Super Luxo, both with the Willys 6-cylinder as standard, and the sportyFord Maverick GT with the 302 V8 engine, which was optional in the Super Luxo. Bigger than the average Brazilian car it sold well in the first two years, after that only the 2-door Super Luxos was keeping up the numbers. It received theTaubaté 2.3L 4-cylinder engine in 1975 and was heavily revised in 1977 but sales still declined and the Ford Maverick was quietly discontinued in 1979.
During the worldoil shock of the 1970s, Brazil began what is now a thriving industry ofethanol fuels extracted from sugar cane. "Movido à álcool" (in English: "Powered by Alcohol") quickly became a sales slogan for any car. Ford do Brasil was on the verge of launching the GermanFord Escort and swiftly developed the higher compression rate engine for its latest model. The same happened for thesmall block V8 of Ford's upper class models Ford Galaxie andFord Landau, which were nonetheless eventually discontinued in 1983.
The difficult economic situation in South America in the 1980s due to astronomic inflation rates forced manufacturers to look into options that would help to save money. The Brazilian and Argentine subsidiaries of Ford andVolkswagen decided to merge into a newholding, namedAutoLatina, in 1987. Volkswagen held 51% of the shares, and Ford the remaining 49%. Each brand maintained their own corporate image, the marketing and sales structures, as well as independent dealerships and service shops. All other departments were consolidated, allowing significant cost cutting, but also cutting the workforce almost in half.
The Ford Escort, introduced in both its 3- and 5-door version in 1983, and its convertible version (launched in 1985) was selling well. Yet, Ford decided to drop the 5-door version by 1986 and to concentrate on the younger car-buying market with its 3-door version. In 1989, Ford do Brasil exchanged the 1.6CHT engine for the 1.8 version of the VW AP engine into the Ford Escort, mated to a gearbox from the GermanVolkswagen Golf, the performance rose to 90HP in the Ghia version and 99HP in the sporty XR3.
The joint car project resulted in new models like theFord Verona (known asVolkswagen Apollo) that was launched in 1989. These new cars, with identical platforms and VW engines – although a 1.6 version withCHT engine was available, could be produced for a fraction of the cost, keeping both brands competitive against main rivalChevrolet.
In 1990 theFord Versailles (a facelifted version of theVolkswagen Santana), was launched in an increasingly more positive economical climate.
Ford and Volkswagen split amicably back to their individual divisions in 1994. This was partly due to the 75th anniversary of Ford do Brasil and partly because the dwindling sales figures on Ford's end prompted the American carmaker to seek independence from Volkswagen, to regain total control over all operations and to apply the lean production methods that had improved competitiveness in their home market. However technically Ford would continue to rely on engines and drivetrains from their former partner.
In 1996 the German Ford Fiesta was also introduced as Ford's new low end model into the market, replacing the 1.0 Ford Escort Hobby that had been launched in 1993 as a "carro popular" (the people's car), a government incentive to the manufactures to produce cheap and fuel efficient cars. As a matter of fact the entire, now restyled, production of the whole range of Ford Escort models was relocated to Argentina, including the first Escortstation wagon to be sold in Brazil.
Ford do Brasil manufactured models with four-cylinder engines 1.0/1.6Zetec-Rocam and the 2.0 literDuratec on localized low-cost versions of the global platforms like theFord Ka, Ford Fiesta and theFord Ecosport, aXUV version of the EuropeanFord Fusion mk1.
In 2000 Ford closed the Ipiranga Plant, which produced CKD trucks and automobiles.
Part of the overall success of theFord America Latina operations, currently the one that provides the highest profit within theFord Motor Company global operation, was the brand new factory inCamaçari in the northernState of Bahia in which Ford investedUS$4 billion and created a unique environment that consolidates production line with their direct suppliers' own facilities. The Ford EcoSportmini SUV and the Ford Fiesta were made for the Brazilian market and exported to otherdeveloping countries as well.
While Ford continued to offer European models like theFocus (imported from Argentina) theFord F-250 pick-up truck, Since 2006, the four-cylinder version of the Mexican-builtFord Fusion had been sold as a lower-production-cost replacement for theFord Mondeo, as thefourth generation model would have been too expensive to be sold in Brazil, although it was sold in Argentina. The Ford Fusion had sold quite well in Brazil, often topping the charts as the best-selling car of its segment in Brazil.
Ford do Brasil had at that time 396 sales points and 233 dealerships.
In 2019 it was decided to close the São Bernardo do Campo plant, sold to Construtora São José and FRAM Capital, ending the national production and exiting the South American truck market.[3]
Ford Motor Company ceased all production in Brazil on 12 January 2021, after 101 years.[4][5] TheCamaçari, Bahia andTaubaté plants were shut immediately. TheTroller plant inHorizonte, Ceará closed on 31 December 2021.[6] It sold 119,454 cars, 19,864 pick-ups and 579 trucks in Brazil in 2020. This makes it the 5th best-selling automaker in Brazil, with 7.14% of Brazilian automotive market. Models sold in Brazil are now produced elsewhere, such as theBronco (USA) andRanger (Argentina).
With the discontinuation of the Ka, Ford now focuses on importing the Mustang, Ranger, SUVs and the Transit.
As of July 2024[update]:[7][8]
| Divisions/ marques |
| | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subsidiaries |
| |||||
| Joint ventures and shareholdings |
| |||||
| Facilities and products | ||||||
| People |
| |||||
| Racing teams | ||||||
| Related topics | ||||||
| Automobile manufacturers |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other vehicles manufacturers |
| ||||||||||||
| Autoparts |
| ||||||||||||
| Related topics | |||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
