Ford Strategies
Ford Strategies
Ford Motor Company has been around for over 100 years and is a name recognized around the world. Henry Ford, the company's namesake, innovated industry with the invention of the moving assembly line and created the first affordable car in the Model T, with more then 15 million sold. The Ford Motor Company led the way into globalization by entering the European market 20 years ahead of the European Economic Communities arrival and created its North American Automotive Operations, consolidating Canada, America, and Mexico operations more the two decades before the North American Free Trade Agreement. (Ford, 2007) Ford has been able to maintain its position as one of the worlds leading businesses by making acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.
Ford's largest presence outside of the US has been in Europe. In the 80s and 90s, Ford acquired Aston Martin, Land Rover, and Jaguar, all British companies and Volvo which was based in Sweden. These acquisitions allowed Ford to increase their product base and provide the ability to introduce Ford vehicles to new markets.
Aston Martin was purchased from Victo Gauntlett in 1993. Ford modernized the manufacturing plants and in 2002 manufactured 6000 DB7s, more built than all previous DB7s combined. Now Aston Martin is considered an innovative leader in top of the line exotics and racing circuit cars. This year, Ford sold Aston Martin to a British Consortium.
Another major acquisition for Ford was purchasing Hertz Rental Car Company in 2001. Hertz is the largest general use rental company in the world. With over 7,200 locations in the US and over 150 countries, Hertz gives Ford high visibility around the world. It doesn't hurt that Ford purchased a company that has been profitable for 86 years straight, since its creation, and was one of the few companies to remain profitable during the recession that followed September 11, 2001. Ford is also able to sell its cars to...
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