Ford of Europe
Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany.
History
Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Britain and Ford Germany along with the Irish Henry Ford & Son Ltd. The front-engined Ford Transit range of panel vans launched in 1965, was the first formal co-operation between the two entities, simultaneously developed to replace the German Ford Taunus Transit and the British Ford Thames 400E. Prior to this, the two companies avoided marketing their vehicles in one another's domestic markets, and in much of the rest of western Europe were direct competitors, with totally separate product lines, despite being owned by the same American parent, in a similar manner to General Motors' Opel and Vauxhall subsidiaries at the same time – indeed GM followed Ford's precedent in the 1970s by merging the operations of Opel and Vauxhall into General Motors Europe. The process took several years to complete, as new model ranges arrived and the older model ranges were gradually phased out.One of the key justifications for keeping separate divisions was to circumvent the high trade tariffs imposed on vehicles being exported between Britain and the European Economic Community, however once the UK joined the bloc in 1973, it made sense to standardise the model ranges throughout Britain and Continental Europe. Crucially merging the two companies' operations and having a common product range would allow Ford to double source cars and components from either British or Continental plants, something which was especially important due to the fraught industrial relations problems which plagued the British motor industry in the 1970s, and would prove crucial in Ford's ascendancy in the UK market and overtaking the troubled British Leyland.
1967–1973: Cortina and Escort
The first new model launched after the creation of Ford of Europe was the Escort, built in England from October 1967 and launched to market at the beginning of 1968. The Escort was a rear-wheel drive small family saloon that took the place of the British Anglia range and was built in both Britain and from 1970, Germany, although it was sold there from the outset. It was first available as a two-door saloon and later in estate, van and four-door saloon bodystyles. Power came from 950 CC, 1100 CC, and 1300 CC petrol engines. Later there was also a 2000 cc unit which came in the RS2000 performance version and was capable of. It quickly became popular with buyers, outselling key UK competitors from BMC, Vauxhall and the Rootes Group. The Escort would never achieve such dominance in Europe's largest auto market, but nevertheless took significant market share from the Opel and Volkswagen competitors of the time.Ford Europe's second new car launch was the Capri sporting coupé at the beginning of 1969. Loosely based on Ford UK's rear-wheel drive Mk II Cortina saloon platform, it came with engines ranging from 1300 cc to 3000 cc and was made in Britain and Germany and was an instant success, frequently featuring as one of Britain's top 10 best-selling cars and also doing well in most other European markets.
August 1970 saw the launch of the British Ford Cortina Mk III and its German cousin, the Taunus. The British and German models were based on the same platform, but had different sheet metal and used engines from their home countries, though both models could be had with the new German-built 2000cc OHC petrol engine. By 1972, the Cortina was the best-selling car in Britain and would stay at the top spot until 1981, except for 1976 when the smaller Escort was Britain's top-selling car for that year.
In March 1972, Ford Europe replaced their executive models from Britain and Germany with the Consul and Granada which was aimed directly at the Opel Rekord, Rover P6, Audi 100 and Triumph 2000. It quickly outsold its rivals in many countries and in 1973 was the tenth best-selling car in Britain. Like the Capri and Cortina/Taunus models, the early Consuls and Granadas were built in both Britain and Germany, each with a unique range of national engines.
In the early 1970s, Ford took the decision to enter the growing European supermini market and began to develop a competitor for the well-received new Fiat 127 and Renault 5. A site near Valencia, Spain, was chosen to build a new factory in order to accommodate production for the new car which was scheduled for a mid-1970s launch.
1974–1980: MK 2 Escort and New Fiesta
A revised Capri II arrived in early 1974 which saw a hatchback replacing the traditional "boot". This was the first time that Ford had produced a car with a hatchback, adopting this new concept which had first been patented by Renault in the mid-1960s.Ford launched the Escort II at the start of 1975 which was essentially a rebodied version of the 1968 car and was largely mechanical identical, despite the larger, squarer body. The entry-level 950 cc engine which was rare in any country, was discontinued.
In 1975, Ford overtook British Leyland as the most popular make of car in the United Kingdom.
1976 saw Ford Europe enter the supermini market with its first ever front-wheel-drive model. The Fiesta I was built at the company's new Valencia plant in Spain and came with 950 cc, 1100 cc and 1300 cc petrol engines. It was briefly exported to the United States and Canada between 1978 and 1980. From 1981, it was available with a 1600 cc unit for the sporty XR2 version. In Britain where it launched in February 1977 and most of the rest of Europe took to it straight away and it was quickly among the best-selling cars in most of the continent, fighting off competition from the Volkswagen Polo, Renault 5, Fiat 127, Vauxhall Chevette and Peugeot 104.
The new Taunus saloon and estate were launched on the continent at the end of 1975, with the UK market Cortina version being launched in late September 1976. The integration of the Ford range across Europe was now virtually complete, with the different nameplates on the Taunus/Cortina being the only separator.
Ford launched the Granada II range in September 1977. In 1976, all Granada production had been concentrated to Cologne, Germany. The Consul badge was abandoned in 1975.
In 1977, Ford finally overtook British Leyland as the market leader in the UK.
The Mk III Capri coupé arrived in early 1978. By now Capri production was also concentrated at Cologne. In 1979, the Cortina/Taunus was given a very light facelift to create the "Cortina 80". However, this was very much a short-term measure, as Ford was beginning to develop an all-new successor ready for a 1982 launch.
1980 saw one of the most important car launches in Ford's history. The Escort III went on sale across Britain and Europe in September that year, with its ultra-modern aerodynamic styling and updated front-wheel drive mechanical layout. It was also available as a hatchback for the first time, with the Escort-based Orion saloon not arriving until 1983. The 2000 cc engine was dropped and the range-topping Escort was now the XR3 which came with a fuel-injected 1600 cc unit. It was a huge sales success for the company throughout the 1980s, being Britain's best selling car from 1982 to 1989 and also topping the sales charts in several other countries.
1981–1989: Breaking new ground
The 1980s saw a radical change in most of the European Fords which had begun in September 1980 when the Escort switched to front-wheel drive and a hatchback from the traditional rear-wheel drive saloon which became a huge sales success across Europe.20 years of Cortina production came to an end in October 1982 with the launch of the new Ford Sierra. The new car retained the traditional rear-wheel-drive chassis, perhaps surprisingly at the time when a front-wheel drive system was becoming almost exclusive in this sector of car. But in place of its predecessor's conventional, square styling was Sierra's ultramodern aerodynamic styling that was way ahead of its time compared to the competition. Initial sales were disappointing, but demand soon increased and the Sierra was Britain's second best-selling car in 1983, its first full year on sale. It was built in Great Britain and Belgium and sold well in most other European countries. Cosworth versions of the Sierra were built from 1986, all of which were capable of. The three-door Sierra hatchback, mostly sold with only a 1.3 petrol engine, was not a popular choice and had been discontinued by the time the Sierra was facelifted in early 1987 when a Sapphire saloon version was launched and the 1.3 engine dropped. The original Sierra Cosworth was the last model in the range to feature a three-door hatchback.
1983 saw the seven-year-old Ford Fiesta receive an updated MK2 version that retained the three-door hatchback bodyshell but smoothed out the previously boxy edges to give it a more modern look and keep it competitive with a string of new European and Japanese superminis which hit the market during 1982 and 1983. The sporty XR2 version was relaunched and its power output was increased, as well as receiving the first five-speed gearbox ever fitted to a Fiesta. Also in that year, Ford introduced a new four-door saloon to meet the demands of buyers looking for a booted alternative to the Escort and Sierra hatchbacks and estates. The saloon derived version of the Escort was named as the Orion but was aimed more upmarket than the Escort with no 1.1 litre engined version and initially only GL and Ghia trim levels. It was almost as long as a Sierra and many saw it as a true replacement for the traditional Cortina.
Ford launched another ground-breaking new car in May 1985 with the Granada-replacing Ford Scorpio, although the Granada name was retained in the United Kingdom and Ireland with "Scorpio" being used as a sub-brand for the highest specification models. It was based on a stretched version of Sierra's rear-wheel-drive chassis and was far more modern looking than any other cars in its sector at this time, being similar in appearance to the smaller Sierra. It was also the world's first volume production car to feature anti-lock brakes as standard. High equipment levels, a comfortable interior and solid build quality ensured that the German-built Scorpio was a success all over Europe and was voted European Car of the Year for 1986. A saloon version had joined the range by early 1990, as had a 2.9 V6 Cosworth high-performance hatchback while an estate version arrived in early 1992 as it was nearing replacement.
An updated Escort and Orion appeared in March 1986, called the "Mark 4", it featured Scorpio-influenced front-end styling, revised engine options and an all-new interior.
Production of the Capri coupé ended in December 1986 after 18 years and there was no replacement, although stocks of the model were sold into 1987, as sporting coupés were less popular at this time following the rise in popularity of fast hatchbacks such as the Ford Escort XR3i, Vauxhall Astra GTE, Peugeot 309 GTI and Volkswagen Golf GTI. Ford had proved successful in this sector with faster versions of the Fiesta, Escort, and Sierra.
The Sierra was facelifted in early 1987 and gained a saloon version for the first time, called the Sapphire, ensuring that it continued to sell well into the 1990s.
The third generation Fiesta was launched in March 1989 and the big news of the launch was the long-awaited availability of a five-door version, something that was already available on key rivals like the Austin Metro, Vauxhall Nova, Fiat Uno, SEAT Ibiza and the Peugeot 205. New to the range were the new 1.0 and 1.1 HCS petrol engines which ran alongside the long-running 1.4 unit. There was also a 1.8 diesel as well as the 1.6 fuel injected XR2i and RS Turbo sports models, the first Fiestas to feature fuel injection. Upmarket Ghia models were the first versions of the Fiesta to feature items such as electric windows and anti-lock brakes and was only available with the new five-door version.
For much of the 1980s, the Ford Escort was the most popular model of car in the world and from 1982 to 1989, it was the best-selling new car in the UK every year. Despite the launch of the MK4 in March 1986, it started to look a little dated by the end of the decade in the face of newer rivals like the Rover 200, Peugeot 309, Fiat Tipo and Renault 19.