Ford, a brand that is gradually focusing on North America
- The Ford brand is the entry-level brand of the Ford group. For many years it has been at the forefront of the American market, in competition with Chevrolet and Toyota. Its F-Series pick-up has been the best-selling of all models on the American market since the 1980s and is often among the best-selling models in the world.
- This worldwide success of the Ford brand dates from the appearance of the Ford T launched in 1908 which quickly became the best-selling car in the world, with more than 15 million copies sold until 1927. The Ford brand completed its range by the top with the acquisition of the Lincoln brand in 1921 then the creation of the mid-range brand Mercury in 1939. The crisis of 2008/2009 resulted in the end of the Mercury brand.
- The following years were marked by the closing of production sites in Great Britain, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, India and Russia. The global production of the Ford brand fell dramatically between 2005 and 2022 (despite a strong rebound in the years 2015-2016-2017) falling from 5.4 million in 2005 to 3.7 million last year, which represents a drop of 30%. Worse, between 2017 and 2022, the production of the Ford brand fell from 6.1 million to 3.7 million, which represents a drop of 40%. Its production in Europe fell by 60% between 2005 and 2022. Its production in South America even fell by 90% over this period! The development of its production in China was just a flash in the pan. Production in North America now represents 60% of Ford's worldwide production compared to 55% in 2005.
- Even if Ford announces strong investments for the electrification of its range in Europe, it can be said that Ford seems to be gradually withdrawing into North America, with an effort focused particularly on pick-ups and SUVs as sedans have been successively abandoned in recent years.