Ford Cumulative Production Passes 300 Million Mark
Ford Motor Company added another milestone to its Centennial year as it celebrated its 300 millionth vehicle at the historic Ford Rouge Centre.
“In the 20th century, Ford Motor Company put the world on wheels with the Model T and the moving assembly line,” said Bill Ford, Ford chairman and CEO. “In the 21st century, we are building on that heritage with exciting new products and innovative technology that will lead us into our next 100 years.”
In a ceremony at the Dearborn Assembly Plant, employees and guests cheered as he drove the 300 millionth vehicle – a crimson red 2004 Ford Mustang GT convertible – off the line.
“When the company built its one millionth car, my great-grandfather Henry Ford said, ‘A million of anything is a great many,'” Bill Ford said. “He would be very proud that his company has produced 300 million vehicles.”
“We’re celebrating the past, but we’re building for the future,” Bill Ford added. “We’ll introduce 40 new products worldwide next year, including an all-new Mustang. In the next five years, we’ll introduce more than 200 new products around the world.”
Ford also credited the extended family of Ford employees around the world and its global network of dealers and suppliers for their contributions to the 300 millionth milestone. Other vehicle production milestones in Ford Motor Company history were the 20 millionth in 1931, the 50 millionth in 1959, the 100 millionth in 1977 and the 250 millionth in 1996.
The Dearborn Assembly Plant is located in the Ford Rouge Centre, a historically significant manufacturing complex that the company is transforming into a state-of-the-art centre for advanced manufacturing. The new Dearborn Truck Plant in the Rouge Centre, which begins production of the F-150 next year, will be the flagship of Ford’s next-generation of lean and flexible plants. It will set world-class standards for efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
Ford Motor Company is the world’s second-largest automaker with approximately 335,000 employees and operations in more than 200 markets on six continents. It has more than 100 plants in 25 countries. Its automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo, and automotive-related services include Ford Credit, Hertz and Quality Care.
Ford’s bestsellers over the years have included the Model T, with more than 15 million built between 1908 and 1927. The Ford F-Series pick-up truck is the company’s top vehicle nameplate in the world with 29 million produced.
Ford cars were on Malaysian roads as early as 1926 and, in accordance with Ford policy of building its products where it sells them, local assembly began in 1967 at a plant in Shah Alam, Selangor. The 452,946 sq. metre plant, owned by Ford Malaysia (a joint-venture company of Ford and Tractors Malaysia) today produces a variety of Ford products and also handles contract assembly for BMW and Mazda.
