Ford Brasil

Ford do Brasil is the Brazilian subsidiary of U.S. carmaker Ford, was established on 24 April 1919. It began with the assembly of CKD kits of the passenger car Model T and TT of the truck model, imported from the USA. The Ford brand, there was in the country but since 1904, when both models were fully imported from the USA. In January 2007, Ford do Brasil acquired the carmaker Troller Veiculos Especiais S / A.

From assembly to manufacture

Ford Motor do Brasil S. A. - Then the full name of the company - inaugurated on 17 April 1957 a complete production line for the flatbed F -600, a vehicle that was similar to that produced in the United States F-100 strong. The car was powered by a V8 engine with 4457 cc capacity; 40 % of the parts came from Brazil. The other parts were still imported from the USA, but over time grew, the percentage of parts produced in the country.

Acquisition with a French accent

On October 9, 1967 Ford took over, which was experiencing financial difficulties Willys -Overland do Brasil SA as the main shareholder and the integrated factory in São Bernardo do Campo, just as the car models Willys Aero and Willys Itamaraty, the commercial vehicle Willys F -75 and the popular SUV Willys Jeep in its Brazilian manufacturing.

When Ford took over the Brazilian operations of Willys, it also inherited a project that ultimately became the Ford Corcel front-wheel drive, the mostly technically based on the Renault 12, but had his own design. 1970 was one of the Corcel the most popular cars; it sold as a 4- door sedan very good and also as a 2- door coupe for the younger buyer was manufactured. The improved model was Corcel GT and offered more power, a black hood and aggressive looking rally stripes on the sides.

Streamlining of the product range

The midsize sedan that time was the old Ford Aero, which was actually a modified version of the Aero Eagle, the Kaiser Willys from 1954 built in the U.S. and was later sold in Brazil as Aero Willys. When Chevrolet introduced the 1968 Opala, who was with 2 and 4 doors very popular, Ford brought urgently needed a replacement for the old Aero.

Ford do Brasil also built the galaxy, one of the few V8 models ever built in Brazil. Initially, these vehicles were equipped with the Y- engines with 4.5 l or 4.8 l of the pickup and had the body of the manufactured in the United States 1965 4-door sedan. The car was considered a status symbol, as a vehicle of the rich and powerful. Ford do Brasil in 1974 inaugurated a factory in Taubaté in São Paulo, where the galaxy is made with the new 4.9 -liter V8 engine.

The time of the Maverick

In the São Paulo Auto Show in May 1973, the Ford Maverick was introduced as a model in 1974, although he resembled the model 1970 with molded bumpers almost spitting. There were three models, the base model Super, the elegant Super Luxo, both with the Willys six-cylinder engine, and the sporty GT with 4.9 liter V8 engine it was on request at Super Luxo. This car was greater than the average cars in Brazil and sold in the first two years very well. Later it was only the 2-door Super Luxo model to meet the expectations and 1979 the production of the Maverick was quietly set.

The oil crisis

During the oil crisis in the 1970s began in Brazil with the extraction of alcohol from sugar cane for use as car fuel, which has now developed into a thriving industry. " Movido à ALCOHOL ' ( dt: alcohol- driven ) soon became a sales slogan for all cars. Ford do Brasil just brought out the constructed model in Germany Escort and quickly developed a highly compressed engine for its latest model. The V8 Small - block engines of the Ford luxury vehicles Galaxy and Landau, which in 1983 fell out of the program were adapted.

Merger with Volkswagen

The difficult because of the astronomically high rates of inflation economic situation in South America of the 1980s forced the automakers to look for cost saving opportunities. The Brazilian and Argentine subsidiaries of Ford and Volkswagen decided in 1987 to join forces in a new holding company called Car Latina. Volkswagen received 51 % of the shares and Ford the remaining 49%. Both brands retained their own image, their marketing and sales structures, its independent dealer networks and workshops. All other departments were merged, resulting in significant cost savings, but also to a staff reduction of nearly 50 %.

The time auto Latina

The escort than three - and five-door station wagon, which was introduced in 1983, and also the two-door convertible (from 1985) sold well. However, Ford decided in 1986 to set the five-door version and adapt to the three-door version to the younger clientele. 1989 replaced Ford do Brasil in the Escort 1.6 liter R4- CHT engine by the 1.8 -liter version of the Volkswagen -AP four- cylinder and connected him with the transmission of the German Volkswagen Golf, so the performance of the Ghia to 90 bhp (66 kW ) increased and the sporty XR3 to 99 bhp (73 kW).

The common car projects led to new models such as the Ford Verona (also known as Volkswagen Apollo) that came out in 1989. There were cars with same platform and VW engines - there was also a 1.6 -liter R4- CHT engine from Ford - that could be manufactured for a fraction of the cost, so that both brands remain competitive against its main competitors Chevrolet.

In 1990, the Ford Versailles, a revised version of the Volkswagen Santana, out and found himself in an increasingly positive economic climate.

Regained independence

In 1994, Ford and Volkswagen agreed to a re- allocation of the car Latina. This happened in part because of the 75th birthday of Ford do Brasil and partly because of falling sales at Ford, which this induced the U.S. manufacturers to seek independence from Volkswagen and to take control of all its transactions again themselves. So he was able to introduce lean manufacturing, which had increased the competitiveness of the parent company significantly in the United States. Technically, however, remained the Brazilian Ford in the motors and drives from Volkswagen.

1996, the German Ford Fiesta was introduced as a new entry-level model in the Brazilian market and replaced the Escort Hobby with 1.0 -liter R4 engine, the 1993 as " caro poular " (Eng.: car for the people) - a government default on the manufacturer cheaper and more fuel-efficient cars to production - was introduced. The entire production of the Escort - including the first station wagons for Brazil - was moved to Argentina.

Ford do Brasil in the 21st century

Today, Ford do Brasil builds models with Zetec Rocam engines with 1.0 and 1.6 liters of displacement, as well as with the 2.0-liter Duratec engine R4, which is also used worldwide on platforms such as the Ka, the Fiesta and the EcoSport, a soft roader version of the fusion were used.

Ford do Brasil now has a stable market position and is with an average of 12.5 % market share of the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in Brazil.

An important part of the success of Latin American activities in the Ford Group, which yield currently the highest profit, is the brand new factory in Camaçari (Bahia), in the Ford 4 billion has invested $ in order to create an environment in which the production lines are directly connected to the facilities of suppliers. Here, the EcoSport and Fiesta for the Brazilian market and markets of the third world are manufactured.

Ford do Brasil continues to offer European models such as the Focus ( imported from Argentina) and the F -250. Since 2006, however, the built in Mexico fusion serves as an inexpensive substitute for the Ford Mondeo, as the 2007 model is considered for the Brazilian market as too expensive, although it is offered in Argentina. The merger has sold quite well in Brazil and is considered the best-selling model in its segment.

Ford do Brasil currently has 396 sales outlets of 233 dealers.

Models ( in chronological order)

• Ford Model T (1909-1928)
• Ford Coupe
• Ford F-100
• Ford Jeep
• Ford F -75
• Ford Aero
• Ford Itamaraty
• Ford Taurus
• Ford Mondeo

• F- 600 (1957-1961)
• Ford Galaxy (1967-1977)
• Ford Corcel (1968-1977)
• Ford Galaxie LTD (1969-1983)
• Ford Belina (1970-1991)
• Ford Maverick (1973-1979)
• Ford LTD II (1977-1979)
• Ford Landau (1977-1983)
• Ford Corcel II (1978-1986)
• Ford F- 1000 (1979-1998) - built in Argentina for the Brazilian market -
• Ford Del Rey (1981-1991)
• Ford Pampa (1982-1997)
• Ford Escort (1983-2003)
• Ford Verona (1989-1996)
• Ford F-250
• Ford Explorer (1991 -present)
• Ford Versailles (1991-1996)
• Ford Fiesta (1996 -present)
• Ford Courier (1996 -present)
• Ford Ka (1997 -present)
• Ford Ranger (1998 -present) - built in Argentina for the Brazilian market -
• Ford Ranger EV (1998-2004)
• Ford Focus (2000 -present) - built in Argentina for the Brazilian market -
• Ford EcoSport (2003 -present)
• Ford Fusion (2006 -present) - built in Mexico -
• Ford Edge (2008 -present)