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THE MARKET
The carmarket inAustralia is booming, consistently
achieving record annual sales. According to the
forecast from the Federal Chamber of Automotive
Industry (FCAI), 2007 will see sales reach one
million vehicles for the first time ever. This boom is
driven partly by the fact that vehicle affordability is
at record levels.
Rising fuel costs and changing consumer
lifestyles have also created a dramatic shift in
customer buying preferences with small cars
accounting for over 20% of all new cars sold in
Australia in 2007, up from15.4%in 1998.
With its extensive range of vehicles, Ford has a
very healthy share of that market. In 2006, one in
every eight new passenger vehicles sold in
Australia was a Ford.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Henry Ford didn’t invent the automobile, although
you could be forgiven for thinking that he did.
What set Ford apart from the huge number of car
manufacturers operating in the United States in the
early 1900s was his unique understanding of the
potential role of the car in society.
Before Ford, cars were luxury items,
manufactured and marketed as “toys for the rich”.
In fact in 1902, a year beforeHenry Ford introduced
hisModelA, there was only one car on the road for
every 1.5million people.
Henry Ford’s great stroke of genius was
recognising that bymass-producing simple, reliable
automobiles he couldmakemotoring affordable for
everyone. Inspired by this vision, he invented the
moving automotive assembly linewhich, alongwith
the legendary Model T, changed society forever.
Before long a carwas simply a part of the lifestyle
that Americans – and then the world – expected.
Australia, with its vast distances and limited
transport infrastructure, was one of the countries
that benefited the most from Henry Ford’s
innovation.
Australians adopted the car with great
enthusiasmand as long ago as 1967 the 1,000,000th
Australian built Ford was produced.
Fordwas No. 1 inAustralia in passenger vehicle
sales for 16 years in a row, from1982 to 1997.
It wasn’t just amatter of mass production, either.
In 1983, Fordwon theAustralianDesignAward for
its Falcon/Fairlane/LTDrange, the first time amotor
vehicle had been honoured in this way.
Among the many awards Ford garnered over
the years, one of the most significant was the
Wheels Car of the Year award which was won by
BAFalcon in 2002.
The Territory, launched in 2004, has impressed
motoring organisations from aroundAustralia and
earned itself some of Australia’s most prestigious
motoring awards.With innovation evident in every
detail, the Territory alsowon theAustralianDesign
Award for 2004. Judges were impressed by its
groundbreaking design, incorporating the handling
of a sedan, versatility of a SUVand the flexibility of
a people mover. And when it came to the coveted
Wheels magazine Car of theYearAward, Territory
beat the competition to be named the 2004 Car of
theYear. Territory amazed even more judges at the
2004and2005Australia’sBestCarsAwards,winning
Australia’s Best Recreational 4WD Award for its
overall design, function, performance and value for
money. TheTerritory continues to be the best selling
mediumSports UtilityVehicle inAustralia.
HISTORY
Henry Ford grew up on a farm in Michigan where
he fell in lovewithall thingsmechanical anddreamed
of endless new possibilities. He sold his first car, a
ModelA, in1903. Fiveyears later hisModelTwould
change transportation forever and eventuallymake
cars affordable for the vast majority of people. The
efficiencies of the assembly line he designed drove
the price of the Model T down from $825 to just
$269by1922.
Ford has been inAustralia almost from the very
beginning. Its cars have been sold inAustralia since
1904. The Ford Motor Company of Australia was
established onMarch 31, 1925.
Today, FordAustralia directly employees around
5,000people indesign, development,marketing and
sales, administration, manufacturing and assembly
facilities across Australia. Ford has 230 Dealers
around Australia and operates regional offices in
eachmajor capital city.Themakeupof theworkforce
at the Campbellfieldmanufacturing assembly plant
is one of the most diverse in the Ford world; the
plant employs workers from 65 different
nationalities.
The name Australians tend to associate most
stronglywith Fordwould have to be ‘Falcon’. Ford
began production of the Falcon in 1960 and the
nameplate continues to this day. Seven generations
of the Falcon have been produced.
Falcon, Falcon Ute and Territory are among the
very few cars that are wholly designed, developed
and built locally in Australia. They are truly
Australian cars.
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