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History Of Ford
Corporate Information - History of Ford | Ford New Zealand
History of Ford in New Zealand
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1936 Company incorporated; First vehicle produced - Canadian V8; First dealer conference 1939 With the outbreak of war, total Ford NZ resources were handed over the NZ Government for defense purposes 1940-45 War time production: Vehicles - 10,423 1946 Fordson Major Tractor introduced to New Zealand
First passenger car assembled since 1940, rolled off the final assembly line1948 Canadian V8 Custom Fordor "Fortyniner" introduced 1949 Production of V8 Pilot from Ford of England commenced at Lower Hutt 1950 5000th Fordson Major Tractor assembled at Lower Hutt 1951 Introduction of Five Star Consul and Zephyr
Introduction of 1951 Canadian V8 Custom Fordor1952 Introduction of Fordson Major Tractor 1953 Ford 50th anniversary celebrations 1954 Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh visit Lower Hutt Plant
Production of 100E Anglia
Production of four door Prefect1956 Production of Mark II Consul and Zephyr -
1979 XD Falcon introduced 1980 Last Escorts built
1981 Introduction of the Laser
2-bay extension to increase capacity from 40 to 62 units per day
Alloy Wheel Plant established at Wiri1982 XE Falcon introduced 1983 Telstar introduced at Lower Hutt
Name change from Wiri to Auckland operations1984 Sierra wagon introduced at Lower Hutt assembly 1985 XF Falcon introduced
Alloy Wheel Plant wins Export Award1986 50-year celebration of Ford New Zealand
Facelift Telstar including 50th anniversary Telstar 2.0i1987 Facelift Laser range 1988 Closure of Lower Hutt assembly ending Sierra wagon
Introduction of 1988 Telstar range, including Telstar wagon
EA Falcon introduced.1989 Facelift Telstar launched including TX5GT
Alloy Wheel Plant receives the Q1 award1990 Feb 28, Ford acquires Jaguar Cars for $2.5 billion.
Mar 1, Harold Poling succeeds Donald Petersen as chairman of the board: Philip Benton Jr elected company president.
1991 Launch of Courier 4x4 double cab
2.0L engines in all SWB Econovans
Launch of Falcon EB V8
Launch of new Laser including introduction of TX3, and Falcon EB1992 2.2 litre engines in Courie
Launch of new Telstar
Introduction of power steering on LWB Econovan
Introduction of 4x2 Courier Crew Cab, with 2.6-litre injected engine
Introduction of Falcon EB upgrade, ABS on all models except GL
2.2 litre diesel wellside Courier introduced
Power steering and central locking on SWB Econovan
Central locking on LWB Econovan1993 Ford Motor Company established modern dealerships in mainland China, less than a year later Ford China operates Ford manufacturing and assembly.
US Ford Motor Company reached new heights when five of the country's eight top selling vehicles were Fords.
1994 VANZ Assembly Plant achieves Q1
3-pt inertia rear seat belt for centre passenger on all Falcon sedans
Launch of EF Falcon
Launch of new model Laser1995 Launch of Transit
Launch of EFII Falcon1996 Launch of Taurus
Launch of EL Falcon
Launch of Explorer1957 Introduction of New Thames Trader Truck range 1959 New Anglia announced 1961 Consul 315 introduced
Parts and Accessories Warehouse constructed on site adjacent to Lower Hutt Assembly Plant
Ford New Zealand 25th anniversary celebrations1962 Introduction of the Cortina 1964 Purchase of land at Wiri, Auckland, for future development 1965 New National Parts Depot opened in Auckland 1966 Expansion of Lower Hutt Assembly operations (Plant 2) by utilising vacated P&S depot.
Australian assembly of Falcon began, imported to NZ1968 Introduction of Escort 1970 Ministry of Transport order for 143 Zephyr patrol cars
Ford Dealer used car sales exceeded 100 daily sales for the first time1971 Visit by Henry Ford II to Auckland and Wellington operations
Ground breaking for Wiri Assembly Plant1972 Wiri Assembly Plant major building work completed 1973 First Falcon off Wiri Assembly Line and Transmission and Chassis Plants
Official opening of Wiri Assembly1974 First oil shock - Falcon production reduced 1975 Falcon XB introduced
Mark II Escort introduced at Auckland1976 XC Falcon introduced -
1979 XD Falcon introduced 1980 Last Escorts built
1981 Introduction of the Laser
2-bay extension to increase capacity from 40 to 62 units per day
Alloy Wheel Plant established at Wiri 1982 XE Falcon introduced 1983 Telstar introduced at Lower Hutt
Name change from Wiri to Auckland operations 1984 Sierra wagon introduced at Lower Hutt assembly 1985 XF Falcon introduced
Alloy Wheel Plant wins Export Award 1986 50-year celebration of Ford New Zealand
Facelift Telstar including 50th anniversary Telstar 2.0i 1987 Facelift Laser range 1988 Closure of Lower Hutt assembly ending Sierra wagon
Introduction of 1988 Telstar range, including Telstar wagon
EA Falcon introduced. 1989 Facelift Telstar launched including TX5GT
Alloy Wheel Plant receives the Q1 award 1990 Feb 28, Ford acquires Jaguar Cars for $2.5 billion.
Mar 1, Harold Poling succeeds Donald Petersen as chairman of the board: Philip Benton Jr elected company president.
1991 Launch of Courier 4x4 double cab
2.0L engines in all SWB Econovans
Launch of Falcon EB V8
Launch of new Laser including introduction of TX3, and Falcon EB 1992 2.2 litre engines in Courie
Launch of new Telstar
Introduction of power steering on LWB Econovan
Introduction of 4x2 Courier Crew Cab, with 2.6-litre injected engine
Introduction of Falcon EB upgrade, ABS on all models except GL
2.2 litre diesel wellside Courier introduced
Power steering and central locking on SWB Econovan
Central locking on LWB Econovan 1993 Ford Motor Company established modern dealerships in mainland China, less than a year later Ford China operates Ford manufacturing and assembly.
US Ford Motor Company reached new heights when five of the country's eight top selling vehicles were Fords.
1994 VANZ Assembly Plant achieves Q1
3-pt inertia rear seat belt for centre passenger on all Falcon sedans
Launch of EF Falcon
Launch of new model Laser 1995 Launch of Transit
Launch of EFII Falcon 1996 Launch of Taurus
Launch of EL Falcon
Launch of Explorer1979 XD Falcon introduced 1980 Last Escorts built
1981 Introduction of the Laser
2-bay extension to increase capacity from 40 to 62 units per day
Alloy Wheel Plant established at Wiri1982 XE Falcon introduced 1983 Telstar introduced at Lower Hutt
Name change from Wiri to Auckland operations1984 Sierra wagon introduced at Lower Hutt assembly 1985 XF Falcon introduced
Alloy Wheel Plant wins Export Award1986 50-year celebration of Ford New Zealand
Facelift Telstar including 50th anniversary Telstar 2.0i1987 Facelift Laser range 1988 Closure of Lower Hutt assembly ending Sierra wagon
Introduction of 1988 Telstar range, including Telstar wagon
EA Falcon introduced.1989 Facelift Telstar launched including TX5GT
Alloy Wheel Plant receives the Q1 award1990 Feb 28, Ford acquires Jaguar Cars for $2.5 billion.
Mar 1, Harold Poling succeeds Donald Petersen as chairman of the board: Philip Benton Jr elected company president.
1991 Launch of Courier 4x4 double cab
2.0L engines in all SWB Econovans
Launch of Falcon EB V8
Launch of new Laser including introduction of TX3, and Falcon EB1992 2.2 litre engines in Courie
Launch of new Telstar
Introduction of power steering on LWB Econovan
Introduction of 4x2 Courier Crew Cab, with 2.6-litre injected engine
Introduction of Falcon EB upgrade, ABS on all models except GL
2.2 litre diesel wellside Courier introduced
Power steering and central locking on SWB Econovan
Central locking on LWB Econovan1993 Smartlock remote locking and security system introduced on all Falcon product
ABS introduced on Falcon GLi
Power steering introduced on Courier 4x2 Crew Cab
Falcon assembly resourced to Australia
Launch of Telstar V6 sedan
Launch of ED Falcon
Launch of XR6 Wagon and ute1994 VANZ Assembly Plant achieves Q1
3-pt inertia rear seat belt for centre passenger on all Falcon sedans
Launch of EF Falcon
Launch of new model Laser1995 Launch of Transit
Launch of EFII Falcon1996 Launch of Taurus
Launch of EL Falcon
Launch of Explorer -
1997 Launch of Mondeo
Closure of VANZ assembly plant announced2000 Launch of AU Falcon 2001 Launch of new model Explorer 2002 Launch of F-Series
Launch of BA Falcon
Launch of Focus
Launch of new model Courier2003 Launch of BA Falcon XR8
Launch of Ford Performance Vehicle (FPV) range2004 Launch of Fiesta
Launch of Territory (June)2005 Launch of BF Falcon, BF FPV range and SY Territory
Launch of LS Focus
Falcon celebrates 45th anniversary2006 WQ Fiesta releases
ZC Escape launched
Territory Turbo range introduced
New model Transit launched
Ranger released (replacement vehicle for Courier nameplate)2009 Fiesta launched – winner of the "AMI autocar 2009 Car of the Year" 2010 Fiesta ECOnetic launched
Ford Falcon 50th Anniversary
Ford Performance Vehicles Supercharged V8 GTs launched
Fiesta 2011 (Thailand sourced) launched2011 All New Focus launched in New Zealand
All New Ranger launched in New Zealand
New Diesel Territory introduced
Ranger wins AMI NZ Autocar COTY 2011
Focus wins NZ COTY 2011, AMI NZ Autocar Compact Car COTY
Fiesta wins Compact Business COTY from NZ Company Vehicle
Ranger wins Ute of the Year from NZ Company Vehicle
Diesel Territory wins Recreational SUV of the Year from NZ 4WD magazine
Ranger wins Overall 4WD of the Year from NZ 4WD Magazine2012 Ford Focus awarded Best in Class 2012 from AA and the NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild
Ford Ranger awarded Best in Class 2012 from AA and the NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild2013 Ford Ranger wins NZ 4WD Magazine 4WD of the Year, 75% year on year growth in sales, overall sales up 33% on previous years Ford Ranger awarded Best in Class 2013 from AA and the NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild 2014 Ford Ranger surpasses Hilux in YTD sales (April)
Ford EcoSport introduced in New Zealand (April)
Ford Transit Cargo launched (May/June)
Ford Ranger awarded Best in Class 2014 from AA and the NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild2015 Ford Ranger awarded Best in Class 2015 from AA and the NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild
Ford Ranger becomes #1 overall best-selling vehicle in New Zealand for the full year beating Corolla and Hilux
Simon Rutherford appointed Managing Director2016 All New Focus RS introduced, all 2016 units sell out before delivery
SYNC3 arrives across the range of vehicles