1903
Ford Motor Company incorporated with 12 original investors. The 1903 Model A is introduced – 1,708 cars are produced in the first year at the Mack Avenue Plant, Ford's first factory.
Ford’s Road Ahead > Interactive Timeline
We led the way in 1903. We still do.
For an idea of where Ford is going on the road ahead, consider where we’ve been
in our 108-year history.
- 1900
- 1920
- 1940
- 1960
- 1980
- 2000
- 2010
-
-
1908
The Model T is introduced – first fiscal year production totals 10,660 vehicles.
-
1913
The world's first moving auto assembly line is introduced at the Highland Park Plant, making Model T production 8 times faster. Cost for a base model Model T Runabout drops from $825 in 1908 to $525 in 1913. (And an eventual low of $260 in 1925.)
-
1914
Ford introduces $5 workday ($111, adjusted for inflation) – double the existing rate for factory workers. Wall Street criticizes Ford's generous labor practices, as the company begins paying workers enough to buy the products they made. Ford institutes hiring practices that identified the best workers, including disabled people considered unemployable by other firms.
-
1914
The first African-American was hired at Ford Motor Company on February 9, 1914. Henry Ford's beliefs and the practices of the company were not to discriminate in wages to any employee.
-
1918
The first vehicle produced at the historic Rouge Plant in Dearborn is completed - not a car, but an Eagle boat - an anti-submarine boat built for the US Navy.
-
1922
Ford production exceeds 1 million cars per year, nearly five times more than Chevrolet – the next biggest selling brand.
-
1924
Ford produces its 10 millionth car.
-
1927
The Ford Model A, the first car produced at the Rouge, begins rolling off the assembly line on October 20.
-
1931
The 20 millionth Ford, a Model A, is built at the Rouge.
-
1932
Ford begins producing the first commercially successful V-8 engine at the Rouge plant. One million V8s are produced within two years.
-
1940
The 28 millionth Ford is produced at the Edgewater Plant in New Jersey, and the vehicle goes on tour across the U.S.
-
1941
Ford's first labor agreement with UAW-CIO covering North American employees is signed on June 20.
-
1942
The last civilian vehicles rolled off the assembly line on February 1, 1942.
-
1942
Ford produces more than 8,000 B-24 Liberator bombers at various plants to contribute to the war effort. Production reached its "bomber an hour" goal and a peak of more than 400 planes per month in 1944. Defense production also included tanks, jeeps, aircraft engines and other war materiel.
-
1943
In cooperation with the UAW, a vacation plan is established for Ford hourly employees.
-
1944
Employees purchased millions of dollars worth of war bonds through payroll deduction.
-
1948
Group insurance coverage made available to hourly employees, including medical, disability, death and dismemberment.
-
1948
The first new post-war models are the 1948 trucks, introduced January 16. (The 1949 Lincoln and Lincoln Cosmopolitan were introduced April 22; the 1949 Mercury April 29 and the 1949 Ford June 10.)
-
1949
Noncontributory pension plan for hourly personnel established.
-
1954
The all-new 1955 Ford Thunderbird is introduced as a personal luxury car with a V-8. A total of 16,155 are produced in the first model year.
-
1955
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) plan established.
-
1956
Ford goes public with common stock shares, in what was then the biggest initial public offering of common stock in history.
-
1959
50 millionth car, a white 1959 Ford Galaxie, produced.
-
1964
Tuition reimbursement for after-hours schooling for hourly employees introduced.
-
1964
In 1964 the Ford Mustang was introduced at the New York World's Fair. The one millionth Mustang was produced less than two years later.
-
1967
Prescription drug plan established for employees.
-
1970
30-and-out retirement benefits established, with supplemental allowance payable upon attainment of 30 years service.
-
1973
Dental plan established for Ford hourly and salaried employees.
-
1979
Tax Reduction Act Stock Ownership Plan (TRASOP) established for hourly employees.
-
1982
New Vehicle Purchase Plan established for Ford hourly and salaried employees as well as retirees and surviving spouses.
-
1986
The new Ford Taurus is launched with a critically acclaimed aerodynamic design and is produced in the Atlanta and Chicago Assembly plants. A total of 236,362 are built in the first model year.
-
1992
Ford Taurus becomes America's top selling car, displacing the Honda Accord. A total of 409,751 are produced and sold during the 1992 model year.
-
1994
Deborah Kent is named Ford's first female plant manager and was assigned to the company's Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio.
-
1996
Ford certifies all plants in 26 countries to ISO 9000 quality and ISO 14001 environmental standards.
-
1998
The F-150 celebrated its 50th Anniversary, and its 15th year as the best-selling vehicle, with a total of more than 26 million being built and sold.
-
2003
Bill Ford drives the Company's 300 millionth vehicle off the line at Dearborn Assembly.
-
2004
The newly built Dearborn Truck Plant begins production of the all-new 2005 Ford F-150. The plant is a showplace of sustainable manufacturing, including skylights and a "living roof".
-
2008
Ford produces its 9 millionth Mustang, a GT convertible.
-
2010
Ford Focus unveiled as one of Ford’s first new global platform vehicles, heralding a new age of global manufacturing for the company.
