福特汽车
维基百科，自由的百科全书
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| 公司類型 | 上市公司 (NYSE: F) |
|---|---|
| 成立時間 | 1903年 |
| 總部地點 | 美國密歇根州迪尔博恩 |
| 重要人物 | William Ford, Jr. Chairman & CEO |
| 口號 | 為公路建設而領先 |
| 產業 | 汽車業 |
| 產品 | 阿斯顿·马丁 福特汽車公司 捷豹 戴姆勒 越野路華 林肯 萬事得 水星 富豪汽車 |
| 營業額 |  $178.1 billion USD (2005) [1] |
| 員工數 | 327,531 |
| 網站 | www.ford.com |
福特汽車公司(Ford Motor Company)(NYSE: F)是一間生產汽車的跨國企業，於美國密歇根州迪尔伯恩（現公司總部所在地)由亨利·福特﹝Henry Ford﹞所創立，在1903年公司化。在其20世纪如日中天的时候，福特、通用与克莱斯勒被认为是底特律的三大汽车生产商。这三家公司统治着美国汽车市场。然而日本丰田公司的收入在2004年时开始超过福特。即使如此，福特公司依然是世界上收入排名前十的企业。
亨利·福特引用了大批量汽車生產以及大批量工廠員工管理的方法，更别具匠心地设计了以移动式流水线为代表的新生产序列。他对高效率、高工资、低售价的结合对当时美国制造业来说是一次翻天覆地的改革创新。这套方法因此被称为福特制。
目录 |
[编辑] 公司历史
福特用来自十二位投资者的28000美金在一个原先制造马车的工厂里开始了他的事业。当时汽车的生产方式是以两到三个工人为一组，从零件制造到销售订单都是由一组工人负责到底。因此最开始的日子里，福特公司生产效率比较低下，每天只能生产几部车。
1908年, 福特汽車公司开始发行福特T型车(Model T)。最早的一批T型车都是在Piquette制造车间完成装配的，后来公司将生产部分移动到空间更大的高地公园(Highland Park)的车间来满足市场对于T型车源源不断的需求。在1913年公司已经发展出一套较完整的流水线和大规模生产技术。亨利·福特将原先的流水线装配法发展成为了由机械传送带来运输零件让工人进行组装。这个创新将原先装配底盘所需的12个小时30分钟的时间减少到2个小时40分钟。值得注意的是，国内大众普遍误认为流水线装配是亨利·福特发明，实际上流水线生产法最先出现在英国。在美国第一个使用流水线进行生产作业是工业家Ransom Olds而非亨利·福特。
机械传送带在当时并没有立刻取得成效，而且工人的失误率相当高，然而失误就意味着更多的生产延误以及更多对工人进行培训所需的额外支出，还有就是要使用干活较慢的工人。在1914年1月，通过将工资加倍（从2.5美金/小时到5美金/小时），缩短工作时间（每天工作8小时），并设立专门负责雇佣工人的人员后，困扰公司多年的生产效率低下的问题就迎刃而解了。员工失误率大幅下降，公司生产力也随之腾飞。随着制造车子的速度越来越快，每辆车的售价也开始快速下跌。福特不断地对他的汽车产品进行降价，由原先850美金一辆车的价钱降至360美金[2]。并首先发明了授权经销商的概念与体系，让那些经销商来为他大量销售这些便宜的汽车。
截至1913年底，全美国有50%的汽车都是福特公司生产的。然而至1918年底，全美国的汽车有一半都是T型车。当时绝大部分T型车的颜色都是清一色的黑色，基本没有什么其他颜色可供选择。据传亨利·福特有一句名言：“顾客可以选择他想要的任何一种颜色，只要它是黑色。”意思就是顾客只能够购买黑色的T型车。亨利·福特并不是对黑色有什么特殊癖好， 其坚持黑色的真正原因在于黑色油漆干燥得快，可以使汽车在落地后第一时间能够被卖出去。这也算是亨利·福特追求生产效率的极端表现之一。
1919年，亨利福特的儿子埃兹尔·福特(Edsel Ford)继承了他父亲公司总裁的职位，但是亨利·福特仍然可干涉公司的管理且始终具有其影响力。虽然高效率的生产使公司产品的价格一直较低，但由于公司内部不与时俱进的家长式管理以及对高端消费者市场的忽略，福特公司在美国开始逐渐失去汽车市场份额。通用汽车、克莱斯勒以及其他小型的竞争企业开始为消费者提供与T型车相比拥有更多豪华设备的汽车。比如说通用在当时就有各种价位的车型，将高低端市场一网打尽；另一方面，经济拮据的人也不再会直接从福特公司购买T型车，而是转而购买二十多甚至十多美金就能买到的二手的T型车。与此同时，这些竞争者又通过实行分期付款的形式使消费者能够在每个月只交一笔钱的情况下能买到原先支付不起的昂贵车辆。福特强烈反对这种消费方式，他认为这种消费最终将使国家经济以及消费者陷入窘局。但福特最终还是做了让步，并在风靡一时的T型车生产至第一千五百万部时宣布停产该车型，转而生产全新的车型A型车(Model A)。
1925年，福特公司收购了林肯汽车公司(Lincoln Motor Company)，从而开始打入高档车市场。1935年，水星品牌(Mercury)在埃兹尔·福特提议下成立，主要生产中价位的的汽车。[3]
亨利·福特的孙子亨利·福特二世(Henry Ford II)在1945年至1960年期间担任福特汽车公司总裁，且在1960年至1980年期间担任公司董事长暨首席执行官。虽然福特公司于1956年上市成为美国公有制企业，福特家族仍通过占据大量B级优先股保持其在公司40%左右的控制权益，这在公有企业中是相当大的比率。
2003年时福特汽车公司渡过其100年周年纪念，其现任董事长暨首席执行官是亨利·福特的曾孙小威廉·克莱·福特（即比尔·福特）(William Clay Ford, Jr.)。
[编辑] 旗下品牌
当下福特汽车公司的主要品牌是福特、林肯与水星。福特曾分别在1955年及1958年推出雷鸟车型(Thunderbird)及埃兹尔(Edsel)品牌，后者在惨淡经营27个月后停产。值得一提的是福特1988年推出的默克(Merkur)亦遭遇了埃兹尔的同样命运。
1960年福特公司携其新车型福特猎鹰(Ford Falcon)卷土重来，又在1964年推出了日后对公司意义重大的跑车品牌——野马系列(Mustang)。1967年福特欧洲总部成立，3年后亚太总部成立。
福特公司的收购策略相当具有侵略性，自1979年开始至今，已先后收购了日本的马自达（收购33.4%的股票）、英国的阿斯顿马丁(Aston Martin)、捷豹(Jaguar)、陆虎(Land Rover)以及瑞典的沃尔沃（汽车分支）(Volvo)。
[编辑] 21世紀的發展（北美）
2000年，在现任董事长比尔•福特宣布公司将把其旗下所有轻型货车（包括所有SUV）的平均行驶寿命在2005年底前提高25%[4]。这个消息震惊了汽车业界，但同时也讨好了在美国社会的环保论者。遗憾的是在2003年，福特又宣布说当前竞争激烈的市场条件以及来自技术与成本方面的挑战都使公司无法完成其既定目标。
2005年福特在其燃油效率项目上取得了重大突破，并推出了风靡一时的油电混合动力车——Ford Escape，其姐妹车水星水手(Mercury Mariner)亦在急切的市场需求下于2006年比原计划提前一年推出，同属福特旗下的马自达Tribute以及其他福特车型也可通过选装而具备其油电混合的动力传动系统。福特随董事即再接再厉，用沃尔沃的品牌接连推出XC70以及XC90两款SUV。2006年秋，福特宣布不日将推出2007款Ford Edge，Lincoln MKX，Mazda CX-7三款车。这些车型都已在2006年北美国际车展展出。在研发下一代油电混合系统的同时，福特亦正在研究可由燃料电池产生动力的电子动力传动组，并已展示了其氢气内燃机技术。福特公司若能在世界范围内成功推广混合动力车与燃料电池车，将能相当有效地减少地球的空气污染与噪音污染。
在福特混合动力车广受欢迎的同时，福特其它小型车的市场却受到了一定程度的冲击。主要是因为消费者具有“外国车（尤其是德国、日本车）比美国车更优秀”的普遍心理。
[编辑] “前进之路”
“北美的汽车市场正象全球其他的市场一样发生剧变，越来越拥挤和凌乱。为了迎接这个挑战，我们正在加紧强化福特、林肯和水星的品牌，为消费者们提供他们所需要的创新产品，并且在这样一个全球竞争的时代创立一个使我们能够参与竞争和赢得市场的商业结构......为了保护福特公司的遗产和我们的未来，我们将做出痛苦的牺牲。”——比尔·福特
2005年5月，福特汽车公司的债券被美国两大信用评级机构降级，成为所谓的“垃圾股”。此次债券降级是由于福特公司对其SUV销售盈利的依赖以及其对老化劳动力支付的昂贵的医疗保健费用。与此同时，油价的上涨使SUV的销量降低，又要面对来自日本和韩国的竞争，使福特深陷窘境。福特现有的年生产能力是450万辆汽车，但是2005年只销售出320万辆左右的汽车，这意味着福特北美地区的装配车间生产力仅仅发挥了79%。福特在2005年的亏损高达16亿美元。
为扭转亏损并在2008年时恢复盈利，2005下半年，董事长比尔·福特要求福特美洲区总裁马克·菲尔兹(Mark Fields)制定一套能使公司盈利能力的公司重组计划。菲尔兹在2005年12月7日在公司董事会上推出了该计划，并将其命名“前进之路”("The Way Forward")。该计划内容包括：在北美地区进行裁员以及关闭大量工厂，停产一些不赚钱的车型，降低材料成本，专注研发交叉车型、混合动力车、小型车，以及巩固原有的福特-林肯-水星三大生产线。已知即将被关闭的工厂分别位于圣路易斯、亚特兰大，密歇根州Wixom、俄亥俄州Batavia和加拿大温莎。其他工厂的名字目前还没有被透露，它们都将在2012年前停止生产。计划中指出，在北美的高达三万名员工（福特28%的职工人数），无论是装配工人还是管理层白领（尤其是中层管理），在六年内将都将被公司裁减。此次公司的“瘦身”行动与先前通用汽车的裁员相比有过之而无不及，亦可从中看出福特洗心革面的决心。
这是福特4年来在北美地区实施的第二次重组计划。在2002年1月的首次重组计划中，福特关闭了5个工厂并裁减了3.5万名员工。[5]
2006年9月5日，福特汽车公司宣布，波音公司前副总裁艾伦·穆拉利已接替比尔·福特出任公司新总裁兼首席执行官。比尔·福特将继续担任董事长一职。[6]
10月11日，福特汽车公司宣布，由于车门锁存在缺陷，召回2005年生产的Five Hundred和Montego两款轿车以及2005至2006年生产的Freestar厢式车。由于传动轴存在易破裂的缺陷，召回2006年产的Escape多功能运动型混合动力车。[7]
[编辑] 福特中国
[编辑] 環球市場
起初，美国以外销售的福特车型实质上就是本国市场的车型。后来才开始专门为欧洲设计制造车型。将车型系列全球化的努力经常失败。始于欧洲的福特蒙迪欧在美国卖得不好，而美国的福特金牛座即使做成右位驾驶也在日本和澳大利亚表现平平。欧洲的小型车Ka，在当地风行，在日本却未流行，因为其不提供自动排档。澳大利亚福特公司停产了蒙迪欧，因为该型车的市场持续下滑，而且买家喜爱稍大的福特猎鹰。福克斯是一个例外－此欧洲车型在大西洋两岸都有强劲的销量。
[编辑] 歐洲
At first, Ford in Germany and the United Kingdom built different models from one another until the late 1960s, with the Ford Escort and then the Ford Capri being common to both companies. Later on, the Ford Taunus and Ford Cortina became identical, produced in left hand drive and right hand drive respectively. Rationalisation of model ranges meant that production of many models in the UK switched to elsewhere in Europe, including Belgium and Spain as well as Germany. The Ford Sierra replaced the Taunus and Cortina in 1982, drawing criticism for its radical aerodynamic styling, which was soon given nicknames such as "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship".
Increasingly, Ford Motor Company has looked to Ford of Europe for its "world cars," such as the Mondeo, Focus, and Fiesta, although sales of European-sourced Fords in the U.S. have been disappointing. In Asia, models from Europe are not as competitively priced as Japanese-built rivals, nor are they perceived as reliable. The Focus has been one exception to this, which has become America's best selling compact car since its launch in 2000.
In 2001, Ford ended car production in the UK. It was the first time in more than eighty years that Ford cars had not been made in Britain, although production of the Transit van continues at the company's Southampton facility, engines at Bridgend and Dagenham, and transmissions at Halewood. Development of European Ford is broadly split between Dunton in Essex (powertrain, Fiesta/Ka and commercial vehicles) and Cologne (body, chassis, electrical, Focus, Mondeo) in Germany. Ford also produced the Thames range of commercial vehicles although the use of this brand name was discontinued circa 1965. It owns the Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin car plants in Britain which are still operational. Ford's Halewood Assembly Plant was converted to Jaguar production.
Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo range in Genk (Belgium), Fiesta in Valencia (Spain) and Cologne (Germany), Ka in Valencia and Focus in Valencia, Saarlouis (Germany) and St. Petersberg (Russia). Transit production is in Kocaeli (Turkey), Southampton (UK), and Transit Connect in Kocaeli.
Ford also owns a joint venture production plant in Turkey. Ford-Otosan, established in the 1970s, manufactures the Transit Connect compact panel van as well as the "Jumbo" and long wheelbase versions of the full-size Transit. This new production facility was set up near Kocaeli in 2002, and its opening marked the end of Transit assembly in Genk. Another joint venture plant near Setubal in Portugal, set up in collaboration with Volkswagen, assembles the Galaxy people carrier as well as its sister ship, the VW Sharan.
[编辑] 亞太區
In Australia and New Zealand, the popular Ford Falcon is considered the typical (if not particularly economical) family car, though it is considerably larger than the Mondeo sold in Europe. Between 1960 and 1972, the Falcon was based on a U.S. Ford of that name, but since then has been entirely designed and manufactured locally. Like its General Motors rival, the Holden Commodore, the 4.0 L Falcon retains rear wheel drive. High performance variants of the Falcon running locally-built engines produce up to 390 hp. A ute (short for "utility," known in the US as pickup truck) version is also available with a similar range of drivetrains. In addition, Ford Australia sells highly-tuned Falcon sedans and utes through its performance car division, Ford Performance Vehicles. These cars produce over 400 hp and are built in small numbers to increase their value as collectors' cars.
In both Australia and New Zealand, the Commodore and Falcon outsell all other cars. In Australia they comprise over 20% of the new car market.
Ford's presence in Asia has traditionally been much smaller. However, with the acquisition of a stake in Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 1979, Ford began selling Mazda's Familia and Capella (also known as the 323 and 626) as the Ford Laser and Telstar. The Laser was one of the most successful models sold by Ford in Australia, and outsold the Mazda 323, despite being almost identical to it. The Laser was also built in Mexico and sold in the U.S. as the Mercury Tracer, while the 1989 American Ford Escort was based on the Laser/Mazda 323. The smaller Mazda 121 was also sold in the U.S. and Asia as the Ford Festiva.
Through its relationship with Mazda, Ford also acquired a stake in South Korean manufacturer Kia, which later built the Ford Aspire for export to the United States, but later sold the company to Hyundai. Ironically, Hyundai also manufactured the Ford Cortina until the 1980s. Ford also has a joint venture with Lio Ho in Taiwan, which assembled Ford models locally since the 1970s.
Ford came to India in 1998 with its Ford Escort model, which was later replaced by locally produced Ford Ikon in 2001. It has since added Fusion, Fiesta, Mondeo and Endeavour to its product line.
[编辑] 南美洲
In South America, Ford has had to face protectionist government measures in each country, with the result that it built different models in different countries, without particular regard to rationalisation or economy of scale inherent to producing and sharing similar vehicles between the nations. In many cases, new vehicles in a country were based on those of the other manufacturers it had entered into production agreements with, or whose factories it had acquired. For example, the Corcel and Del Rey in Brazil were originally based on Renault vehicles.
In the 1980s, Ford merged its operations in Brazil and Argentina with those of Volkswagen to form a company called Autolatina, with which it shared models. Sales figures and profitability were disappointing, and Autolatina was dissolved in the 1990s. With the advent of Mercosur, the regional common market, Ford was finally able to rationalise its product line-ups in those countries. Consequently, the Ford Fiesta is only built in Brazil, and the Ford Focus only built in Argentina, with each plant exporting in large volumes to the neighbouring country. Models like the Ford Mondeo from Europe could now be imported completely built up. Ford in Brazil produces a pick-up truck version of the Fiesta, which is also produced in South Africa as the Ford Bantam in right hand drive versions.
[编辑] 非洲和中東地區
In Africa and the Middle East, Ford's market presence has traditionally been strongest in South Africa and neighbouring countries, with only trucks being sold elsewhere on the continent. Ford in South Africa began by importing kits from Canada to be assembled at its Port Elizabeth facility. Later Ford sourced its models from the UK and Australia, with local versions of the Ford Cortina including the XR6, with a 3.0 V6 engine, and a Cortina 'bakkie' or pick-up, which was exported to the UK. In the mid-1980s Ford merged with a rival company, owned by Anglo American, to form the South African Motor Corporation (Samcor).
Following international condemnation of apartheid, Ford divested from South Africa in 1988, and sold its stake in Samcor, although it licensed the use of its brand name to the company. Samcor began to assemble Mazdas as well, which affected its product line-up, which saw the European Fords like the Escort and Sierra replaced by the Mazda-based Laser and Telstar. Ford bought a 45 per cent stake in Samcor following the demise of apartheid in 1994, and this later became, once again, a wholly owned subsidiary, the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Ford now sells a local sedan version of the Fiesta (also built in India and Mexico), and the Focus and Mondeo Europe. The Falcon model from Australia was also sold in South Africa, but was dropped in 2003.
Ford's market presence in the Middle East has traditionally been even smaller, partly due to previous Arab boycotts of companies dealing with Israel. Ford and Lincoln vehicles are currently marketed in ten countries in the region. [8] Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE are the biggest markets. [9] Ford's distributor in Saudi Arabia announced in February 2003 that it had sold 100,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles since commencing sales in November 1986. Half of the Ford/Lincoln vehicles sold in that country were Ford Crown Victorias. [10] In 2004, Ford sold 30,000 units in the region, falling far short of General Motors' 88,852 units and Nissan Motors' 75,000 units. [11]
[编辑] 另類能源汽車
Bill Ford was one of the first top industry executives to make regular use of an battery electric vehicle, a Ford Ranger EV, while the company contracted with the United States Postal Service to deliver electric postal vans based on the Ranger EV platform. Many Ford vehicles now sport an emblem — a green leaf springing from a curving road-like twig — symbolic of the new "green" commitment to preserve the environment and reduce resource consumption, while delivering safe, economical, and effective products to the motoring public. Vehicles with this emblem are generally alternative fuel or flexible-fuel vehicles. The alternative fuel vehicles, such as some versions of the Crown Victoria especially in fleet and taxi service, operate on compressed natural gas - or CNG. Some CNG vehicles have duel fuel tanks - one for gasoline, the other for CNG - the same engine can operate on either fuel via a selector switch. Flexible fuel vehicles are designed to operate automatically on a wide range of available fuel mixtures - from pure gasoline, to ethanol-gasoline blends such as E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). Part of the challenge of successful marketing alternative and flexible fuel vehicles, is the general lack of establishment of sufficient infrastructure (fueling stations), which would be essential for these vehicles to be attractive to a wide range of consumers.
Ford was third to market with a hybrid car — the Ford Escape Hybrid, and the first to market with a Hybrid SUV / Crossover. The Hybrid Escape will also be the first hybrid vehicle to market with a Flexible Fuel capability to run on E85 ethanol-gasoline mixture [12]. The company is on track to selling 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010.
Ford hybrids:
- 2004– Ford Escape Hybrid
- 2006– Mercury Mariner
- 2008– Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan
- 2009– Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
- 2009– Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX
[编辑] 福特赛车
- 主条目：福特赛车
[编辑] 參考資料
- Ford Motor Company. 2003 Annual Report. Rochester, New York:St Ives Inc Case-Hoyt. [13]
- ^ Ford Motor Company - History
- ^ Ford to Cut Thousands of Jobs and Close 14 Factories. Washington Post. January 23 2006.
[编辑] 参见
[编辑] 外部連結
- Ford Basic History site
- Ford 100th Anniversary History Site
- Ford Family - History
- Ford Motor Company Home Page
- Ford Vehicles Home Page
- Ford Direct - Get A Free Price Quote, Build Your Vehicle, Search Dealer Inventory, View Pricing Details, Compare Trims, See Latest Incentives And Offers
- FORDification.com - The '67-'72 Ford Truck Resource
- FORDMUSCLE.COM - Webmagazine. High Performance Technical Content]
- Ford Cars Smart Guide
- Ford SUVs Smart Guide
- Ford Commits to Major SUV Fuel Economy Gains
- Ford Escape Hybrid Sets SUV Mileage Record in 37-Hour Non-Stop Driving Test on a Tank of Gas
- Blueovalnews.com a fan information site
- FordEurope.net - independent portal site about Ford of Europe
- Independent portal site about Ford of Belgium
- Ford Racing home page - Racing News and fan information site
- Bill Ford's The Way Forward speech text - 23 Jan 2006
- Mark Field's The Way Forward speech text - 23 Jan 2006
- Ford Auto IN :: Home Page Ford of Central Europe
- Ford Gallery Ford Images
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