Ford Motor Company Philippines

Ford Group Philippines, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
Headquarters
8th Floor, Filinvest One Building, Northgate Cyberzone, Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa, Philippines
Area served
Philippines
Key people
Michael Breen (Managing Director)
ProductsAutomobiles, Pickup Trucks, SUVs
OwnerFord Motor Company
Number of employees
5,000 (2013)
ParentFord Group Philippines
Websiteford.com.ph

Ford Group Philippines, Inc. (FGPI) is a Philippine-based subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. It was primarily focused on manufacturing automobiles for local and regional markets from 1998 until 2012. It built the Ford Escape, Ford Laser/Lynx, Ford Focus, Mazda3, and Mazda Tribute for the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.[1][2][3][4] Since 2012, Ford Philippines imports the vehicles it sells to the Philippine market.[1] These imports come mostly from Thailand and the United States.[4]

History

Ford's history in the Philippines can be traced back to 1913 with the local assembly of the Ford Model T.[citation needed] In 1929, Henry Ford established "Pilipinas Ford Car Works, Inc." (PFCW). In 1967, "Ford Philippines, Inc." (FPI) was established as a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company and began production operations on May 3, 1968, located at Sucat, Parañaque.[5] In 1976, FPI inaugurated a body stamping plant in Mariveles, Bataan.[6] On March 20, 1984, FPI formally and unexpectedly announced it would cease its operations in the Philippines by August 1984, in accordance with a decision reached by the management of Ford Motor Company.[7]

In 1997, Ford returned to the Philippines with the establishment of "Ford Motor Company Philippines, Inc." (FMCPI), introducing US-made vehicles such as the Expedition, the F-150, the Clubwagon and the Lincoln Town Car. A new P4 Billion state-of-the-art assembly plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna opened in September 1999. The first car manufactured at the plant was the Ford Lynx, and the company began building the Mazda-based Ford Ranger in March 2000. FMPCI company expanded its line-up with the introduction of the Escape SUV, Explorer SUV and Everest SUV. The Fiesta joined the local Ford line up in August 2010,[8] this was followed by the Mustang in July 2012.[9]

In 2012, Ford announced the consolidation of manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia and the cessation of operations at the Santa Rosa plant, citing "lack of supply base and economies of scale."[2][10] 250 workers were affected by the decision, which Ford Philippines tried to resolve by offering them work at other Ford manufacturing facilities overseas. Despite this closure, Ford Philippines is opening more dealerships and expanding its vehicle lineup by the year 2015.[11] In March 2014, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation announced it had acquired the former Ford assembly plant.[12]

In early 2014, the subcompact EcoSport SUV[13] was added to the local Ford lineup. In November 2019, Ford introduced the rear-wheel drive diesel Transit full-size van.[14] In June 2020, the full-size F150 returned to the Philippines after a long hiatus.[15]

Current models

  • Ford Everest (2003–present) - Imported from Thailand
  • Ford Explorer (2011–present) - Imported from United States
  • Ford F-150 (1997–1999, 2020–present) - Imported from United States
  • Ford Mustang (2012–present) - Imported from United States
  • Ford Ranger (2000–present) - Manufactured locally until 2006 then imported from Thailand
  • Ford Territory (2020–present) - Imported from China

Former models

The list only include vehicles that were sold after the brand's return in the Philippines in 1997. Therefore, this list excludes all Ford vehicles sold in the Philippines before 1997.

  • Ford E-150 (1997–2014) - Imported from United States
  • Ford EcoSport (2014–2022) - Imported from Thailand from 2014 to 2018 then imported from China from 2018 and 2022
  • Ford Escape (2001–2012, 2015–2016) - Manufactured locally from 2001 to 2012 then imported from United States from 2015 to 2016
  • Ford Expedition (1997–2022) - Imported from United States
  • Ford Explorer Sport Trac (2001–2004) - Imported from United States
  • Ford Fiesta (2010–2019) - Imported from Thailand
  • Ford Focus (1999–2018) - Manufactured locally from 1999 to 2012 then imported from Thailand from 2012 to 2018
  • Ford Lynx (1999–2005) - Manufactured locally
  • Ford Transit (2019–2022) - Imported from Turkey
  • Lincoln Town Car (1997–2000) - Imported from United States

References

  1. ^ a b Amy R. Remo (2012-06-27). "Ford to close Philippine assembly plant". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. ^ a b "Ford Philippines to close Sta. Rosa factory in December". GMA Network. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  3. ^ "The Ford Philippines Assembly Plant". Ford Philippines. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  4. ^ a b Alan Harman (2012-06-27). "Ford to End Production in the Philippines". Wards Auto. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  5. ^ "Ford automotive assembly plant was inaugurated May 3, 1968". The Kahimyang Project. 16 April 2013.
  6. ^ Egan, Jack (August 1, 1978). "Ford Plant in Philippines: Small Profit, Large Suit". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ "BusinessWorld - Ford, Dearborn, and fruitful ties". archives.bworldonline.com.
  8. ^ "2010 Ford Fiesta subcompact makes Philippine debut - Auto News". 17 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Ford Philippines Launches Iconic Mustang; Prices Start at P 2.499M".
  10. ^ "Ford to shut down Philippine assembly operations". Interaksyon. 2012-06-27. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  11. ^ "Ford to shut Sta. Rosa plant". Business World Online. 2012-06-27. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  12. ^ Vera, Ben O. de (31 March 2014). "Mitsubishi acquires Ford's former PH assembly plant in Laguna". business.inquirer.net.
  13. ^ "Launched: All-new Ford EcoSport".
  14. ^ "The all-new Ford Transit is priced at P2.3-M".
  15. ^ "Ford PH officially launches the F-150 with a P2.698-M starting price".