Ford Motor Company Ford Case

Ford Motor Company Ford case study report Q.1 to what extent did a) the light trucks segment b) the operations of Ford Credit create opportunities and problems for Ford in the late 1990's and 2000's? To what extent do these developments suggest more continuity than change of strategy between the Jacques Nasser and Bill Ford periods? Ford Motor Company entered the business world on June 16, 1903, when Henry Ford and 11 business associates signed the company's articles of incorporation.

With $28,000 in cash, the pioneering industrialists gave birth to what was to become one of the world's largest corporations. Few companies are as closely identified with the history and development of industry and society throughout the 20th century as Ford Motor Company. Perhaps Ford Motor Company's single greatest contribution to automotive manufacturing was the moving assembly line.

First implemented at the Highland Park plant (in Michigan, U.S.) in 1913, the new technique allowed individual workers to stay in one place and perform the same task repeatedly on multiple vehicles that passed by them. The line proved tremendously efficient, helping the company far surpass the production levels of their competitors -- and making the vehicles more affordable. Henry Ford insisted that the company's future lay in the production of affordable cars for a mass market. (Ford Motor Company).

But a lot has changed since Henry Ford first founded the company and Ford Motor Co. has lost a lot of its competitive advantage on the U.S. auto market, especially to the benefit of General Motors their most powerful and enduring competitor. It seems that Ford has been facing serious problems for quite some time. In the 90s Ford automotive" is the tale of two businesses where North America automotive made all the money while Ford's substantial European cars business stumbled between losses and breakeven. As U.S.

demand for "light trucks" (i.e. sport utilities and pickups) boomed in the 90s, Ford held a market leading 33% market share and the F150 pick up (full size, V8 and auto) was America's best selling automobile. Even with this boost, Ford doesn't make enough money for the stock market."(Ford Case Study) In January 1999 an important change occurred at Ford, Jacques Nasser took over as CEO, after having joined the company in 1968 and having worked for the last 30 years in Asia, Latin America and South Africa.

Nasser wasted no time in announcing the major changes he wanted to implement there.