Ford Motor Company manufactured cars under its own name, as Lincoln in the United States. In 1958, Ford introduced a new brand, the Edsel, but poor sales led to its discontinuation in 1960. In 1985, the Ford Mercury brand was introduced from Europe into the United States, but met a similar fate in 1989. The Mercury brand was also introduced by Ford in 1939 but poor sales also led to its discontinuation in 2011.
Ford has major manufacturing operations in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, the People's Republic of China, and several other countries, including South Africa, where, after divestment during apartheid, it once again has a wholly owned subsidiary. Ford also has a cooperation agreement with the Russian automobile manufacturer GAZ.
Ford acquired British sports car maker Aston Martin in 1989, but sold it on March 12, 2007, retaining a small minority stake, and bought Volvo Cars in Sweden in 1999, selling it to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2010. In November 2008 it reduced its controlling interest to 33.4% in Mazda in Japan, to a non-controlling interest (13.4%). On November 18, 2010, Ford further reduced its stake to just 3%, citing the reduced ownership as allowing greater flexibility to continue growth in emerging markets. Ford and Mazda remain strategic partners through joint ventures and the sharing of technology. The American shares have a joint venture plant in Flat Rock, Michigan called the Alliance with Mazda Cars. Its operating division is spun off under the name Visteon. Ford sold its UK-based and Jaguar Land Rover businesses and brands to Tata Motors India in March 2008.
Ford's parts division sells parts under the Motorcraft brand name FoMoCo.
Ford's non-manufacturing operations include organizations such as Ford Motor Finance and Ford Motor Credit Operations. Ford also sponsors numerous sporting events and facilities throughout the United States, most notably the Ford Center (now Chesapeake Energy Arena) in downtown Oklahoma City and Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
Ford Motor Company's Ford and Lincoln car brands are controlled by Ford. Used years Brands Markets Global markets
Initially, Ford Motor Company's models sold outside the United States were essentially versions of those sold in the domestic market, but later, it developed and sold specific models for Europe. All attempts to globalize the model line have often failed, with the European Ford Mondeo selling poorly in the United States as the Ford Contour, while US models such as the Ford Taurus fared poorly in Japan and Australia, even when produced in right-hand drive. The small European Ka model, a huge success in the domestic market, is not a catch in Japan, and is not available as an automatic. The Ford Mondeo was dropped from Australia, because the market segment it competed for was steadily declining, with buyers preferring the larger domestic model, the Falcon. One recent exception is the European Focus, which has sold strongly on both sides of the Atlantic.