5 Best Automobile Brands You Might Not Know Ford Owns

Ford was founded in 1903 and has been a part of the automotive industry for almost a century. Along with these developments, the business produced the Model T, an inexpensive automobile made possible by advances in assembly line technology.

Ford expanded its product range beyond automobiles and entered the aircraft industry, producing the Ford Trimotor, still a highly prized aircraft, and tanks for the Allies, including the highly effective M4 Sherman and some versions of the M10 tank destroyers, which were among the best. World War II tank destroyers.

However, Ford is best known for its automobiles. Excellent cars, SUVs and trucks were being produced by many competitors; Ford recognized an opening and seized it, adding vehicles to its lineup.

Ford had a significant impact on these businesses, either through common technology and designs, or by providing them with much-needed funding and money, which kept them going, even though most of them were later sold. Furthermore, some of these businesses also produced certain models that were rebranded simply as Fords and influenced Ford through technology transfer.

5 Automobile Brands You Might Not Know Ford Owns

Aston Martin

Most of us are familiar with Aston Martin as the premium sports car company that produced high-end vehicles like the $2.3 million Aston Martin Vulcan and the 2023 Aston Martin DB12. In 1913, the business Bamford & Martin was established. Between 1924 and 1925, it was renamed Aston Martin Motors.

Throughout its existence, Aston Martin has struggled financially; In 1987, during this period of instability, Ford purchased a 75% stake in the business. Ford bought the remaining 25% of Aston Martin in 1993 and became the sole owner of the company. Aston Martin was given a new plant in Bloxham, England under the supervision of Ford to build the DB7.
Former Ford employee Ian Callum was also responsible for the iconic V8 Vantage and V12 Vanquish Aston Martin cars. He also designed cars with comparable styling for other Ford brands, such as the Jaguar XK, one of the greatest Jaguars ever made.

Ford’s ownership of the brand ended in 2007 when Ford sold Aston Martin to David Richards, chairman of the Motorsport and Engineering Institute. While some might argue that Ford didn’t buy the automaker with the greatest intentions in 1987, it’s plausible that Aston Martin wouldn’t be around today if Ford hadn’t stayed in business in the 1980s.

Jaguar

Another British brand that caught Ford’s attention was Jaguar. To expand its global footprint in the luxury automobile market, the American behemoth paid $2.38 billion to acquire the struggling automaker in 1989. Despite providing Ford with much-needed prestige and helping Ford to enter the premium automotive market, Aston Martin was unsuccessful. To meet the demand of its vehicles. Analysts thus predicted at the time that Ford would produce an expensive, high-volume car under the Jaguar brand.

The biggest iteration of the Jaguar XJ was the 2003 XJ X350, which was built by Jaguar when it was owned by Ford. Additionally, their collaboration produced the Jaguar XJ220 supercar, which is regrettably not offered locally in the United States.

Although Ford supported Jaguar during its difficult years of existence, the former was not very profitable. Jaguar suffered significant losses during the financial crisis of the late 2000s, losing $15 billion in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Ford sold Jaguar to Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.

Land Rover

Rover, one of the world’s oldest auto companies, was part of the original Land Rover Vehicle Rover, before being spun off into its own brand in 1978. Ultimately, the brand was acquired by BMW and Rover’s parent corporation in 1994. Ford purchased the Land Rover brand from BMW in 2000 after the company suffered significant losses due to the poor performance of Rover and Land Rover.

Led by Ford, Land Rover beefed up the current model range by adding height-adjustable air springs and independent front and rear suspension. Additionally, some Land Rover vehicles continued to use Ford six- and eight-cylinder engines until 2020, at which time Land Rover’s engine production became independent.

However, the 2008 crisis cost Ford billions of dollars. So, in an attempt to turn things around, the business sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors in 2008. The two businesses were merged by Tata in 2013 to become Jaguar Land Rover and the once-dominant Ford brands into one, prosperous one. activity

Mercury

All of the automakers we just mentioned were acquired by Ford, but Mercury is unique because it’s a homegrown Ford brand. When Edsel Ford and Jack Davis, a sales manager, decided in 1938 to market a technologically advanced model apart from Ford and Lincoln, they came up with the idea of the Mercury nameplate.

The company’s mid-range product, positioned between Ford and Lincoln, was the Mercury brand. As a result, it provided several well-known Ford vehicles, such as the Mustang (which became the Cougar) that was rebadged and trimmed as a Mercury car. Although many Mercury muscle cars perform on par with or better than Ford competitors, they are frequently undervalued.

Although Mercury produced excellent cars through the 2000s, such as the Ford Crown Victoria-based Mercury Marauder, waning consumer interest and a weak sense of brand recognition were warning signs. Mercury was Ford’s first in-house brand after the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis sent the US economy into freefall. Ford discontinued the Mercury brand permanently in January 2011, the same month that the final Mercury Grand Marquis rolled off the assembly line.

Volvo

Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Although it started as a vehicle manufacturer, it has since moved into other sectors such as trucks and construction equipment. Volvo Group sold its automotive division in 1999 to focus on transportation. The group was acquired by Ford Motor Company for SEK 50 billion ($6.4 billion) and merged with other high-end brands such as Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Lincoln to form Premier Automotive Group (PAG).

Based on the Ford EUCD platform, Volvo released the S80 and V70 for the European market when it was owned by Ford. Volvo even produced the 300 horsepower V70 R station wagon, a reasonably priced example of a modern classic.

In 2004, Ford also introduced Volvo-influenced cars; They were Ford Five Hundred and Ford Freestyle. They are equipped with many Volvo safety features, including curtain airbags, a collapsible steering column and all-wheel drive, although these are withdrawn. Modern Ford cars, such as the Ford Taurus, which succeeded the short-lived Ford Five Hundred, still incorporate the same innovations.

However, Ford sold Volvo during the tumultuous late 2000s, as did the other PAG brands on this list. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the parent company of Chinese automaker Geely Auto, paid $1.8 billion to acquire the brand in 2010.

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