The American giant FORD decided very early to install assembly plants in Europe. Beginning with England in 1911, then France in 1913, Denmark and Ireland in 1919, and Spain in 1920. Belgium and Italy took their turn in 1922.
However, it was not until 18 August 1925 that Germany was also able to welcome the birth of its own construction company in Berlin. It was operational in 1926 and around 100 workers produced 2,677 "T" models.
This small company has now become a giant of the automotive industry where work in Cologne where the former Berlin factory set up in 1931 more than 45,000 employees producing more than 800,000 cars each year.
The perfect example of the result of these studies was the Sierra XR4 x4 and the birth of electronically controlled motors. Then, the Scorpion was the first production car equipped with its standard basic version of the ABS. Not to mention the sporting exploits of the "FORD MOTORSPORT" department and the "COSWORTH" engines. All this very briefly sums up the history of "FORD EUROPE"
Ford Germany in Cologne and Ford France in Poissy began by broadcasting American Ford before designing their own models.
Ford England broadcast Ford T and A right-hand drive from 1911 to 1932 while Ford Germany assembled Model T in 1925 and Model A in 1927.
In 1931 the Ford Germany plant in Cologne started the construction of the four-cylinder B known later as Rheinland.
In 1935, the British launched the 1,173 cc Model C Ten to replace the Austin Seven on the road and during the "special" races and reduced the size of the V8 while the Germans were content to import it. In 1937, they launched the 22 hp 60 V8 models similar to the French Matford, increase the power of the Eight and the Ten and take out the Perfect and the Anglia while the Germans launch the 1157 cc Eifel available for indoor or declarable driving and design the Taunus 34 hp 1172 cc
In 1951, the Consul and the Zephyr were released in England. The same year in France, the Comet sports coupe was released. In England, 1954 saw the release of the luxury version of the Zephyr named Zodiac while the Popular appeared.
In 1962, in Germany, the Taunus 12 M became a front-wheel drive with a 1.2 or 1.5-liter four-cylinder. Two years later, the 17 M of 1.5 or 1.7 liters keeps the engine in the rear while the Taunus VM, V6, 2 liters appears. The 12 M, 17 M, and 20 M models are also available in the TS version.
The 1978 Granada, built only in Germany, became the flagship model of the European range. The Taunus reappears in Germany with an inline four-cylinder at the rear instead of the V4. Its bodywork adopts the structure of the British Cortina. It is presented in seventeen models.