Map of Our Year
January
Strong Financials
Announced strong financial results delivered in 2010, enabling great progress in reducing debt and strengthening our balance sheet. Ended 2010 with Automotive gross cash exceeding our debt by $1.4 billion, an improvement of more than $10 billion compared to year-end 2009.
Market Gains
Announced that Ford full-year sales increased 19 percent in 2010, while market share increased for the second year in a row – for the first time since 1993.
Auto Show Award
Earned Truck of the Year honor for the all-new Ford Explorer at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show.
February
Lighting Retrofit
Kicked off a lighting efficiency retrofit at global headquarters, expected to enable an energy reduction of 18.2 million kilowatt hours.
Driver Education
Invested another $1 million to expand Ford Driving Skills for Life – our teen driver education program – to 15 states.
Salute to Dealers
Recognized six dealer principals with awards for their unparalleled generosity and commitment to their communities.
Ford Fiesta Safety
Saw Fiesta become the first car in its segment to earn top crash-test ratings in each of the world’s largest auto markets that perform safety testing – the U.S., China and Europe.
March
Ethics Award
Honored for the second year in a row by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the World’s 100 Most Ethical Companies.
Human Rights Honor
Ranked #1 in the Human Rights category in Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens list.
Sales Milestone
For only the second time in more than a decade, surpassed General Motors in monthly sales in the U.S.
Flexible Manufacturing
Began production of the all-new global Ford Focus, built for North American customers in a completely transformed Michigan Assembly Plant. With a $550 million investment, the plant features an environmentally friendly workplace with flexible manufacturing capability and a specially trained staff motivated to deliver the fuel-efficient vehicle to the marketplace.
April
Reporting Award
Named a finalist in the Ceres/Association of Chartered Certified Accountants North America Awards for Sustainability Reporting, for our 2009-10 Sustainability Report.
Vehicle Sales
Sold 12,593 Ford Explorers during April 2011, up 138 percent compared to April 2010. For the fourth-straight month, the Explorer continues to be the fastest-turning vehicle in the showroom.
First Quarter Earnings
Completed additional debt reduction action with a $3 billion redemption of our Trust Preferred securities while increasing our liquidity by $2.8 billion. Announced investment of $400 million and retention of 3,750 full-time jobs at the Kansas City Assembly Plant for a new vehicle to be built at the facility.
Global Development
Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sollers to form a 50:50-owned joint venture to expand production and distribution of Ford vehicles in Russia. Remained the top-selling automaker in Canada, reporting an 8.6 percent year-over-year sales increase.
May
Advanced Technology
Announced development of a car seat that can monitor a driver’s heartbeat, opening the door to a wealth of health, convenience and even life-saving potential. A joint project undertaken by experts from Ford’s European Research and Innovation Centre in Aachen, Germany, and RWTH Aachen University, the seat uses six embedded sensors to detect electrical impulses generated by the heart.
Community Involvement
As part of its longstanding commitment to Hispanic arts and culture, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services supported “American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music,” a traveling Smithsonian exhibit on view at Sacramento Public Library in Sacramento, California.
Global Products
Introduced the 2011 Fiesta to China, to strengthen our product lineup in that country. The 2011 Fiesta offers world-class safety in a small car by leveraging Ford’s global engineering tools and advanced safety technologies. More than 50 percent of the body structure is constructed with high-strength steel. These components add rigidity and save weight, increasing structural efficiency while also helping to maximize fuel efficiency. Safety is also enhanced by an array of features including six airbags, ABS and a rear parking sensor.
Sales Improvements
Announced that Ford’s U.S. retail sales were up 19 percent versus May 2010, and we gained retail market share for the 19th time in the last 20 months.
June
Fun Technology
Began offering access to an on-demand weekly fantasy baseball update through Ford SYNC®, the company’s award-winning, hands-free in-vehicle connectivity system. Available through SYNC’s Traffic, Directions and Information Services, you can now get a list of weekly hitting and pitching leaders using simple voice commands.
Electrifying News
Announced that Ford is tripling production capacity of our electrified vehicle lineup through 2013, further boosting volumes of our all-new C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Plug-in Hybrid, which begin production next year. We will grow our electrified vehicle production capacity to more than 100,000 annually by 2013 thanks to increasing consumer appetites for green vehicles and desires for stylish new Focus-sized vehicles.
Sustainability Reporting
Released our 12th annual Sustainability Report, giving the public a comprehensive look at our progress on environmental and social issues. The 2010/2011 report, titled “Blueprint for Sustainability: Driving Change,” provides updates on the Company’s progress in five key areas, including sustaining Ford, climate change, water use, vehicle safety and driver assist technologies, and supply chain.
Community Involvement
Forgotten Harvest and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan partnered with Ford Motor Company Fund, the Charter One Foundation and other corporate and community donors to provide 2 million meals to hungry southeast Michigan children over the summer through the “Hunger Free Summer” campaign. During the 10-week campaign, donations were matched dollar for dollar, up to $50,000 by Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services.
July
CEO of the Year
CEO Alan Mulally lauded as Chief Executive magazine’s 2011 CEO of the Year.
Class-Leading Fuel Economy
For the all-new Ford Explorer with the 2.0L EcoBoost® engine, received an official EPA fuel economy rating of 28 mpg in highway driving, the best in its class.
“Cool Car”
At the Gathering of Eagles charity auction July 28, during EAA 2011 AirVenture Oshkosh, unveiled and sold the truly unique “Blue Angels” edition 2012 Mustang GT. The custom rear spoiler’s vertical tailfins, the “screaming yellow” gloss accents, and inclusion of the Blue Angels script and crest all are drawn from Navy aircraft.
Tire Recycling
Announced that Ford will source environmentally friendly seals and gaskets made by Recycled Polymeric Materials (RPM). The gaskets and seals are derived from 25 percent post-consumer, recycled tires and 17 percent bio-renewable content made from soy. More than 2.2 million pounds of rubber from recycled tires has been made into RPM seals and gaskets and more than 210,000 used tires have been recycled.
August
Solar Power
Teamed with SunPower Corp. to offer an industry-first solar panel system that allows Focus Electric and C-MAX Energi owners to “Drive Green for Life” by providing customers with enough clean, renewable energy to offset the electricity used to charge the car. These high-efficiency solar panels generate approximately 50 percent more electricity than conventional panels.
Engine of Change
Announced that the Ford F-150 with the powerful and fuel-efficient 3.5L twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost® engine is outselling all other competitive six-cylinder trucks combined. According to J.D. Power and Associates, the V6 EcoBoost and the 3.7L, 302-horsepower V6 (another new engine introduced for the F-150) accounted for a 79.5 percent market share of V6 full-sized trucks sold in July.
Innovative Partnership
Announced that we will equally collaborate with Toyota on the development of an advanced new hybrid system for light truck and SUV customers. Signed a memorandum of understanding on the product development collaboration, with the formal agreement expected by next year.
Eco Innovation
With Lear, introduced a new head restraint foam that replaces 25 percent of the polyol with soy. Seventy-five percent of Ford’s North American vehicles feature bio-foam in the head restraints. All Ford Motor Company vehicles built in North America use bio-foam in the seat cushions and backs, resulting in a significant reduction of petroleum-based foam and greener Ford products.
September
Global Week of Caring
Held our sixth-annual Global Week of Caring, a weeklong series of volunteer events around the world coordinated by the Ford Volunteer Corps. During one week in early September, more than 12,100 Ford employees on six continents in 45 countries and 19 states contributed more than 55,100 hours of their time to over 244 volunteer projects touching 1.5 million lives.
Breaking Ground
Broke ground on a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, India. The new facility will create 5,000 jobs.
Military Honors
Awarded the Employer Support Freedom Award – the U.S. Department of Defense’s highest recognition given to companies for support of employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve.
Expanding Renewables
Announced a new, castor-oil-based bio-foam dashboard material to be used on the Ford Focus in the U.S. The foam was developed in partnership with supplier BASF.
October
Adding Jobs
As part of a new labor agreement, pledged to add 12,000 hourly jobs in the U.S. by 2015 – 5,740 more than we previously announced to be added by year-end 2012.
Ford Ranger
For the new European Ford Ranger, earned a five-star rating in the EuroNCAP assessment – the first and only pickup to do so.
Safety Award
Won the “Breakthrough Product Award” from Popular Mechanics magazine for our available rear-seat inflatable safety belts.
Engine Debut
Revealed that the 1.0L I-4 Ecoboost® engine will make its North American debut on the all-new Ford Escape, which is expected to deliver best-in-class fuel economy.
November
Product News
Debuted the all-new Ford Escape at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2013 Escape offers versatility and value and includes clever features designed to make life easier. Thanks to EcoBoost® engine technology, it also offers superior fuel economy.
Eco Awareness
Entered into an exclusive collaboration with SHFT.com, the award-winning multimedia platform founded by actor and filmmaker Adrian Grenier and producer Peter Glatzer. Ford found that 46 percent of Americans do not know the difference between a hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle; through our collaboration with SHFT.com and our “power of choice” philosophy, we aim to inspire people to make smarter environmental decisions.
Reducing Distracted Driving
To help give parents peace of mind, added a feature to our MyKey® technology to block incoming phone calls and deter text messages when teens are behind the wheel. Available on all 2011 vehicles with SYNC with MyFord Touch®, Do Not Disturb will be available as a feature parents can control through MyKey beginning with the Explorer in early 2012.
Driver Assistance Technology
Introduced an innovative Lane Keeping System with three features designed to help drivers stay in control. Driver Alert can notify drivers with a coffee cup light on the instrument cluster if it detects signs of drowsiness. Lane Keeping Alert warns the driver by vibrating the steering wheel and sounding a chime. And Lane Keeping Aid warns the driver by applying torque at the steering wheel to direct the vehicle back into the lane.
December
Sales Milestone
For the Ford brand, surpassed the 2 million mark for U.S. vehicles sales, making it the best-selling brand in America.
Financial Progress
Announced the reinstatement of a quarterly stock dividend of 5 cents per share.
Profit Sharing
Distributed profit-sharing payments to approximately 41,600 eligible U.S. hourly employees.
Electric Production
Began production of the new Ford Focus Electric, the first five-passenger, all-electric car to achieve more than 100 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent).
Water Reductions
Set a new water-reduction target of 30 percent per vehicle by 2015.