For a full century, Ford’s presence has been profound Australia from being the first cars, the family lugger and the track star.
Ford Australia officially began on March 31, 1925 in Geelong rolling out Model Ts to much fanfare due to the recent introduction of the motor car to the country.
To celebrate the occasion, Ford Australia will hold a ‘History in the Making’ event Melbourne on Friday, April 4 and All Ford Day at Geelong on Sunday, April 6, which is already tipped to be the biggest in history due to the obvious reasons surrounding the special achievement.
“This is a significant milestone for the Ford Australia team, our Dealers and Ford fans around the country,” said Andrew Birkic, current president and CEO of Ford Australia and New Zealand.
“Just about every family in Australia has a Ford story and we love how Ford vehicles are such a part of the cultural landscape of the country.”
Exclusive archives from the company’s earliest days right to the current day are now available online to the public courtesy of the Ford Heritage Vault website after a lengthy process of digitising took place.
This beginnings of Ford in Geelong were formed when company executives from the US visited Australia to investigate the viability of selling cars in the locality. Geelong was chosen as Ford’s Australian base due to its deep seaport and railway lines, with an assembly line built to produce Model Ts inside the Dalgety Wool Store.
Expansion was imminent for Ford to developing the first ute in 1934, then the staple of Australian culture in the form of the Falcon in 1960.
Although local production ended in 2016, the Ranger, Mustang and Everest continue to be some of the most popular models in the marketplace.