Who Owns Ford And Where Are The Cars Built?

Since being founded by Henry Ford in June 1903, Ford has established such heritage and such history that it has become a major and influential car brand. People love it. Any car conversation inevitably involves it. Part of that success is down to iconic Ford models such as the Ford GT, GT40, Model T, F-150 SVT Raptor, Mustang, and Ford F-150, which dominates the U.S. market and often accounts for a significant portion of new F-series sales. Beyond the F-150, the Blue Oval boasts a notable slice of the overall car market in the US, with a 12.5% market share.

As for its ownership, Ford is a publicly traded company, which means it is owned by shareholders who bought its stock through a stock exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). At the time of writing, institutional investors have a majority stake in Ford, with 59.11% ownership. Vanguard Group Inc leads the pack with 10.33% of shares, while Blackrock Inc. holds about 7.51% of Ford stock to emerge the second-largest shareholder. The State Street Corporation occupies the third spot with ownership of around 4.57%.

Other institutional investors include Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (3.32%), Geode Capital Management, LLC (2.16%), Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (1.19%), Morgan Stanley (1.10%), and many more. The Ford family, for its own bit, is part of the company's insiders, who collectively own 0.33% of Ford shares. Despite owning less than 1% of the shareholdings, however, the family holds 40% of the voting power amassed through the Class B shares (they're open to family members only), which is enough to keep them firmly in control of the company.

Although Ford is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, its cars are built in several locations across 12 different countries. The automaker operates nine production facilities in the U.S. alone, including the 1,100-acre Dearborn truck plant, which manufactures the ever-popular Ford F-150 and F-150 Raptor. The F-150 is also built at the Kansas City assembly plant, which in addition takes care of Ford E-Transit and Transit production.

The Kentucky truck plant, for its own part, is home of the Ford F-250–F-550 Super Duty Trucks, Ford Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator. Over at Avon Lake, the Ohio assembly plant supports production of the F-650/750 Medium Duty Trucks, F-350, 450, and 550 Super Duty Chassis Cab, E-Series Cutaway, and Stripped Chassis. The Chicago assembly, meanwhile, produces the Ford Explorer, Police Interceptor Utility, and Lincoln Aviator, whereas the Flat Rock assembly plant handles Ford Mustang, Mustang GT, and Mustang Dark Horse productions. All of Ford's Michigan assembly plant's operations support the Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco, while the Louisville assembly plant handles the manufacturing of the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair. Finally, the Blue Oval's EV-dedicated Rouge electric vehicle center houses production of Ford F-150 Lightning. Overall, Ford's U.S. facilities assemble around 2 million cars each year.

Outside the States, Ford manufactures its cars in Argentina, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Vehicles produced in these countries include the Ford Ranger, Ranger Raptor, Lincoln Nautilus, Ford Escape, Ford Bronco, Bronco Sport, Ford Maverick, as well as Ford Focus, Focus ST, and Focus Electric. Others are Ford Kuga, Mustang Mach-E, Lincoln Corsair, Ford Explorer, Ford Edge, and many more.