The journey continues for Ford as its legacy lives on
If Ford had anything to learn from the 20th century, it was that the motor industry was highly susceptible to the peaks and troughs of global events and economies.
It was a case of riding out the storms of the tough times and keeping a steady course on the road to progress at all times.
In the first 17 years of the 21st century, with globalisation being the buzzword for industry, this rollercoaster ride — dealing with economic booms and busts — has proved, if anything, even more acute.
The millennium dawned in Ireland with the Celtic Tiger roaring, although high VAT and VRT rates on cars — as well as high taxes on fuel — posed a challenge for Henry Ford & Son Chairman and Managing Director, Eddie Nolan.
In 2001, Nolan, who had joined the company in 1958 as an office clerk and became MD in 1987, retired, with Ford in robust health — in 2002, it introduced more new cars than in any other year since it had been founded by Henry Ford a century earlier.
In 2003, Nolan’s successor, Eddie Murphy, was bullish about the future. “We’ve led the market for about nine years, and we’ll do it again this year,” he declared. He expected to sell more than 24,000 vehicles in Ireland that year, giving Ford a market-leading 13% share, ahead of Toyota.
That year, Ford had produced its 300 millionth vehicle, and the company had just launched its C-Max, while the reliable Mondeo was getting a facelift, and a new Transit van was also coming on stream. The latter would mark its 50th anniversary in 2015.
However, the recession that arrived in 2008 wrought havoc across all sectors of the economy — not least the car industry.
In 2007, registrations totalled 186,000 and by 2009 they had plummeted 70%, to 57,000 — the same number of cars as were registered way back in 1987.
At Ford, car sales in 2009 amounted to 8,000, a third of the number sold in 2003. Despite this, the company was actually increasing its share of an albeit dwindling market.
Calls for a scrappage scheme to aid the industry became impossible for the government to ignore, and breathed new life into the industry at a vital time.
Meanwhile, the image of Henry Ford as Cork’s great benefactor remained strong.
In 2000, his father’s home townland of Ballinascarthy unveiled a silver statue of a Model T to emphasise its connection to the great man. Henry’s great-grandsons, Edsel B Ford II and William Clay Ford Jr visited the statue, in 2004 and 2011 respectively.
In 2005, there were calls for Cork City Council to name the new Kinsale Road Flyover after Henry Ford, as a thank-you for bringing so much work to the city. Although it had the backing of councillors, it never came to fruition.
After 14 years at the helm of Ford in Ireland, Eddie Murphy retired in 2014 and was replaced by National Sales Director Ciarán McMahon.
Originally from Salthill, Co Galway, McMahon is another example of Ford’s tradition of promoting talent from within, having joined the company as a trainee 30 years ago.
By now, the word ‘recovery’ after a tough few years was being whispered by economists, industrialists and politicians and McMahon has capitalised on that.
Last year he received a Business Person of the Month award from Newstalk for his team’s ‘Unlearn Ford’ campaign, and said : “The new Ford positioning is about taking a fresh look at the familiar and anyone who takes a fresh look at Ford may be surprised by what they find.”
It is a campaign that sums up Ford’s constant ability to pay homage to the past while never resting on its laurels — and that message will be central later this month when a centenary celebration of Ford in Ireland is held in Cork City Hall, attended by William Clay Ford Jr, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company and a great-grandson of Henry.
As for the future? Ford is investing greatly in autonomous and electric vehicles, while constantly refining and improving current models. That drive to succeed will always be there.
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