Financial Analysis

Henry Ford built his first car the Quadricycle in 1896 and started mass production in 1908. Henry Ford did not invent the car. He produced the car which is affordable for the average people. His concept remains until today. TodayЎЇs Ford is the third largest automobile manufacturer and the largest auto finance provider in the United States with 325,000 employees worldwide, offices and facilities in 34 countries and 200 markets. After several acquisitions, Ford owns a total of eight brand names including Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Hertz, the worldЎЇs No.1 car-rental firm (Hoovers, 2005)

In 2001, distracted by investments in technology and services, and intent on maintaining too many brands, Ford lost $5.5 billion despite the $1.45 billion its financial service contributed. Thereafter, Ford seemed not to be able to regain the positive profit margin from the automotive production and sales, although the financial service steadily increased its net profit to $5 billion