It All Started with a Painting...
The story begins with a painting. This painting was provided by Jill Han, the Director of Financial Planning and Analysis for Ford China.
Published in 1918, it depicts Shanghai in the early 20th century. As China's fashion capital, the women here had style ingrained in their very being. Their trendy daily lives included not only wearing fashionable clothes and exquisite makeup but also driving convertible cars for leisure, talking with their sweethearts on the telephone, and posing for pictures in photo studios.
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Ding Song (1891 - 1969)
The artist, Ding Song, was a pioneer of Shanghai's visual culture, a practitioner of its commercial culture, and a leader of its urban culture. He served as the first dean of the Shanghai Art College and was a major figure in the advertising industry of his time. His artistic endeavors spanned comics, photography, advertising, traditional opera, records, and film. He had significant connections with performing artists like Mei Lanfang and Cheng Yanqiu, the renowned painter Liu Haisu, the famous film actress Zhou Xuan, the "father of the Monkey King" Zhang Guangyu, and Nie Er, the composer of China's national anthem.
Ding Song was the father of the famous cartoonist Ding Cong and the grandfather of Jill Han. The car in the illustration is a Ford Model T.
That's right, you didn't misread. Although Ford China is celebrating its 30th anniversary, Ford's presence in China dates back more than 100 years.
As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Ford's Model T had already entered China through whole-vehicle imports.
In 1913, Ford pioneered the use of the moving assembly line in its factories, which greatly increased the production efficiency of the Model T. Even before this, Ford had already created advertisements for the Model T targeting the Chinese market.
That year, Ford Motor Company established its distribution headquarters in Tianjin, and Ford's Chinese name was translated as "孚德" (Fú Dé).
Ford's sales agency, Markt & Hammacher, sold the first Ford car in China—a Model T.
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A 1914 advertisement for Ford in China
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|A 1914 advertisement for Ford in China
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|A 1914 advertisement for Ford in China -
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|Ford's garage in Shanghai at the time -
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|Ford cars at Yifeng Gate and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing in 1916 -
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|In 1916, the price of a Ford car in China was approximately $650-$975 per vehicle -
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|A Ford car displayed at the 1922 Shanghai Auto Show -
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|Ford training 100 Chinese engineers at the Rouge Plant in 1923 -
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|Chinese engineers graduating from the Ford training program in 1923
In 1915, Ford changed its Chinese name from "孚德" (Fú Dé) to "福特" (Fú Tè), which has been used ever since. In the same year, the China distribution headquarters moved from Tianjin to Shanghai.
In the 1920s, Ford showed a strong interest in the Chinese market and began training Chinese engineers at the Rouge Plant.
In 1924, Dr. Sun Yat-sen wrote to Henry Ford, inviting him to help China establish and develop its own automobile industry.
A letter from Sun Yat-sen to Henry Ford, June 12, 1924
In 1926, the first Ford vehicle was successfully assembled at the port of Qingdao.
In those years, a Ford car was also a symbol of status in China. The earliest owners included Mei Lanfang, Hu Die, the Shanghai Municipal Government, and a pioneer of the Chinese advertising industry, Pang Yipeng, who was a good friend of Ding Song and had drawn advertising illustrations for Ford.
This CCTV documentary specifically covers the story of Pang Yipeng and his Ford car. Click to watch: Shanghai Ad Men Series (VI) Pang Yipeng (Source, CCTV.com)
In 1929, Ford began exporting tractors to China.
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In 1926, the first Ford vehicle was successfully assembled at the port of Qingdao.
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|In 1926, the first Ford vehicle was successfully assembled at the port of Qingdao.
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|In 1929, Ford began exporting tractors to China. -
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|In 1930, Ford cars became the official vehicles for high-ranking Chinese government officials.
In 1930, Ford cars became the official vehicles for high-ranking Chinese government officials. That year, a total of 1,289 Ford vehicles were shipped to China.
In 1932, Ford became the first company in history to successfully cast a monolithic V8 engine block. The V8 models were also brought to China and advertised.
Click here to watch the Ford Advertisement film back in 1935.
Time moves to June 1978, when Henry Ford II was received by Deng Xiaoping during a visit to China. He stated that Ford Motor Company was "interested in participating in the development process of China's automobile industry" and established a China Affairs Office in Dearborn, USA to study the possibility of forming a joint venture to produce heavy-duty trucks.
In February 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then Vice Premier of the State Council, visited Ford's Atlanta Assembly Plant, accompanied by Ford Motor Company Chairman Henry Ford II and other Ford executives. At that time, the monthly output of this single factory exceeded China's total annual automobile production.
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In February 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then Vice Premier of the State Council, visited Ford's Atlanta Assembly Plant
According to records from that time, Deng Xiaoping toured the factory in an electric cart, listened to presentations at four assembly points, and the entire visit lasted about an hour.
At the end of the tour, Deng Xiaoping remarked with deep feeling: "We must learn from you." (Cited from: The People's Republic of China Government Website, "A Great Story of Our Time"—Global Echoes of Forty Years of Reform and Opening-Up, and the Deng Xiaoping Memorial Network, A Visit Recorded in the History of Ford Motor Company)
In the same year, Ford Motor Company sold 750 F-series trucks to China, which was the first time since 1949 that China had imported American-made vehicles.
Subsequently, Ford explored the possibility of forming joint ventures with several Chinese companies and authorized a number of dealerships, re-entering the Chinese market.
On October 25, 1995, Ford Motor (China) Ltd. was established in Beijing, officially beginning its development in modern China.