Ford models

Ford: mass motoring, working vehicles and enduring names

Ford Motor Company was formed in Detroit in 1903 by Henry Ford and a group of investors. Five years later, the Model T arrived with a deliberately simple brief: it should be affordable, durable and straightforward to operate. Ford’s use of the moving assembly line helped lower production costs and made the car available to a much wider public. That manufacturing change remains central to the company’s early story.

From one universal car to a broad range

Ford did not remain a one-model company. It developed passenger cars for different markets, commercial vehicles for businesses and pickups for work and personal use. Several long-lived names show that breadth. F-Series trucks began in 1948 on a purpose-built truck platform; Mustang arrived in 1964 and helped define the pony-car category; Transit followed in Europe in 1965 and became central to Ford’s commercial-vehicle presence.

Those products gave Ford more than one identity. In North America, the blue oval is strongly associated with pickups, Mustang and utility vehicles. In Europe, compact cars, crossovers and vans have often been just as important. The common thread is less a single design language than an effort to make vehicles for recognisable jobs, from daily family transport to carrying tools or travelling long distances.

Old names, new powertrains

Ford’s move into electrification has drawn heavily on that heritage. Mustang Mach-E extended the Mustang name to a battery-electric crossover in 2019, while F-150 Lightning took an established pickup into electric production at Ford’s historic Rouge complex in 2022. It became a new chapter for both the truck line and the factory that builds it.

The Ford selection on DriveSize reflects both the European and American sides of the marque. Explore the 2024 Puma and 2024 Kuga, the electric 2021 Mustang Mach-E, the 2025 Maverick, or the 2022 F-150 Lightning. Our comparison of Cybertruck, Silverado EV and F-150 Lightning gives the electric pickup story a wider frame.