[5] Ford of Britain operates two major manufacturing sites in the UK, in Dagenham (diesel engine production) and Halewood (transmissions).

[9] In 1909[citation needed] the Ford Motor Company (England) Limited was established under the chairmanship of Percival Perry,[10] opening an office at 55 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, in 1909.

After the First World War, the Trafford Park plant was extended, and in 1919, 41% of British registered cars were Fords.

The company of Henry Ford and Son Limited—Fordson—was officially incorporated on 17 April 1917, starting its life on the site of an old Cork racecourse.

This company acquired all Ford's European and Middle Eastern business[note 2] in exchange for 60% of its capital.

From Britain, Perry envisioned Ford making vehicles outside USA and selling them across the British Empire and Europe.

He raced the company's cars, organised a chain of exclusive dealers, and superintended the Trafford Park assembly plant.

At the first meeting of shareholders in London on 6 March 1929,[13] Perry reported "during the first three months of our first year we and our associated companies in Europe have delivered upwards of 50,000 Model 'A' vehicles into the hands of satisfied owners.

The original 1928 plan was for Canada, having the benefit of Imperial Preference tariffs, to manufacture components for Ford assembly plants in the British Empire.

Dagenham was to do, and did, the same for assembly plants in Europe, but in 1932, mired in the financial depression, both France and Germany announced their intention to impose heavy new tariffs on imported components.

Harry Ferguson sued US Ford for illegal use of his patents, asking for compensation of £90 million;[16][17] this was settled out of court in 1952.

[19] During the Second World War, the Dagenham plant turned out 360,000 vehicles, and a new factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, made 34,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.

Dagenham made 115,000 vehicles in 1946, and factories in Walthamstow in Essex (later London) and Langley in Buckinghamshire (later Berkshire) were acquired.

The millionth vehicle made since the Dagenham factory started production in October 1931 rolled from the assembly line on 27 August 1946, a cream Ford Prefect 10 hp saloon.

Halewood was included in the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors in 2008, although Ford retained ownership of its transmission works.

As part of that landmark event, a £2 million investment programme was announced to rebuild, re-equip and modernise the assembly plant.

Another £2 million was spent on assembly facilities and operations, to ensure that Cork production equalled the highest European standards of quality.

The strike ended three weeks after it began, following the intervention of Barbara Castle, the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity.

Note – cwt is the abbreviation of hundredweight (112 pounds or 1/20 ton) The Story of Ford – The fifth largest automaker in the world and manufacturer of some of the best-selling cars of all time Only models sold in Continental Europe and the British Isles are shown, overseas territories often have different offerings.