Ford Union

Ford Union
Native name
Форд-Юніён
IndustryAutomotive industry
FoundedJuly 1997
DefunctJuly 2000; 24 years ago (2000-07)
Headquarters,
Area served
Great Britain, Eastern Europe and CIS
Key people
Alan Batty (CEO)
ProductsAutomobiles
OwnerFord Motor Company: 51%
Belarusian government: 26%
Lada-OMC: 23%

The Ford Union (original spelling: Форд-Юніён) is a former joint venture of the Ford Motor Company, the Russian Lada importer Lada-OMC and the Belarusian government. It was located in Apčak near the city of Minsk in Belarus. Ford invested a capital of US$10,000,000 for building the plant. The company existed from 1997 up to 2000 when it was closed due to low sales.[1][2][3]

The Ford Union was not a manufacturer, it was only an assembler of SKD kits. The vehicles assembled by the Belarusian plant can be identified by the manufacturer code Y4F on the start on the VIN and an R on the eleventh position for the plant identification.[4][5]

The plant become well known on 23 July 1997 as president Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko was invited to a press conference with five strategically selected foreign journalists to discuss a predicted failure which later proved true.

  1. ^ "Hell on wheels?". The Economist. 24 July 1997. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Ford To Halt Assembly in Belarus July Due To Low Demand". findarticles.com. 2 June 2000. Retrieved 27 July 2010.[dead link]
  3. ^ Russel R. Miller (1998). Selling to newly emerging markets. p. 192. ISBN 1-56720-044-3. Retrieved 27 June 2024 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Ford Club Belarus • Просмотр темы – vin КОД" (in Russian). Forum.fordclub.org. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  5. ^ "VIN: FORD (europe)" (in Russian). CARInfo. Retrieved 29 July 2010.