Tuesday 19th February 2002

Ford ended 90 years of British car production with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs after the last Fiesta was made at its factory in Dagenham. However, the plant was retained for the production of engines and gearboxes, and Ford continued to make commercial vehicles at its plant in Southampton. The complex, opened in 1931, occupied a 300-acre site on marshland north of the Thames in east London. Ford bought it in 1924 for £167,695. Dagenham was at the spearhead of Ford’s attempts to corner the British car market. The first vehicle it produced was a Model A 30cwt truck which rolled off the production line on 1 October 1931.The factory also made the Model Y, the first four-seat saloon to sell for £100. After the war, Dagenham switched production from Bren Gun Carriers to V8 Pilots. Ford Populars, Cortinas, Capris and Sierras have been among the more than 10 million cars made there. Three million Cortinas were built at Dagenham between 1962-1981. But the Fiesta has been the only model built there since 1990.