Friday 16th January 1970
Production commenced at Ford’s plant in Saarlouis, Germany and was formally opened in the presence of Henry Ford II six months later in June 1970. It was designed to co-produce with Ford’s Halewood plant the company’s recently introduced Escort model, itself intended to compete head-on with Opel’s successful Kadett in the various markets of continental Europe. In addition to the Ford Escort the Ford Capri, Ford Fiesta and Ford Orion have all been built there, along with the Ford Focus since 1998.
