Ford Sollers was a joint venture between the American car manufacturer

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and the Russian

Sollers Sollers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Philippe Sollers (born 1936), French writer and critic * Augustus Rhodes Sollers (1814–1862), American politician See also * Sollers JSC Sollers, formerly known as OAO Seversta ...

established in 2011, and dissolved in 2022. Ford Sollers was responsible for the production, import, and distribution of all Ford brand products, including vehicles, parts and accessories, in Russia.

History

On 1 October 2011, the CEO of Ford

Alan Mulally Alan Roger Mulally (born August 4, 1945) is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford Motor Company on July 1, 2014. Ford ...

and Sollers' general director Vadim Shvetsov announced the creation of an equally owned joint venture called Ford Sollers to produce Ford-branded cars. The new company took control of the Ford's factory in

Vsevolozhsk Vsevolozhsk ( rus, Все́воложск, p=ˈfsʲevələʂsk; fi, Seuloskoi) is a town and the administrative center of Vsevolozhsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus east of St. Petersburg. Populatio ...

, near

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, (opened in 2002) and two Sollers' factories in

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

region, one in

Yelabuga Yelabuga (alternative spelling that reflects the Cyrillic spelling: Elabuga; russian: Елабуга; tt-Cyrl, Алабуга, ''Alabuğa'') is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the right bank of the Kama River and east ...

and the other in

Naberezhnye Chelny Naberezhnye Chelny ( rus, На́бережные Челны́, p=ˈnabʲɪrʲɪʐnɨjə tɕɪlˈnɨ; tt-Cyrl, Яр Чаллы, ''Yar Çallı'', IPA: �jar ɕɑlːɤ̆ is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. A major indus ...

. The head offices/product development centre were established in Khimki, Moscow. Ford had already been producing the Mondeo and

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

car lines in

, then the first model produced by the venture in Yelabuga was the

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

. Later, at the same location, started the production of the Kuga, and the

Explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. For the Naberezhny Chelny plant, the Ecosport began in 2014, and the Fiesta began in 2015. In September 2015, Ford Sollers launched at Yelabuga the first engine plant of a foreign brand in Russia. The plant produces three versions of the 1.6L Duratec engine with 85 hp, 105 hp and 125 hp. Since 2015, Ford Sollers has been realizing social program ''Driving Skills for Life Academy'' aimed at teaching safe driving techniques to young drivers. On 27 March 2019, Ford announced it was restructuring its agreement with Sollers and it will discontinue its passenger vehicle portfolio in Russia to help deliver a more competitive and sustainably profitable business going forward. On March 1, 2022, Ford Sollers suspended operations in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

. On October 26, 2022, Ford sold its 49 percent share in the joint venture, and exited the Russian market, adding that it retains the option to buy them back within a 5-year period “should the global situation change.

Production

Vsevolozhsk (Saint Petersburg)

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...

(2002–2019) *

Ford Mondeo The Ford Mondeo is a large family car manufactured by Ford since 1993. The first Ford model declared as a " world car", the Mondeo was intended to consolidate several Ford model lines worldwide (the European Sierra, the Telstar in Asia and Aus ...

(2009–2019)

Yelabuga

(2012–2022) *

Ford Kuga The Ford Kuga is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) manufactured by Ford since 2008 mainly for the European market, and now in its third generation. Both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive are offered. The Kuga was originally European-des ...

(2013–2019) *

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford light ...

(2012–2019) *

Ford Galaxy The Ford Galaxy is a seven-seater car produced by Ford of Europe from June 1995 to April 2023. Considered in the motor industry to be a large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it was the first Ford-brand MPV produced and marketed outside of North Ame ...

(2012–2014) *

Ford S-Max The Ford S-Max (stylized as Ford S-MAX) was a car produced by Ford Europe for the European market. A multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), Ford also describes the S-Max as an SAV (sports activity vehicle). Introduced at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, the ...

(2012–2014) *

Aurus Senat The Aurus Senat (russian: Сенат) is a luxury full-size sedan by Russian automaker Aurus Motors and developed by NAMI in Moscow, Russia. The armoured limousine is powered by a 4.4 litre V8 engine developed by NAMI, with a 6.6 litre V12 (6 ...

Naberezhny Chelny

Ford EcoSport The Ford EcoSport (pronounced ) is a subcompact crossover SUV (B-segment) manufactured by Ford. The first-generation model was developed and built in Brazil by Ford Brazil since 2003, at the Camaçari plant. The second-generation model was laun ...

(2014–2019) *

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...

(2015–2019)

References

{{Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Russia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2011 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2022 Sollers JSC Companies based in Moscow Oblast 2011 establishments in Russia 2022 disestablishments in Russia