Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is the world's fifth largest automobile manufacturer by production volume.^[1] The company sells vehicles under the Ford and Lincoln brands.

While Ford's domestic sales have been generally stagnant, Ford's European operations have increased share by producing many critically acclaimed vehicles well known for quality.^[2][3] This difference between Ford's domestic and international operations is a result of costly US manufacturing facilities caused by high wages and expensive healthcare and retirement obligations for union labor. Therefore, improving operational efficiency and developing a more fuel efficient product offering are the centerpieces of Ford's turnaround plan. For example, Ford has cut 40,000 jobs in the past three years and closed seven factories in the past five years. ^[4][5] Meanwhile the company has unveiled plans to bring six of its fuel efficient models (average fuel economy of over 30 mpg) currently sold in Europe to the U.S. market.^[6] In addition to answering demand for smaller cars in the short-term, Ford hopes that offering the same lineup of automobiles in all of its international markets will provide considerable economies of scale in the long-term.

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