Ford Lio Ho Motor () is a Taiwanese-based automaker and the primary dealer of Ford vehicles in Taiwan, formed in 1972. It is 70 percent owned by

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by investors in the former Lio Ho Automotive Industrial Corporation, which previously assembled

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

vehicles.

History

The company began operations in 1973, assembling Ford models like the

Cortina Cortina may refer to: Things * Cortina (tango), a short piece of music played during a tango dance event * Ford Cortina, a medium-sized family car built by Ford of Britain from 1962 to 1982 **Lotus Cortina, a 1963–1968 performance variant on the ...

, Escort, and

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. In 1974 assembly of the Philippine-made Ford Fiera

AUV An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes ...

began, although sales were slow as it was more expensive than its more comfortable Japanese competitors. In the 1980s, it began assembly of

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one ...

-based models, such as the

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...

(

Mazda 323 The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004. It was marketed as the '' ...

), Telstar (

Mazda 626 __NOTOC__ Year 626 ( DCXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 626 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

) and Festiva ( Mazda 121). The Taiwan-built Laser hatchback was exported to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

in the late 1980s, badged as the

Mercury Tracer The Mercury Tracer is an automobile manurfactured and marketed by Ford's Mercury division for model years 1987-1999, over three generations in three- and five-door hatchback, four-door sedan, and five-door station wagon configurations. The firs ...

. Former Ford models unique to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

include the Ford Tierra, based on the Mazda 323 sedan, later rebadged as the facelifted

Ford Laser The Ford Laser is a compact car, originally a subcompact car in the first three generations, which was sold by Ford in Asia, Oceania, and parts of South America and Africa. It has generally been available as a sedan or hatchback, although conv ...

in other Asian markets, the Ford Activa, a rebadged Mazda 323 sedan and hatchback, and the Ford Mondeo Metrostar which later also sold in China, based on the European Mondeo sedan. Ford Laser Nobel 1

Taiwan-market Ford and Mazda vehicles include locally assembled

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Ford Escape,

Mazda 3 , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one mi ...

, Mazda 5, and

Mazda Tribute The (''Code J14'') is a compact SUV made by Japanese automaker Mazda from 2000 to 2011. It was jointly developed with Ford Motor Company and based on the front-wheel drive Mazda 626 platform, which was in turn the basis for the similar Ford ...

. Also, all 2007 model year Asia/Pacific (except Chinese and South Korean markets) Ford Escapes are assembled by Ford Lio Ho. The Taiwan-assembled Mondeo is also exported to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

. After the ban on diesel-engined passenger cars was lifted in Taiwan in 2004, Ford Lio Ho became the first local manufacturer to build a diesel car. This was a diesel Focus, introduced in August 2007. Before Ford divested

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

and

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rove ...

in 2008, and significantly reduced share-holding of

in 2010, the Taiwanese units of these brands were organised under Ford Lio Ho.

Ford Lio Ho Design Technology Centre

Ford Lio Ho Design Technology Centre or Ford Design & Research Centre was built and established by the end of 2002 in Taipei. The Design Technology Centre was in charge of products sold mainly within the

Asian Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the Earth, world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and List ...

markets including

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Noticeable products include the 2005 Ford Equator Concept which later spawned the Asian Pacific Ford Escape (ZC),2005 Ford Equator Concept
"Net car Show" Ford Tierra,

Ford Ixion The is a passenger minivan that was built by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda from 1999 to 2018. The first generation Premacy was built in Japan and exported to Europe and Asia. A rebadged version was sold by Ford in a few Asian markets (inclu ...

, Ford Mondeo M2000 facelift, Ford Mondeo Metrostar, Ford Escape ZC extensive facelift,

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 ...

and Ford i-Max. With the Ford i-Max being one of the latest products designed by Lio Ho, the Design Technology Centre was shut down due to the one Ford strategy. File:Ford Tierra Aero 006.jpg, Ford Tierra Aero File:Ford Mondeo Metrostar, Taiwan 007.jpg, Ford Mondeo Metrostar V6 File:2007 Ford Escape (ZC) XLS wagon (2011-04-22) 01.jpg, Ford Escape (ZC) File:Ford Ixion 001.jpg, Ford Ixion File:2009-2010 Ford Escape (ZD) XLS wagon (2016-01-01).jpg, Ford Escape (ZD) File:Ford I-Max 001.jpg, Ford I-Max

References

External links

Official website
{{Automotive industry in Taiwan 1972 establishments in Taiwan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1972 Car manufacturers of Taiwan Joint ventures Ford Motor Company

History

Ford Lio Ho Design Technology Centre

See also

References

External links