Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's third largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, the automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated in June 16, 1903. Ford now encompasses many global brands, including Lincoln and Mercury of the US, Land Rover of the UK, and Volvo of Sweden. Ford also owns a one-third controlling interest in Mazda.

In 2007, Ford became the third-ranked automaker in US sales after General Motors and Toyota, falling from the second-ranked automaker slot for the first time in the previous 56 years. Ford was also the overall seventh-ranked American-based company in the 2007 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2006 of $160.1 billion. In 2007, Ford revenues increased to $173.9 billion, while producing 6.553 million automobiles and employing about 245,000 employees at around 100 plants and facilities worldwide. Also in 2007, Ford received more quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker, with five vehicles ranking at the top of their categories, and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce, especially elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's combination of highly efficient factories, highly paid workers, and low prices revolutionized manufacturing and came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.