Today, the European Ford has plants in various European countries but the headquarters and main R&D center are in Germany. Up to the early 90 is there were little sharing between the European arm and the Detroit headquarters. However, as components sharing became a way for survival in these days, the European Ford and Detroit relies more on each other. For example, the Cougar, Mondeo, Focus and Duratec V6 are shared between them. 

Traditionally, we refer European Ford to the Ford brand only, but today it also consists of Jaguar (bought in 1990), Volvo (bought in 1998) and Aston Martin (took over in 1987). However, these premier brands are managed by ex-BMW man Wolfgang Reitzle, who reports directly to Ford is CEO Jac Nasser in Detroit. There are plans for more platform sharing among the various operations within Ford s empire - the platform for next Mondeo will be shared with a baby Jaguar (code name X400) and perhaps the replacement for Volvo S40. The Jaguar S-Type was developed on the platform of Lincoln LS.  

Under the new global strategy, Jaguar will be the focus of expansion. Its production capacity will be multiplied to take on BMW. The Volvo s mission is left to be determined, but its valuable leading edge and image in safety could make it a nightmare to Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. Aston Martin will be pumped up in volume to rival Ferrari and the restructured Lamborghini. 

Without counting the premier brands, the European Ford is still one of the 6 biggest European car makers.