Ford Union
Former joint venture in Belarus
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The Ford Union (Belarusian: Форд-Юніён) is a former joint venture of the Ford Motor Company, the Russian Lada importer Lada-OMC and the Belarusian government. It was located in Apčak near the city of Minsk in Belarus. Ford invested a capital of US$10,000,000 for building the plant. The company existed from 1997 up to 2000 when it was closed due to low sales.[1][2][3]
 | |
Native name | Форд-Юніён |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | July 1997 |
| Defunct | July 2000 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Great Britain, Eastern Europe and CIS |
Key people | Alan Batty (CEO) |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Owner |
|
The Ford Union was not a manufacturer, it was only an assembler of SKD kits. The vehicles assembled by the Belarusian plant can be identified by the manufacturer code Y4F on the start on the VIN and an R on the eleventh position for the plant identification.[4][self-published source][5]
The plant gained attention on 23 July 1997 as Belarusian president Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko was invited to a press conference with five strategically selected foreign journalists to discuss a predicted failure which later proved true.[citation needed]
Model overview
Ford Transit
1997–2000
Ford Escort
1997–2000
