User:KA467/Ford development codes

A list of Ford development program codenames using their current alphanumeric scheme they started from the '80s.

Key
Previously, Ford wasn't hugely consistent in giving their project's codenames. Ford North America often used wild animal codenames in the '60s and '70s, particularly horses, cats and dogs (Fox, Panther, Bobcat). In 1971, Ford Europe began naming their projects after female names ending with a (Carla, Brenda, Teresa), with the stipulation of the first letters match the model names was added in the late '70s. Ford briefly switched to Greek inspired codenames in the early '80s (Delta, Apollo, Scorpio), before switching to the current worldwide alphanumerical scheme, beginning with VN-1 in North America, and DE-1 in Europe. The dashes were removed just a few months later for European models (DE-1 to DE1), while other regions seemed to have kept the dashes a little longer. The same code may be seen written with or without dashes, with it being difficult to determine which is more "correct".

Keep in mind, exceptions and discrepancies can be found for nearly every aspect of the code scheme.

Type
B: B-Segment and under

C: C-Segment

CD: C to D-Segment

D: D-Segment

E: E-Segment

#X: #-Segment Crossover - Relatively recent addition, originally used for electric vehicles? Some early usage denotes a major revamp of the original non-X version

S: Sporty / Specialty

U: Utility - Primarily body-on-frame SUVs

V: Van and Minivan - MPVs generally use segment letters

P: Pickup

H: Heavy Duty - Large commercial trucks

Defunct or rarely used
W: Minivan (Wagon?) - Rarely used compared to V, perhaps to avoid confusion with W for worldwide

G: Dedicated sports car (G-Segment) - Only seen on GN34, role seemingly merged with S

I: Intermediate? - Only seen on Windstar codes

M: Personal luxury? (Midsize? )

X: Autonomous Vehicle or experimental? - Only seen on X805 and X806

F: Lincoln (Fullsize?, above E-Segment) - Discarded in favour of standard segment letters, SUVs always used U codes

A: TH!NK (below B-Segment) - Replaced PIV# codes

L: Land Rover - Replaced briefly used BMW L- codes, Ford-style codes still used after sale from Ford, but numbers now seemingly follow Jaguar's X# system

Y: Volvo (Y looks similar to V?) - Replaced P# codes, replaced with similar V# codes after sale from Ford

J: JMC - Unlike other marque letters, the type letter is included

TR: Troller? - Only seen on TR40, or a separate code scheme?

Both Jaguar and Aston Martin also changed their codename schemes soon after their acquisitions by Ford. Jaguar switched from XJ# codes to X#, while Aston Martin replaced their DP# codes with AM#, which were mostly supplanted by VH# codes. While these codes have a similar style, their numbering system is very different and incompatible with Ford's partially-sequential numbers. Mazda also used separate P# codenames, which were replaced by J# numbers, though the North American Ford Ranger based Mazda B-Series models have their own Ford code numbers.

Development division / Region
Placed after type letters, these were abolished with the Ford 2000 plan and rise of global models, which seems to have lead to the renaming of some codes midway through development. For example, the 2002 Ford Explorer can commonly be seen written as either U152 or UN152.

W: Worldwide

N: North America

L: Latin America

E: Europe

A: Australia

T: Mazda (Toyo Kogyo ) - Though also used on BT57 developed with Kia

X: External? - Seen on models co-developed with Nissan and Volkswagen

C: Combined / Concept? : Multiple development divisions involved, seen on projects like D-FC55 and VCC110, seemingly succeeded by W for worldwide

V: South America (Value ) - Only seen on BV226 and BV256, and after phase out of region letters

Region letters are still commonly used today to differentiate regional market versions (and occasionally bodystyles), but placed at the end instead (eg: U625N is the North American market Ford Explorer, U625C is the Chinese market Explorer).

While the numbers began in sequential order (CE14 being the 14th project started under the scheme), and seems to roughly still be (the majority of recent codes are in the 700s range), it's clear this wasn't stuck to. For example the Escape Mk.4 released in 2014 is C520, while the Mk.5 from 2020 is CX482. Many codes seem to have been cherry picked for various reasons, such as how the CT120 Escort replaces the CT20 Escort, and how many models on the CD3 platform begin with the number 3. U260 and S550 are some of the rare cases where the number is officially explained. You could spend all day finding connections in the numbers, and I've noted some of the more obvious seeming instances.

It is uncommon for different bodystyles and facelifts to have separate codes, though separate codes for refreshes were more common early on. Mostly they are just referred to with suffixes like C346 Wagon or B232 MCA (Mid-Cycle Action). It is not uncommon to see heavily related models grouped together with X or multiple type letters, such as the PN105 (Ranger) and UN105 (Explorer) collectively being called UPN105, or U38X to describe both U387 (Ford Edge) and U388 (Lincoln MKX).

Ford platforms follow very similar naming scheme, though in rare cases like DEW98, the model code and platform code is shared.

Codes
Year: Production start or when the project was cancelled. Brackets are for predicted release, Italics means rough estimate.

#: Program number, underline means duplicate number with an unrelated project.

Code: Regional market and MCA variants are excluded for brevity, except when they have "major" differences (eg: the P375N (North American spec Ranger) has major modifications compared to the global P375).

Model: [#] means the generation (Variants may use the generation of the base vehicle). Question mark means officially unconfirmed, rumours and speculation.