Henry Ford family sole ownership of the company. By the mid-1920s, sales of the Model T began to decline due to rising competition. Other auto makers offered payment plans through which consumers could buy their cars, which usually included more modern mechanical features and styling not available with the Model T. Despite urgings from Edsel, Henry refused to incorporate new features into the Model T or to form a customer credit plan. By 1926, flagging sales of the Model T finally convinced Ford to make a new model. He pursued the project with a great deal of technical expertise in design of
Economy car British export drive for desperately needed, hard foreign currency, because it made British cars uncompetitive internationally. The technologically conservative 1930s Morris Eight, Ford Eight (Ford Model Y which was related to the German Ford Köln), and Standard Eight (Standard, later became Triumph) were named after their RAC horsepower car tax rating. The Ford Model Y had replaced the Model A in Europe in 1932 and ran until 1937. It was a much smaller and lighter car weighing a third less, with an engine two thirds smaller in capacity than the Model A. The basic Model Y 'Popular' was an important