South Chicago Assembly Plant Will Continue Producing All-New 2020 Ford Explorer
South Chicago Assembly Plant Will Continue Producing All-New 2020 Ford Explorer
Ford Motor Company recently announced a brand new model for their
2020 Explorer which will be produced at the Chicago Assembly Plant located on 12600 S. Torrence Ave. in Hegewisch.
“We revealed the 2020 Explorer and it as an all-new Explorer model that offers our broadest lineup ever. It’s a ground-up reengineering effort so it has been meticulously redrafted and we’ve just loaded it up with a ton of adventure ready technology,” said Lee Newcomb, Explorer brand manager for the Ford Motor Company.
The Chicago Assembly Plant in Hegewisch opened in 1924 and has built the Ford Explorer since 2010. This is Ford’s oldest continuously-running manufacturing plant that is still in operation today and employs over 4,000 people at the 2.8 million square-foot facility.
“Chicago Assembly has proven itself as a great resource to build the Explorer. We’ve had tremendous success with the current model as we have continued our legacy of being the number one selling SUV in America. I think it just made sense to continue to leverage that experience and success in Chicago for our all-new 2020 model. These people have great experience building the Explorer and I think we just wanted to continue to leverage that with the all-new model,” said Newcomb.
The Ford Explorer is one of the company’s strongest brands and is also “the number one selling family SUV in America of all time,” said Newcomb.
“We launched the Explorer 29 years ago and we have really been building on the legacy of that nameplate for a long time. It’s a vehicle that families look to when they are looking for a three-row SUV and it does bring a lot of traffic to our showroom,” said Newcomb.
Since inception, 7.8 million Explorers have been sold and roughly 2 million Explorers have been built in Chicago since 2010.
“We are proud to build it in Chicago,” said Newcomb. “We plan to have that same level of success or better as we move forward with the all-new 2020 model starting this summer.”
Aside from building the standard 2020 Explorer, there will also be a Hybrid option and an ST, or sport, edition produced at the Chicago Assembly Plant and Ford Motor Company will soon be announcing what adjustments will need to be made to carry out those production needs.
“With any all-new model, it’s going to require a sizable investment in the facility,” said Newcomb. “When you’re doing that level of changeover, it helps to keep everything else as calm as possible which is another reason why we want to leverage those great workers in Chicago and their experience of building the current Explorer so we can get the new one launched and running as quickly as possible.”
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