Ford Accelerates its Explorer and Navigator Production

Ford Motor Co will accelerate its production of Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition by 25%, while also investing another $25 million in its Kentucky Truck Plant.

Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, where the Navigator and the Expedition are being built, now has a total investment of $925 million for the facility’s revamping. It includes 400 new robots and advanced manufacturing systems such as 3D-printing technology.

“The response from customers regarding our new full-size SUVs has been exceptional,” said Joe Hinrichs, President for Global Operations.

“Using a combination of Ford’s advanced manufacturing and American hard work and ingenuity, we’ll deliver more high-quality Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions to customers than originally planned,” he said.

The average price for a Navigator in January 2018 versus January 2017 boosted 38%, or $21,300, to $77,400. The price for an Expedition jumped nearly $8,000 to $57,700. Both were higher than the industry-average vehicle selling price of $33,100, according to Ford.

Moreover, General Motors was outperforming Ford financially as it dominated the US large SUV segment with models such as the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Suburban. Ford sold 3,500 Expeditions and 1,300 Navigators in January, while GM sold more than 19,000 of its large SUVs during January 2018.

“There is a big dog in the segment,” Hinrichs said. “We aim to get out there and challenge them with vehicles with better fuel efficiency and driving dynamics.”

However, Hinrichs didn’t say how many Expeditions and Navigators the company had planned to produce in 2018 when they launched the new vehicles. Ford was conservative in its expectations.

“(This is) a segment where we had lots of potential, but we just didn’t want to be too optimistic until we started seeing the response to the vehicles,” he said.

The Expedition is part of a market segment dominated by Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Nissan Armada. The Lincoln Navigator is part of a market segment dominated by Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon XL, Lexus LX, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, and Infiniti QX 80.

“We have a better product,” Hinrichs said. “We’re not the dominant volume player in this segment, but we think we’ve got a really great product, so we want to get out there and be a challenger brand that allows us to grow the business and have a big impact on the bottom line.”

Ford shares rose 0.96% to finish at $10.53 in Friday’s session. Its shares gained 1.14% to $10.65 in after-hours trading.

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