Ford Boosts SUV Production 25% in Louisville

Ford Motor Co. is spending $25 million to hike output of SUVs at its Kentucky truck plant in Louisville.

The upgrade is in addition to a previous $900 million investment to prepare the facility to make the 2018 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator large SUVs. Ford says the new manufacturing “enhancements” will enable the factory to boost output of the mammoth vehicles 25% this year.

Retail demand in the U.S. for the previous model Expedition and Navigator dropped 11% to a combined 62,400 units in 2017, according to Autodata Corp.

But deliveries of the revamped Navigator (pictured) doubled in January. Sales of the new Expedition dropped 17% last month. But Ford tells Automotive News the decline was only because of the timing of fleet deliveries this year. Both models, says Erich Merkle, the company’s sales analyst, are “doing really well for us.”

Thanks to surging demand for top-end trim packages, the average transaction price for the Expedition and Navigator this year have surged by $7,800 and $21,300, respectively, according to Merkle.​​