Report: Ford to Kill Flex Crossover Model

Ford Motor Co. will discontinue its slow-selling Flex crossover vehicle in 2020, according to a Detroit Free Press report. Ford declined to comment.

Officials from Canada’s Unifor union, which reached a tentative labor agreement with the carmaker this week, tell the newspaper Ford will invest in its Edge and Lincoln MKT crossovers but not the Flex. All three models currently are built at Ford’s Oakville, Ont., plant. The facility also makes the Lincoln MKT, which shares a platform with the Flex. It’s not clear if the MKT will be discontinued too.

The carmaker introduced the Flex in 2008 as a 2009 model. The boxy crossover has a small cult-like following, but has never been a big seller. Flex sales through the first nine months rose 15% but only to just over 17,000 units.

Ford previously has said it will introduce four new crossover/SUVs in coming years.