Ford will sink $900 million in Kentucky Truck Plant for new Lincoln Navigator, Expedition

Grace Schneider | Courier Journal

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Ford Motor Co. said that it's investing $900 million in Louisville's Kentucky Truck Plant to build the revamped Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUV, a move that is expected to safeguard 1,000 hourly jobs.

The automaker coupled the announcement with the news that it plans to switch most assembly of its Focus passenger car from Hermosillo, Mexico, to China starting in 2019.

Ford estimates the move will save the company $1 billion, about half of which will come from canceling plans to build a new plant in Mexico where Focus production originally was headed.

The announcement is certain to raise eyebrows even as Ford has insisted it can't profitably build passenger cars in the U.S. because of per-unit high production costs. Last year, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump blasted Ford for shifting all small car production out of the U.S.

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Trump has also insisted that China has gained an unfair trade advantage that undercuts American manufacturing, and ultimately, workers. He came into office threatening to impose 35 percent tariffs on imported vehicles.

When asked about the potential political blowback from the China announcement, Joe Hinrichs, the company's executive vice president and president for global operations, declined to discuss what factored into the decision.

Instead, he relied on Ford's talking points about its investment in American manufacturing – the $12 billion plowed into U.S. factories and 28,000 new U.S. jobs in the last five years. "We remind people of our strong presence in the U.S., " he said.

Ford has already shown the Navigator and Expedition at auto shows, so the redesign is no secret, said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst with Autotrader. But it may have withheld revealing the size of the investment while anticipating criticism.

"In the recent political era, we are seeing Ford and other automakers, including General Motors and Toyota, boast more loudly and more specifically about those investments to make sure the president knows they are investing in America and American jobs," Krebs said.

The investment at KTP on Chamberlain Lane follows a $1.3 billion infusion to re-tool and upgrade the facility for the launch of the aluminum-body Super Duty pickup truck. That added 2,000 jobs starting in late 2015. The complex now employs about 7,700 full-time hourly workers.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the latest investment is a show of confidence in the quality of employees. “When you invest with this kind of money it means you believe in the workforce,” Fischer said.

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Construction is continuing at KTP on a new body shop to rivet and bond parts of the new aluminum alloy body and to add a new trim assembly line for the Expedition and Navigator, Hinrichs said.

Ford has switched to aluminum for its F-series pickups and its largest SUV's are next in line. The switch from steel is designed to cut weight and add tow capacity, which boosts fuel efficiency.

“Large SUVs are attracting a new generation around the world – and we’re finding new ways to deliver the capability, versatility, and technology that customers around the world really want with our all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator,” Hinrichs said.

He added that Ford sold 2,000 Navigators in China last year and expects to increase the exports in coming years.

Employees have been told that early interest in the two new models is strong than expected, which often translates to strong sales, said Todd Dunn, president of United Auto Workers Local 862, which represents all of Ford's local hourly workers. "We could add capacity just because of how well this is designed," he said.

As for the Focus, the automaker said production of the next-generation Focus will begin in the second half of 2019, with most new North American Focus models coming from China initially with additional variants coming later from Europe.

The decision comes as car sales continue to fall in the U.S. and as uncertainty grows over the automotive industry in Mexico with negotiations set be begin later this year on restructuring the North American Free Trade Agreement. While critics of NAFTA say it has led to job losses in the U.S., supporters say it has fostered a stronger North American auto industry.

Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or gschneider@courier-journal.com. Information also was provided by Brent Snavely of the Detroit Free Press, bsnavely@freepress.com.