Ford is adding 550 workers to their Kentucky plant that builds the Navigator and Expedition in order to meet surging retail demand for the big SUVs.  Retail sales were up 35% which has netted Ford a 5.6% gain in market-share for the Expedition.  The Navigator is doing even better with a 70% increase in sales. 
Ford has already increased line speed and split some jobs to multiple people in an attempt to increase  production. Vehicle production will be increased after the July shutdown. 
Along with the increase in production, Ford will be starting an advertising campaign focusing on the size and spaciousness of the Expedition.  
Ford increasing job and production in the US stands in sharp contrast to the steep cuts of over 6,000 jobs Ford announced for Europe. 

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Ford is adding 550 workers to their Kentucky plant that builds the Navigator and Expedition in order to meet surging retail demand for the big SUVs.  Retail sales were up 35% which has netted Ford a 5.6% gain in market-share for the Expedition.  The Navigator is doing even better with a 70% increase in sales. 
Ford has already increased line speed and split some jobs to multiple people in an attempt to increase  production. Vehicle production will be increased after the July shutdown. 
Along with the increase in production, Ford will be starting an advertising campaign focusing on the size and spaciousness of the Expedition.  
Ford increasing job and production in the US stands in sharp contrast to the steep cuts of over 6,000 jobs Ford announced for Europe. 

Mercedes-Benz has annouced that the new Maybach SUV, built on the Mercedes-Benz GLS will be built exclusively in Alabama.  With an expected price over $200,000, the new SUV will then be the most expensive vehicle to be built in the U.S. 
Mercedes-Benz plans to expand the Maybach brand to other models where it makes sense in the upper end of the Mercedes lineup. 
The Mercedes Maybach GLS will have a V8 with north of 560 horsepower and will likely debut in China later this year. The vehicle is aimed primarily at the chauffeur driven population in China and as such, the rear seats are set up in a lounge like fashion.
The Alabama operation is also getting battery manufacturing operations, more than twice the size of the original assembly plant, due to build EQ vehicles starting in 2020.  The factory, which is capable of producing more than 300,000 units a year, exports approximately two-thirds of its production.  
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Mercedes-Benz has annouced that the new Maybach SUV, built on the Mercedes-Benz GLS will be built exclusively in Alabama.  With an expected price over $200,000, the new SUV will then be the most expensive vehicle to be built in the U.S. 
Mercedes-Benz plans to expand the Maybach brand to other models where it makes sense in the upper end of the Mercedes lineup. 
The Mercedes Maybach GLS will have a V8 with north of 560 horsepower and will likely debut in China later this year. The vehicle is aimed primarily at the chauffeur driven population in China and as such, the rear seats are set up in a lounge like fashion.
The Alabama operation is also getting battery manufacturing operations, more than twice the size of the original assembly plant, due to build EQ vehicles starting in 2020.  The factory, which is capable of producing more than 300,000 units a year, exports approximately two-thirds of its production.  
Related:
 

Over 8 Million Ford Taurus cars have been built over the years as U.S. Taurus production came to a close yesterday in Chicago.   The Taurus was first introduced at the 1985 Los Angeles Auto Show. The original Taurus changed the design landscape for family cars in the U.S. from a traditional boxy shape to a very rounded aerodynamic one. Offered in sedan and wagon variants, the popular model became the best selling car in America by 1992.  In 1989, the SHO was introduced, a 220 horsepower V6 engine provided by Yamaha.  There was a two-year pause from 2006 to 2008 when the model was called the Ford Five Hundred. 
While the Taurus is ending in the U.S. an unrelated Taurus continues production in China.  The Chinese Taurus was introduced in 2016 and is based on an extended Ford Fusion platform. 
Though production of the Taurus has ended in Chicago, Ford is investing $1 billion to expand their Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping plant to get ready for the 2020 Ford Explorer , Ford Police Interceptor, and Lincoln Aviator.  Ford is replacing or updating 75% of its U.S. lineup by the end of 2020.






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