Where Are Ford Explorers Made? [Built In The USA Or Where?]

Since its introduction in 1990, the Ford Explorer has been making waves in the automobile industry.

This is to the extent that the model has easily gone into its 6th generation with a new model on the horizon.

Due to this rise in popularity, you and many other people may be interested in the origins of the Ford Explorer and want to see where it is made.

For those interested to know where are Ford Explorers made, you will be surprised to know that the car is produced at five different facilities.

These facilities are mostly localized in the United States of America, Russia, and China.

Here is a small list of the facilities:

Chicago Assembly Plant, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Ford SollersElabuga Assembly Plant, Elabuga, Russia
Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., Chongqing, China
Hangzhou Ford Assembly Plant, Hangzhou, China
Ford Valencia Plant, Valencia, Venezuela

If you want to learn more about these facilities, then make sure that you keep reading the article!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Places That You Can Find The Ford Explorer Being Made

In this section of the article, I will go over all the facilities that make this vehicle line up. I will try my best to summarize the facilities quickly and concisely.

This will ensure that you completely understand where your SUV was made and help you find the information you were looking for.

1. Chicago Assembly Plant, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Located on the south side of Chicago, the Chicago Assembly Plant was opened up in 1924.

The facility spans 4 million square feet. It is a workplace of around 5,000 people and has the maximum capacity to produce over 350,000 vehicles in a year.

The Ford Explorer is one of the many vehicles produced here.

Other lineups include the Lincoln MKS and the Ford Taurus. This facility is one of the most productive assembly plants in the United States.

It has reached this status by employing state-of-the-art technology and innovative processes.

Additionally, this plant is also the home of many sustainability initiatives that aims to reduce the burden of vehicles on the environment.

2. Ford Sollers Elabuga Assembly Plant, Elabuga, Russia

Opened in 2011, the Ford Sollers Elabuga Assembly Plant is roughly half the size of the previously mentioned plant. This one only covers 2 million feet.

As a result, you will find that there are fewer people employed here, almost 2,000 as an estimate.

All of this also means that the plant has a low production rate. It is only able to pump out 100,000 cars in a year including Ford Explorer.

Despite its size, it is one of Russia’s newest and most advanced assembly plants.

This facility also takes advantage of advanced technology and builds methodology to ensure the quality of the vehicles.

This particular plant is also home to several social and community initiatives, such as development programs for local workers.

3. Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd., Chongqing, China

This facility is a joint venture between the Ford Motor Company and the Chinese Changan Automobile Company.

The fruits of this joint venture began in 2003 when the facility opened its doors to production.

It covers an area of over 3 million square feet and employs over 5,000 people.

The facility can produce over 300,000 vehicles per year, including many well-known lineups, such as the Ford Explorer, Ford Edge and the Ford Taurus.

With that being said, you can easily assess that the facility is equipped with a wide range of manufacturing and production equipment.

These include welding, painting, assembly, and testing machines, as well as logistics and support equipment.

4. Hangzhou Ford Assembly Plant, Hangzhou, China

The Hangzhou Ford Assembly Plant is a modern and highly advanced facility that produces high-quality vehicles including Ford Explorer.

Opened in 2014, this plant covers an area of 4 million feet and has over 4,000 people employed in it. This facility’s yearly output can go as high as 250,000 cars.

In addition to its manufacturing and production facilities, the Hangzhou Ford Assembly Plant also has several administrative, research and development, and engineering facilities on site.

These facilities support the various functions of the plant, including product design and development, quality control, and logistics.

The plant also has several support facilities, including employee amenities such as dining and recreational areas and maintenance and repair facilities for the equipment and machinery used in the production process.

The Hangzhou Ford Assembly Plant is a modern and highly advanced facility that produces high-quality vehicles.

5. Ford Valencia Plant, Valencia, Venezuela

One of the older facilities under Ford, the Valencia plant, was opened in 1962. It spans 812,000 square feet. Despite being this big, it only has around 900 employees.

This is mostly because of the plant’s issues over the years. It eventually led to Ford offering buyouts to all of its employees.

The plant ceased the production of most vehicles in 2014 due to shortages. This situation would carry over for the years to come until 2017.

It was only able to produce several hundred vehicles in 2017 and 2018. It was in 2018 when it was assigned to produce the Ford Explorer.

Which Model Of The Ford Explorer Was The Most Well Made?

The Ford Explorer has some outstanding models made throughout the years. However, not all of them have been great.

An example is the 2002 Ford Explorer, which had more than 4,000 complaints from owners and the NHTSA.

The best one that you can get will probably be one which has the least issues and is the most technologically advanced.

All signs point to the 2019 Ford Explorer. This model had the least problems out of many of the modern-day editions of the lineup.

It has been known to be reliable and last close to, if not over, its advertised life expectancy.

Why Is There Only One Facility That Makes The Ford Explorer In The United States?

The quick and simple answer to this is that there is currently only one, but there have been plenty of facilities under Ford that have made the Ford Explorer.

Here is a list of the facilities that have discontinued the production of the lineup:

St. Louis Assembly Plant, Hazelwood, Missouri
Twin Cities Assembly Plant, St. Paul, Minnesota
Louisville Assembly Plant, Louisville, Kentucky
Michigan Truck Plant, Wayne, Michigan

How To Check Where Your Ford Explorer Was Built

If you are the proud owner of the Ford Explorer, then by reading this article, you might be interested in knowing where your SUV was produced.

The easiest way you can do this is by checking the VIN number of the car and seeing what the numbers mean.

I understand that a lot of people may have no idea what the VIN number even is or how they can use it to figure this information out.

Here is the process to find out:

You can easily locate the VIN number of your car on the metal dashboard.
Once you have this number, you should check the first number.
This will point to the country of origin. Alternatively, it can also be a letter.
If it is a letter, then it was made outside of the United States. If it is a number, then you can safely assume that the car was made in the US.
These numbers include 1, 4, and 5. Number 8 signifies that the car was made in Venezuela. X is for Russian, and L is for China.

Using this process you should be able to figure out the country where it was built.

Conclusion

The Ford Explorer is definitely well sought after. Knowing where are Ford Explorers made is the first step to getting one yourself.

If it is made and assembled in your own country, then you can easily go down to a Ford dealership and get your hands on one.

Alternatively, if it is not being made in your country or is no longer made, then you will either have to get yourself a used model or have it imported.

Regardless of your choice, you will be making a great decision, as the Ford Explorer is a solid car and worth the investment. This is especially true for the 2019 model.