It is the first facility in the world, according to Ford, capable of building a full array of vehicles including gas-powered, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid, all on the same production line.
DEARBORN, MI- Ford Motor Co.’s C-Max lineup is doing more than just helping its overall fuel economy, it’s helping make history.
With the introduction of the plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi to Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Dearborn-based automaker is now producing five vehicles on the same production line. It is the first facility in the world, according to Ford, capable of building a full array of vehicles including gas-powered, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid, all on the same production line.
The plant’s more than 5,000 employees also produce the C-Max Hybrid, Focus, Focus Electric and Focus ST.
The plant, located about 20 miles west of Detroit, was historically known for making larger vehicles, such as Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicles. But following a $550 million transformation, Ford re-opened MAP in early 2010 with production of the 2012 Focus.
It recently received “Assembly Plant of the Year” from Assembly Magazine. It was the first time an automaker, as well as a plant in Michigan, has earned the honor from the monthly trade magazine.
In May, MAP added a third production crew with 1,200 new workers. The plant currently employs about 5,170 workers.
“MAP is an example of Ford manufacturing at its best – a flexible facility that is using a highly trained work force to build fuel efficient vehicles in an environmentally friendly manner,” said Jim Tetreault, Ford vice president of North America manufacturing, in a statement last month.
Ford officials say the all-new 2013 C-Max Energi, which starts at just under $30,000 after a federal tax credit, truly showcases its two decades “of hybrid expertise as America’s most fuel-efficient and affordable plug-in hybrid that delivers more overall driving range than any utility vehicle.”
The company, which recently launched an ad campaign for C-Max, has continuously boasted the vehicle to be better than the industry-leading Toyota Prius lineup of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
“From fuel efficiency to innovative technologies to the performance and price, everything we’ve done for the last 20 years in the area of hybrid vehicle technology has led up to this,” said John Davis, C-Max Energi chief nameplate engineer, in a statement.
In October -- its first full month of sales -- the Ford C-Max Hybrid outsold the Toyota Prius v Hybrid by more than 400 units.
More than 70 percent of C-Max Hybrid buyers traded in a competitive model or added it without trading in another vehicle, according to Ford. Officials said the highest-volume trades were from Toyota.
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