Ford Flex Will Be Discontinued After 2019 Model Year

Ford and the Canadian Union have unanimously agreed that the Ford Flex Will Be Discontinued After 2019 Model Year. The two have exposed their recent plans to discontinue producing the Ford Flex in Oakville, Ontario. This 3-row 7-seater crossover occupies a curious niche thanks to its wagon-like proportions as well as the retro styling. As of this writing, it appears the company has reached a tentative agreement to cease its production in favor of more conventional crossover versions.

The Ford Flex is a seven-passenger vehicle that arrived in the year 2008. It was unleashed in an attempt at filling the void left by the Freestar. It is for this reason that the company opted to ditch a minivan styling and implement a controversial boxy shape.

Although the Ford Flex sales rose in the United States this year. But it still lags behind when compared with Ford’s core vehicle lineup. Ford sold nearly 17,000 units in the U.S through September. Hence, it only has a few thousand supplies ahead of the C-Max—Ford’s worst-retailing model ever.

Ford Flex Will Be Discontinued After 2019 Model Year

Labor Contract With the Blue Oval Terminated

Unifor officials confirmed the move to retire the Flex production after they signed a preliminary labor treaty with the Blue Oval. Ford’s Oakville manufacturing plant in Ontario is currently assembling the Flex ahead of its retirement at the end of the decade. The alleged move to cease the Flex production in 2020 is said to coincide with the release of the latest Lincoln MKT and Ford Edge. The two vehicles are set to use the same platform. (source: www.motortrend.com)

Unifor Officials Confirm the Report in a Press Release

This report emanates from the Canadian Auto Union executives, who held a presser on Tuesday confirming Ford’s plans to end the production of the Flex after 2019 Model Year. This publication surfaced after a convention was reached to end a tentative labor contract with the Blue Oval to avoid a strike. Unifor officials also confirmed that the discontinuation of the Flex production coincides with a substantial investment in the firm’s Oakville manufacturing facility in Ontario.

Apparently, the Oakville factory is presently involved in the manufacture of the Ford Edge, Flex, Lincoln MKT, and Lincoln MKX. It remains unclear whether or not Ford is planning to cease the production of the MKT. Both the Flex and the MKT share a common platform.

Recently, Ford released a couple of new models including the MKT and Edge. The Canadian officials also mentioned the company’s intentions to give these models a thorough makeover in the next few years.

The Ford Flex sales have always been dismal despite critics heaping praises on it. The company sold out roughly 18,000 units through October, about a 9% increase from last year’s sales. The Flex is way lower in sales than the Ford Edge and the Ford Explorer. This year alone, the company has sold up to 180,019 Explore units and 111,140 Edge units.

Ford has sold the Flex since 2009, and we are surprised that the company still has plans to continue its manufacture for another four years. Nevertheless, it is good news for buyers opting for a 7-seater boxy crossover with a lower ride height. Flex shoppers still have enough time to peruse the Flex vehicles to buy.

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One comment

  1. I own a 2014 Flex. Finest machine I have ever owned. If Ford didn’t sell enough, it was from lack of advertisement. What a wonderful USEFUL automobile.

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