Ford Explorer enters production in Russia

According to khabar khodro، Ford has recently announced the production start of the Explorer in Russia, where the model is currently being assembled at the company’s Sollers Elabuga plant in Tararstan.

According to the North American based automaker, the first unit of the Ford Explorer has just rolled off the assembly line in the facility mentioned above. Ford says that this is the first time in the 23-year long history that the full-size SUV is being produced outside the United States.

“Russia is on its way to being the largest market in Europe and presents an enormous opportunity for growth. We anticipate SUV sales to continue to grow as Russian customers prefer the image and performance these utility vehicles provide in severe weather and challenging road conditions”, said the president and CEO of Ford Sollers, Ted Cannis.

Ford will have to hire an additional 500 employees in order to supplement the Sollers Elabuga plant’s existing 1,500 employees for producing the Explorer. Besides the Russian Tararstan plant, the Ford Explorer will continue to be produced in the United States too. The models assembled over-seas are aimed towards the U.S., Canada, Mexico and other markets.