Missouri, 13 March 2015: Ford today marks the official start of production of the all-new 2015 F-150 at Kansas City Assembly Plant, which joins Dearborn Truck Plant in building the toughest, smartest, most capable F-150 ever.
This means Ford has expanded production of the first mass-produced light-duty pickup truck with a high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body. In addition to producing all F-150 models and cab configurations, production at Kansas City Assembly Plant now includes F-150s with an 8-foot cargo box and heavy payload package to meet the needs of commercial fleet customers.
“The all-new F-150 has surpassed our expectations – setting new standards for full-size truck capability, technology and efficiency,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “With production starting at Kansas City Assembly, we are better poised to start meeting growing customer demand for our pickup.”
The all-new F-150 is off to a strong start. In January, F-Series had its strongest sales month since 2004 – Ford’s best sales year ever for F-150. Retail sales increased 7 percent in February. These numbers make F-Series one of Ford’s fastest-selling vehicles, at just 18 days to turn on dealer lots – well below the light-duty full-size pickup truck average of 105 days.
F-150 is part of the Ford F-Series lineup. Now in its 67th year, F-Series has been the best-selling vehicle in America for 33 consecutive years and America’s favorite truck for 38 years.
“The rollout of the all-new Missouri-made F-150 cements our position as America’s truck manufacturing headquarters and marks a historic moment that has been years in the making,” said Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. “Six years ago, we made a commitment that the vehicles of the future would be built right here in the Show-Me State, and with today’s launch of the 2015 Ford F-150, we are delivering on that promise.”
In 2011, Ford announced a $1.1 billion investment to retool and expand Kansas City Assembly Plant to support production of both F-150 and the Transit full-size van family.
Similar to the work Dearborn Truck Plant received, 13 weeks were spent upgrading Kansas City Assembly Plant with the latest in advanced materials and forming and joining technologies to support F-150’s innovative manufacturing process.
