With just a few more days before the refreshed 2016 Ford Explorer debuts at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the automaker has announced that the nameplate has totaled 7 million U.S. sales since its launch in 1990.
“America’s favorite SUV” (as Ford describes it) was launched in the U.S. market in 1990 and has been the best-selling SUV in the country for nearly 25 years. Next year the Explorer will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a revamped model, the 2016 Explorer. Scheduled to debut on November 19 in Los Angeles, the new model will go on sale in summer 2015.
When the original Ford Explorer launched in 1990, U.S. buyers were really fond of minivans. The Explorer convinced many of them to switch to SUVs.
“Explorer changed the way the world thought about the family hauler – adventure became something you could put in your driveway. Explorer helped the family vehicle become an emotional purchase rather than a necessity. It’s no surprise it’s been the best-selling sport utility vehicle for a quarter century,” said Craig Patterson, Ford Explorer marketing manager.
Ford says Explorer sales remain strong to this day: through the first 10 months of 2014, U.S. sales rose more than 6 percent compared to last year. Although the Explorer SUV is sold in more than 100 markets across the globe, it’s the U.S. market that absorbs the majority of production. Still, Ford expects to export 56,000 Explorers this year from the Chicago Assembly Plant to global markets.
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