Ford has celebrated the global production start for the all-new 2015 Edge at the retooled Oakville Assembly plant in Canada. Following an investment of C$700 million ($561 million) and the addition of 1,400 new jobs, the plant has undergone a retooling and expansion, with Ford describing it as one of the most competitive and advanced global manufacturing plants in Canada.
The plant also produces the Ford Flex and the Lincoln MKT, and will begin production of the new global 2016 Lincoln MKX this year. The facility has approximately 4,500 employees working a partial three shift schedule. Since 2013, Oakville Assembly has hired more than 1,700 employees.
The all-new Ford Edge goes on sale later this spring in Canada and the United States and will eventually be available in more than 100 countries, including Western Europe for the first time.
The Ford Edge will be shipped around the world, from North America and South America, to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The SUV will get a right-hand-drive version and a diesel engine for the first time, making it suitable for markets like the UK and Europe.
In the United States, Ford Edge’s biggest market, the vehicle has been the best-selling five passenger crossover utility for seven out of the eight years since its launch. Worldwide demand for utility vehicles is up 88 percent since 2008, with utilities now accounting for 19 percent of the global automotive market. The segment is expanding more than three times the rate of the vehicle industry overall.
In Europe, the utility vehicle segment increased from 9 percent market share in 2008 to 21 percent in 2014.
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