Ford's auto plant on the banks of the Calumet River switched to production of the new vehicle models in June. “Across all the models of Ford Explorer, luxury Lincoln Aviator and the purpose-built Police Interceptor Utility, this plant serves diverse segments with incredible vehicles," Plant Manager Angela Weathers said. "Our team enhanced pre-launch testing and quality checks to help ensure these vehicles exceed our customers’ expectations.
We’re thrilled to have Explorer and Aviator SUVs out for delivery, building on Chicago Assembly Plant’s 100-year legacy of producing groundbreaking vehicles.” Since 2010, the plant at the intersection of Torrence and 130th avenues has made the Explorer. It's America's best-selling sport-utility vehicle with more than 8 million sold.
The new 2025 model features a redesigned interior, new exterior styling and new technology, including BlueCruise hands-free driving technology and a new Ford Digital Experience infotainment system with a bigger digital display. The plant is also making the new 2025 Lincoln Aviator, which includes the BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology and the new Lincoln Digital Experience. United Auto Workers Local 551-represented workers, including many who hail from Northwest Indiana, have made 3.
3 million Explorer SUVs over the past 14 years. Ford employs more than 6,000 workers at the Chicago Assembly Plant and the Chicago Stamping Plant on U.S.
30 in Chicago Heights. About 15,000 Ford employees at eight plants in three states contribute to the production of the Ford Explorer, while 13,500 Ford employees at seven plants in three states contribute to Aviator production. Workers work around the clock for three shifts at the Chicago Assembly Plant to make the new vehicle models.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts “We are on a journey to world-class manufacturing at Chicago Assembly Plant and everywhere across our footprint," said Bryce Currie, vice president, Americas manufacturing. "The ideas and innovations driving our lean transformation have really energized our quality culture and servant leadership here at Ford, and that's reflected in the processes and tools we're deploying at Chicago Assembly Plant and around the globe.” Workers at the Chicago Assembly Plant spend hundreds of hours prototyping and test-driving the new Explorer and Aviator SUVs.
They added more checks such as with Ford’s Mobile AI Vision System to look for issues and make sure they could be fixed immediately before the vehicles left the plant. The plant is also shipping out its new 2025 Ford Police Interceptor Utility with a hybrid powertrain option to police departments all over the country. The Police Interceptor Utility, modeled after the Explorer, is the nation's best-selling police vehicle with more than 50% market share.
It's driven by some of the largest police departments in the country, including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. The Police Interceptor Utility, which is the only hybrid police vehicle on the market, saves police departments up to 838 gallons of fuel a year or about $17,500 over a six-year period. Ford's overall hybrid sales grew by 35% in the second quarter, with hybrids accounting for 9% of global sales.
"Officers often have long idle times when on patrol, so the hybrid powertrain is a popular choice,” said Lindsey Bertino, Ford Pro Police Vehicle marketing manager. “We’ve also standardized popular features like the Police Perimeter Alert, for more situational awareness and new officer safety features simplifying the ordering process for fleet managers.” Ford's new Police Interceptor vehicle has a 75-mph rear-impact crash test rating, a Police Engine Idle that lets the engine run while they lock the vehicle and take the keys with them to keep the onboard equipment running and a Police Perimeter Alert system.
It detects moving threats around the vehicle, sounding a chime, rolling up windows, locking the door and activating the read camera to monitor the situation. Optional ballistic panels can protect against up to .30-caliber armor-piercing rifle ammunition.
The vehicle comes with rear parking sensors, reverse brake assist, rear cross-traffic braking and automatic emergency braking. It has three powertrain options, a 12.3-inch LCD digital instrument cluster, a manual police pursuit mode that allows for high performance and a Police Dark Car feature for stakeouts.
The locally made vehicle allows drivers to use the steering wheel to control police functions like lights, sirens, speakers and K9 door releases. "The Chicago Assembly Plant employs more than 6,000 people in the area," spokesman Dan Barbossa said. "It has a big impact in the area.
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