Chicago Assembly Plant

CHICAGO | The Lincoln MKS full-sized luxury sedan has been seen as a little stodgy.

People just aren't buying large, long sedans anymore, no matter how soft the leather or how cool the technology. Sales have fallen by nearly half over the last five years.

The Lincoln MKS has been made by United Auto Workers Local 551 at the Chicago Assembly Plant since 2008. But no more. Ford plans to stop production next year when the MKS is phased out and replaced with the revived Lincoln Continental, which was discontinued more than a decade ago.

"When the Continental comes out next year, the Lincoln fades away, " said Joe Hincrichs, executive vice president and president of the Americas for Ford Motor Co. "But once it fades away, we're going to use that capacity to make more Explorers."

The Lincoln MKS is a small part of the production at the 91-year-old automotive factory in Hegewisch, which employs around 4, 000 workers. The Chicago Assembly Plant also makes the Explorer sport-utility vehicle, the Taurus mid-sized sedan and Police Interceptor versions of both those vehicles. About half the new police cars in the country are made on the South Side.

"As you can tell from the substantial investments that have been made here, Chicago is an important part of Ford's future, " Hinrichs told the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce at its 11th annual meeting at Navy Pier Tuesday.

"We've invested $400 million into the Chicago Assembly Plant, and the investment began after the global downturn. We want this kind of growth to continue in Chicago and – frankly – across our full network of United States plants. We're absolutely committed to U.S. manufacturing and providing good-paying jobs. In fact, we're now the largest employer of automotive jobs in the United States."

Ford already had been shifting production at the Chicago Assembly Plant away from both the Lincoln MKS and the Taurus to cater to marketplace demand by making more Explorers.

Last month, MKS sales were down 28 percent, according to Ford. Last year, they were down 24.4 percent.

Ford sold 17, 174 MKS sedans in 2009, shortly after what had been a concept car first hit the mass market. In 2014, sales plunged to 8, 160 units after half a decade of steady year-over-year declines. The car just isn't in fashion, Hinrichs said.

"That customer base is shrinking, and we believe the Continental is the right vehicle for that customer base, " Hinrichs said. "It's an older demographic that likes larger sedans."

New frontiers

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker hasn't announced where it will make the Continental, but it won't be at the Chicago Assembly Plant. The factory at 126th Street and Torrence Avenue needs more capacity to ramp up production of the Explorer, the best-selling mid-sized SUV over the last 25 years, which notched a 6.2 percent gain in sales last year.