Ford Explorer Production Passes 5 Million Mark

Although the Ford Explorer is not sold in as many countries as Land Rovers, the Ford SUV is the best-selling SUV on the planet and has been for more than a decade. Almost all Explorers have been sold in a single market – the USA – and this week, the 5 millionth unit rolled off the line.

The first Explorer appeared in Ford’s Louisville plant on Valentine’s Day in 1990. In 1991, Explorer’s first full year of availability, sales jumped 38% to more than a quarter-million units, and it became the first SUV to join the ranks of the top 10-selling vehicles in the USA, holding the seventh spot. The model led the growing craze for SUVs, a category of vehicles which kept growing.

In 2001, the Explorer marked its 11th straight year as America’s best-selling SUV with sales of 415,921 units and in all likelihood, it will retain that title in 2002.

While the Explorer has been sold tremendously well, it has also been a model which will be remembered in a less ‘glowing’ context – the failure of Firestone tyres that were fitted to the vehicle and Ford’s decision to recall every Explorer for replacement of the tyres which it said were defective.

Out of that ‘crisis’ came critical questions about the stability and safety of the Explorer’s design (which Ford refuted), and which led to a more extensive safety package in the current Explorer generation. Besides substantially changed engineering, the new Explorer also has a Safety Canopy system with side curtain air bags and rollover protection as part of the Ford Personal Safety System which also included dual-stage front airbags.

Initially, the Explorer’s lack of a righthand drive variant prevented its export to certain markets but when this variant became available in the mid-1990s, it began to appear in Australia, Japan, and UK.

A small batch of Explorers was also imported to Malaysia just before the economic downturn and provided something different for those who wanted big American-style SUVs. However, the large 4.0-litre engine size was a bit of a deterrent to many buyers and since that time, Ford Malaysia has not brought in any more units.

The latest Explorer is available with two engine sizes and in three-door and five-door bodystyles, as well as a pick-up type variant known as the Explorer Sport-Trac. However, Ford is expected to discontinue the three-door variant in the near future due to declining demand for three-door SUVs.