Ford’s assembly plants are just getting back to work but from the sounds of things, the workers at Ford’s Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly plant in Sonora, Mexico won’t be making the Fusion for much longer. Ford Authority was the first to share the news.
Reports indicate that Ford will cease production of the Fusion on July 21. The last day dealers could submit orders for the model was February 29. However, the Fusion will not be gone forever. Ford has tapped the forthcoming Fusion Active crossover to replace the model. It’s set to debut in 2022.
Ford is moving production of its Transit Connect van to the Mexico plant.Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company
The Lincoln MKZ is made alongside the Fusion and production of that model is also slated to end this year. The eventual winddown in production has been years in the making, following Ford’s announcement that it’s revitalizing its lineup and looking beyond its Focus, Fusion, and Fiesta models.
The plant won’t go unused. Ford has opted to move production of its Transit Connect van from Valencia Body and Assembly in Valencia, Spain to the Mexico plant. When assembled in Spain, the model was subject to the so-called Chicken Tax, a 25 percent tariff on light trucks, as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Models built in Mexico that consisted of 62.5 percent or more parts were sourced from North America not subject to a tariff.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) replaced NAFTA with its final ratification on March 13, 2020. In that agreement, 75 percent of the automobile’s value must come from within North America in order to retain its “tax free” status.
Ford is slated to have the next-generation Ford Transit Connect be produced at the facility, starting with the 2022 model year. Ahead of that move, Ford will need to retool the facility.
Earlier this year, Ford announced that it was adding an all-electric version of the Ford Transit to its lineup. That model is part of Ford’s $11.5 billions investment in the electrification of vehicles through 2022.
