Ford Discontinuing Flex CUV After 11 Years

Ford will end production of the Flex CUV, a casualty of the automaker’s plans to replace 75% of its vehicle lineup by the end of 2020.

The boxy, 3-row Flex is being dropped as part of Ford’s plan to “strengthen its focus on products in the heart of the fastest-growing segments” – other utility vehicles as well as pickups.

The Flex, introduced as a 7-passenger family vehicle as a minivan alternative, has been built exclusively at Ford’s assembly plant in Oakville, ON, Canada, where production is expected to end in late November.

Ford Flex US Sales (002)

Ford has sold more than 296,000 units of the low-slung, 3-row Flex since its introduction in June 2008. The second-generation model debuted in 2013.

Flex U.S. sales peaked in 2009 at about 38,000 units, good for nearly 14% of Wards Intelligence’s Large CUV segment. Ford sold about 20,000 units in 2018, good for 8%.

Its interior was created by Ford interior designer Anthony Prozzi, who worked in the New York fashion industry. He and his team brought in quilted leather seating surfaces and mahogany door-panel inserts that resembled the surface of a roll-top desk.

Ford officials said in 2011 the Flex’s distinctive design helped it account for one-fifth of all the automaker’s retail sales in California.

For a time, the Flex could be ordered with a refrigerator in the console between the second-row seats.

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