Though it gave up on becoming a major player in the Chinese automotive market a while ago, Ford continues to offer a wide array of vehicles in that country, regardless. The automaker’s decision to sell existing models there rather than developing ones specifically for the domestic Chinese market has paid off in a big way, with the automaker raking in $900 million in earnings before interest and taxes last year. Now, one of those models – the Ford Explorer – has reached a notable milestone in China, too.
A new Ford Explorer that just rolled off the line at the Changan Ford Hangzhou Plant in China this week is the one-millionth vehicle to do so, in fact, just over a decade since the facility began operating back in March 2015. The Ford Explorer is one of several Blue Oval models built at the Hangzhou Plant, along with the Ford Edge, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator, each for the domestic market.
The Chinese Ford Explorer shares quite a lot in common with its U.S.-based counterpart, but there are a few notable differences between the two. In fact, China got its own refreshed version of the SUV earlier than America did for the 2025 model year, one sporting unique styling elements when compared to its U.S. counterpart, such as a full-width LED light bar.
In early 2023, The Blue Oval also debuted a unique version of the Ford Explorer Timberline in China, which gets the typical orange accents along with its own distinctive wheel design, a front grille with oval-shaped cutouts, orange tow hooks, and a two-tone paint treatment with an orange center, which is accented by a black roof and black lower body cladding. In the rear, “Explorer” and “Timberline 4WD” badging is joined by “Changan Ford,” written in Chinese. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Timberline was replaced entirely by the similar Tremor, which just debuted for the 2026 model year.
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