The last Mercury brand vehicle produced, a Grand Marquis, is being shipped to a fleet, according to Ford. The identity of the fleet was unavailable as of press time.

Produced for 25 years at the Ford Motor Co.'s assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, the Grand Marquis rolled off the production line Jan. 4. The Grand Marquis, first introduced in 1975, has been Mercury's longest-running and best-selling nameplate, with more than 2.7 million sold as of June 2010, according to Ford.

In June 2010, the automaker announced its plan to focus on the Ford and Lincoln brands and cease production of Mercury vehicles by the end of fourth quarter 2010. However, delayed parts shipments caused by snowstorms pushed production of the final vehicle into the start of 2011.

Mercury, which accounted for 0.8 percentage points of Ford's overall 16-percent U.S. market share, was originally created in 1938 as a premium offering to Ford. The first model, the 1939 Mercury 8, went into production in 1938. The vehicle sold for $916 and boasted a 95 hp V-8. Sales for the first year total were 65,884 vehicles, according to Ford.

View the history of the Mercury brand.

Related: Ford to Discontinue Mercury Brand in Fourth Quarter