Escape, Edge, TC to be Killed

[ANTAUS]

Autoblog.com

[ice-capades]

31 minutes ago, ANTAUS said:

Autoblog.com

 

Another chapter in the mess known as Ford! 

[silvrsvt]

Well two of the 3 where already known...the Escape I'm finding hard to believe that it will happen that soon. I guess after the UAW talks we will get actual info. 

[rperez817]

11 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

Well two of the 3 where already known...the Escape I'm finding hard to believe that it will happen that soon. I guess after the UAW talks we will get actual info. 

 

Yup, it's best to wait until after the UAW negotiations for confirmation. But it's not surprising that Escape will be discontinued. The current generation Escape is woefully uncompetitive unless it's equipped with the hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or 2.0T powertrains. And those versions are in short supply.

[silvrsvt]

7 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

Yup, it's best to wait until after the UAW negotiations for confirmation. But it's not surprising that Escape will be discontinued. The current generation Escape is woefully uncompetitive unless it's equipped with the hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or 2.0T powertrains. And those versions are in short supply.

 

But yet sales where up 26% last month....alrighly. 

[Andrew L]

I guess I am out of the loop but does the TC really not sell that well? I thought the TC was doing well along side the larger vans.

[ice-capades]

24 minutes ago, Andrew L said:

I guess I am out of the loop but does the TC really not sell that well? I thought the TC was doing well along side the larger vans.

 

The Transit Connect is a great small cargo van that did well, but sales have been declining for several years in a niche market. For the small business market it's served so well, the substantial price increases in recent years haven't helped. 

[pffan1990]

1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

Well two of the 3 where already known...the Escape I'm finding hard to believe that it will happen that soon. I guess after the UAW talks we will get actual info. 

 

I also find it hard to believe that the Escape would be next this soon. Sales have spiked after the 2023 update and has received numerous good reviews. I could see sometime beyond 2025. I'm thinking this could be Ford's 'leverage' as part of UAW negotiations. That way, they can eventually reach a deal and then 'backtrack' a bit and announce more details of ICE production plans. I could see the Escape going away at some point, with the 2024 Nautilus in its production place in Louisville, making the Chinese importation a short-term plan. It would be nice to also have overflow capacity at Louisville for both Maverick and Bronco Sport if possible. But we'll see how the UAW negotiations go.

[GearheadGrrrl]

I hope this is just a bargaining position to be sacrificed in contract negotiations. Couple years back when Ford justified killing the sedans/hatches with the argument that they'd become commodomized and unprofitable, I argued that in a couple years crossovers like the Escape would get commodomizaed too... And here we are.

[bzcat]

1 hour ago, Andrew L said:

I guess I am out of the loop but does the TC really not sell that well? I thought the TC was doing well along side the larger vans.

 

Ford limited the import of the van because 25% chicken tax after it lost the court case. It means Ford is probably losing money on the van. The market is relatively small but demand clearly exceeds supply as Ford was the only game in town.

 

The plan was to make the US market replacement in Mexico based on the Maverick but production was cancelled due to the strong demand for Bronco Sport and Maverick.

 

[rperez817]

1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

But yet sales where up 26% last month....alrighly. 

 

That comparison is ultimately meaningless. Longer term, Ford Escape sales over the 5 year period from 2017 to 2022 declined more than 55%.

[Deanh]

1 hour ago, Andrew L said:

I guess I am out of the loop but does the TC really not sell that well? I thought the TC was doing well along side the larger vans.

IMPOSSIBLE TO GET.... and a basic van skyrocketed from 27k to 37k....yes you read that correctly...not sure whats going one but literally EVERYONE is leaving the moni van market...Ram, Mercedes, Nissan etc etc...personally I think its a mistake...but 37k is pretty hard to quantify....that and an absolutely HORRIBLE transmission....

[Deanh]

10 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

That comparison is ultimately meaningless. Longer term, Ford Escape sales over the 5 year period from 2017 to 2022 declined more than 55%.

no..its not meaningless in the slightest...you privvy to sipply issues?...trying and find an Escape is tough..especially the versions people want...things were slightly different in 2017....just slightly...sheesh.

[akirby]

1 hour ago, silvrsvt said:

 

But yet sales where up 26% last month....alrighly. 

Don’t confuse the hater with actual facts.

[Rangers09]

11 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

That comparison is ultimately meaningless. Longer term, Ford Escape sales over the 5 year period from 2017 to 2022 declined more than 55%.

 

Since the previous model and even one prior to 2020 were poorly received, it is hardly surprising the sales decreased. The 2023 refresh is a significant improvement, as we can attest to, having owned a 2018, 2019 and now the 2023. The 2023 sales increase is clearly replicating our experience in the improvements between the 2019 and current vehicle. There is a good reason we didn't renew between 2020 and 2022, as it wasn't an improvement over the 2019.

 

Due to the improvements, I'll suggest comparing sales of the current vehicle to the 2  previous versions is akin to comparing apples to oranges.

[akirby]

I agree it doesn’t make sense to me right now but if it’s true they’re killing Escape then it stands to reason they’ll kill Corsair as well - and maybe that’s why Corsair wasn’t updated.  Which means they’re converting Louisville to BEV production.

 

On the bright side this should free up hybrid powertrains for Bronco Sport and Maverick.  And it would explain not moving Nautilus to Louisville.

 

But it makes me really nervous about Lincoln’s future.

[paintguy]

Isn't anyone concerned about Escape reliability? 

[Deanh]

14 minutes ago, paintguy said:

Isn't anyone concerned about Escape reliability? 

havent heard of any issues barring an initial hiccup with the 1.5...2.0 is bulletproof and one cant speak highly enough of the Hybrid drivetrains.......

[rperez817]

1 hour ago, Rangers09 said:

Due to the improvements, I'll suggest comparing sales of the current vehicle to the 2  previous versions is akin to comparing apples to oranges.

 

The improvements associated with Ford Escape's MY 2023 refresh aren't enough for the model to stay competitive in a very crowded segment. As Car and Driver said about the PHEV version (which is a much better product than the non-hybrid 1.5L version), 2023 Escape "struggles to make a mark". 

 

Ford is wise to kill it after the current model lifecycle and focus its efforts introducing new BEV models that stand out in the marketplace.

Edited August 31, 2023 by rperez817

[ANTAUS]

As sales of the Camry and Accord have dropped, many of their buyers migrated to the CRV and Rav4 which is understandable.  Ford dropped Fusion, and with the Escape exiting, what is the typical Ford buyer expected to migrate to if there's no Escape or Edge?  Make a $15-20K jump to an Explorer?

[twintornados]

7 minutes ago, ANTAUS said:

As sales of the Camry and Accord have dropped, many of their buyers migrated to the CRV and Rav4 which is understandable.  Ford dropped Fusion, and with the Escape exiting, what is the typical Ford buyer expected to migrate to if there's no Escape or Edge?  Make a $15-20K jump to an Explorer?

 

Bronco Sport or Maverick?

[DeluxeStang]

25 minutes ago, ANTAUS said:

As sales of the Camry and Accord have dropped, many of their buyers migrated to the CRV and Rav4 which is understandable.  Ford dropped Fusion, and with the Escape exiting, what is the typical Ford buyer expected to migrate to if there's no Escape or Edge?  Make a $15-20K jump to an Explorer?

 

[akirby]

26 minutes ago, twintornados said:

 

Bronco Sport or Maverick?

Or a new BEV.  

[T-dubz]

I’m fine with the escape going away, but the bronco sport needs some changes if it’s going to fill the gap. It needs an updated interior with better materials and a larger screen.  Make awd optional on all but badlands trims. This should improve fuel economy which might improve cafe, and lower the price of entry, which would expand the potential pool of customers. 
 

I see big bend BS all the time, but I’ve never seen outer banks or badlands. At least in my area, it would seem that customers don’t see the value in the upper trims. It’s also missing several options that are found on the escape and its competitors. 
 

And I can’t talk about BS without mentioning this, make the 2.0 optional on all trims! Make a hybrid optional on all trims except badlands.

 

If all of these changes were made, I could see the BS make it into the top 3 of its segment.

[akirby]

48 minutes ago, T-dubz said:

I’m fine with the escape going away, but the bronco sport needs some changes if it’s going to fill the gap. It needs an updated interior with better materials and a larger screen.  Make awd optional on all but badlands trims. This should improve fuel economy which might improve cafe, and lower the price of entry, which would expand the potential pool of customers. 
 

I see big bend BS all the time, but I’ve never seen outer banks or badlands. At least in my area, it would seem that customers don’t see the value in the upper trims. It’s also missing several options that are found on the escape and its competitors. 
 

And I can’t talk about BS without mentioning this, make the 2.0 optional on all trims! Make a hybrid optional on all trims except badlands.

 

If all of these changes were made, I could see the BS make it into the top 3 of its segment.

It doesn’t have to “fill the gap” for every buyer.  The gap in sales volume will be filled by whatever replaces it in Louisville.  Just like Ranger and Bronco replaced Focus.