Sherminator98 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 https://fordauthority.com/2025/01/ford-escape-remains-on-track-for-discontinuation-by-2026-report/ Quote This report comes to us from Automotive News, which provided us with some details pertaining to a recent meeting the automaker held with its dealer network. A dealer that attended the meeting noted that their peers raised concerns about the fact that discontinuing the Ford Escape could cause challenges in a world where consumers are seeking out more affordable vehicles, though regardless, the automaker still plans on phasing out the crossover by “the end of the year.” A Ford spokesperson declined to comment on the future of the Escape, however, only saying that it remains “an important product” in the automaker’s portfolio. Hmm 2026 isn't that far away 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt25 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 (edited) That would leave the Louisville plant with only the Corsair. Maybe they plan on moving Bronco Sport & Maverick or Nautilus production there. Edited January 28 by matt25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 8 minutes ago, matt25 said: That would leave the Louisville plant with only the Corsair. Maybe they plan on moving Bronco Sport & Maverick or Nautilus production there. The Corsair would go away also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Mistake, IMO. Unless they have something secret in the works and are allowing the rumor mill to swirl. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan20 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 11 minutes ago, rmc523 said: Unless they have something secret in the works and are allowing the rumor mill to swirl. While it's not a secret that Ford is planning to launch an all-electric compact crossover later this decade to replace the Escape, it's not clear if that vehicle will have the Escape nameplate. Me thinks the Escape nameplate is probably not worth keepin' at this point. Chevy's Equinox EV has been mega successful. It offers 300+ mi. of range for $35k. Hopefully Ford's new all-electric compact crossover, whatever they call it, will give Chevy a run for its money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Getting rid of the Escape AND the Edge, leaves nothing in that market for Ford. They need to build a new C2 platform to replace those two. BS is just too short compared to the two discontinued vehicles. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GearheadGrrrl Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 With the potential of a 25% tariff in a few days, Ford may be dropping the Escape to make room to move Bronco Sport and Maverick from Mexico. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 (edited) 45 minutes ago, rmc523 said: Mistake, IMO. Unless they have something secret in the works and are allowing the rumor mill to swirl. Hopefully we find out sooner then later, but outside of something Chinese market based getting imported for production, we don't even have a mule or or anything. The last mule I saw in the past few years was someone caught the "Boss" Mustang testing at some hotel recently, unless it was the GTR or something-it had a huge wing on it. Edited January 28 by Sherminator98 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan20 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 11 minutes ago, 92merc said: Getting rid of the Escape AND the Edge, leaves nothing in that market for Ford. They need to build a new C2 platform to replace those two. BS is just too short compared to the two discontinued vehicles. This board has discussed the possibility of Ford introducing long wheelbase and hybrid versions of Bronco Sport. Combined with the new all electric compact crossover, Ford should have everything it needs to compete in that market when Escape and Edge are gone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Louisville is supposed to get the new affordable EVs. I’d be shocked if they discontinue Corsair. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 24 minutes ago, akirby said: Louisville is supposed to get the new affordable EVs. I’d be shocked if they discontinue Corsair. I think that was inferred by the comments on the Escape ending production and the battery plant near by, but you also have the rumors that CE1 is going to be a pickup and not a CUV too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 2 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: I think that was inferred by the comments on the Escape ending production and the battery plant near by, but you also have the rumors that CE1 is going to be a pickup and not a CUV too. No it was confirmed by someone but can’t remember who exactly. It was much more than a rumor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dequindre Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 5 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: The Corsair would go away also. How closely related are the Bronco Sport and Corsair mechanically? Could they become (or exist as) platform mates even with with Escape out of the picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 1 hour ago, akirby said: No it was confirmed by someone but can’t remember who exactly. It was much more than a rumor. I haven't seen anything like that from the press or on here (I automatically ignore Borgs comments lol). I posted about the CE1 being a pickup a few months ago, since I was perplexed that they would introduce another pickup in between the Ranger and Maverick and thought they might be conflating the information with the T3 pickup. I still think the smart play would be to consolidate all EVs at BOC for the rest of this decade (maybe outside of the Mach E), make Louisville a C2 plant for the Bronco Sport (and variants of if they go that way), Maverick truck and Cargo vehicle and maybe the Nautilus goes there from China. The Battery plant in the area would provide cells for C2 hybrids and EREVS that will find their way into the Super Duty and Expedition/Navigator in a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 19 minutes ago, Dequindre said: How closely related are the Bronco Sport and Corsair mechanically? Could they become (or exist as) platform mates even with with Escape out of the picture? They could, but if the Escape or its replacement goes EV, I'd expect Lincoln to do the same, but then again Lincoln has more or less said nah we aren't doing EVs just yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 2 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: I haven't seen anything like that from the press or on here (I automatically ignore Borgs comments lol). https://www.wdrb.com/news/business/ford-plans-all-new-electric-vehicle-at-louisville-assembly-plant/article_2cbaa6c8-7440-11ee-a292-57e8f52576e7.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 9 hours ago, akirby said: https://www.wdrb.com/news/business/ford-plans-all-new-electric-vehicle-at-louisville-assembly-plant/article_2cbaa6c8-7440-11ee-a292-57e8f52576e7.html Hmm October 2023 and December 2023...makes me wonder if the plan has changed since then LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan20 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 9 hours ago, akirby said: https://www.wdrb.com/news/business/ford-plans-all-new-electric-vehicle-at-louisville-assembly-plant/article_2cbaa6c8-7440-11ee-a292-57e8f52576e7.html Hopefully the head honcho's goals mentioned in the last paragraph of the WDRB Louisville Fox 41 article also remains on track to be achieved by 2026 or sooner: “We want their (LAP employees’) work to be building a vehicle that we’re deeply passionate about, where the customers can’t imagine their life without it. And we have opportunity in the two-row crossover market to do that. So, I think they should be really excited about their future.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 11 hours ago, Sherminator98 said: I haven't seen anything like that from the press or on here (I automatically ignore Borgs comments lol). I posted about the CE1 being a pickup a few months ago, since I was perplexed that they would introduce another pickup in between the Ranger and Maverick and thought they might be conflating the information with the T3 pickup. I still think the smart play would be to consolidate all EVs at BOC for the rest of this decade (maybe outside of the Mach E), make Louisville a C2 plant for the Bronco Sport (and variants of if they go that way), Maverick truck and Cargo vehicle and maybe the Nautilus goes there from China. The Battery plant in the area would provide cells for C2 hybrids and EREVS that will find their way into the Super Duty and Expedition/Navigator in a few years. It would make sense to me to have all EVs at one plant so you don't have to rip up other plants for uncertain sales, and keep Louisville with ICE production until additional EV transition is warranted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 51 minutes ago, rmc523 said: It would make sense to me to have all EVs at one plant so you don't have to rip up other plants for uncertain sales, and keep Louisville with ICE production until additional EV transition is warranted. That was my suggestion as well. Edge, Nautilus and Corsair at Louisville, EVs at BOC. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) This is the point in the thread, where I pull out the CAFE chart and say sit down and listen... 😄 Just rough calculation... Escape wheelbase and track width are 106.7" x 62" or about 46 sq ft That means 2026 model has to average 50 MPG to hit the target. In order to get there, Ford has to discontinue the ICE 2.0 Ecoboost version (26 MPG) and probably the 1.5 Ecoboost AWD version too (28 MPG). The hybrid is 39 MPG but the real hero here is PHEV at 101 MPG. So just do the math on product mix... Ford can only sell hybrid and PHEV but the nameplate is so damaged from years of cheap interior and questionable reliability that Farley doesn't think he can charge the same money as RAV4 (which similarly will become hybrid only in 2026). So the easy thing is to not compete... Ford cannot win. I don't know what Ford plans to build instead at the plant but making Edge and Nautilus in the US is my guess. More importantly, what is Ford going to do with next gen Bronco Sport? It has to get bigger to slide down the CAFE curve. Edited January 30 by bzcat 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 2 minutes ago, bzcat said: This is the point in the thread, where I pull out the CAFE chart and say sit down and listen... 😄 Just rough calculation... Escape wheelbase and track width are 106.7" x 62" or about 46 sq ft That means 2026 model has to average 50 MPG to hit the target. In order to get there, Ford has to discontinue the ICE 2.0 Ecoboost version (26 MPG) and probably the 1.5 Ecoboost AWD version too (28 MPG). The hybrid is 39 MPG but the real hero here is PHEV at 101 MPG. So just do the math on product mix... Ford can only sell hybrid and PHEV but the nameplate is so damaged from years of cheap interior and questionable reliability that Farley doesn't think he can charge the same money as RAV4 (which similarly will become hybrid only in 2026). @bzcat, can it also be inferred that, if we assume Ford's supply of hybrid-specific parts has some sort of volume limitation, that Ford have made the determination based on your comments that those hybrid-specific parts would be better utilized on higher profit products, specifically Maverick and Bronco Sport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 2 hours ago, bzcat said: More importantly, what is Ford going to do with next gen Bronco Sport? It has to get bigger to slide down the CAFE curve. The difference is only about an inch when it comes wheelbase between the two of them, overall the BS is shorter, but that doesn't count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherminator98 Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Not to mention the current administration is talking about walking back the 2030 requirements too https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2025-01/Signed Secretarial Memo re Fixing the CAFE Program.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Would a similar sized EV offset CAFE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.