Ford is killing off its Escape mid-sized SUV in Australia, lastly admitting defeat in opposition to the massive weapons in one of many largest market segments within the nation.
The five-seat competitor to the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 can be discontinued by the top of the yr, leaving Ford with one other gap in its household automobile line-up.
It provides to a protracted checklist of Ford nameplates which were retired domestically. Others embody the Laser, Falcon, Mondeo, Territory, Focus and Fiesta.
“The Escape nameplate can be leaving Australia by the top of the yr,” mentioned Andrew Birkic, Ford Australia president and CEO.
“We now have to make a enterprise choice, the place are we going to place our chips. We’ve decided that’s not Escape.”
The demise of the Escape would be the finish of a nameplate that first appeared in Australia in 2002 (it was rebadged because the Kuga from 2012 to 2016) and has lengthy tried to muscle in on the massive gamers in what’s now household automobile heartland.
Mid-sized SUVs have grown from a relative sideshow within the late Nineties to be the most important market phase.
Within the first three months of 2023 gross sales of mid-sized SUVs have been up 19 per cent and there are greater than 40 fashions to select from.
Relative newcomers GWM Haval and BYD are having a big effect whereas gross sales of the Escape proceed to flounder; final yr Ford bought simply 2179, making up about 1 per cent of medium SUV gross sales.
The upcoming axing of the Escape locations extra stress on Ford’s prime promoting car, the Ranger. Final yr in Australia the Ranger accounted for 71 per cent of Ford’s gross sales. That’s edged as much as 72 per cent for the primary three months of this yr.
The tip of the Escape may also see demise of the plug-in hybrid electrical model, which was a small a part of the vary that solely arrived final yr.
“We don’t make the nameplate choices and people model choices evenly,” mentioned Birkic, including that “we consider now’s the suitable time”.
Birkic pointed to the evolution of the phase as one motive Ford has chosen to exit that portion of the market.
“Fifteen, 20 years in the past, that phase the place Escape performs – when it comes to its worth level and bandwidth – could be very completely different than the place it’s at present.”
The model can be quick shifting to EVs, particularly in Europe the place it has dedicated to an entirely electrical line-up by 2030.
Ford just lately revealed a Europe-focused Explorer mid-sized SUV that’s set to be produced in right-hand drive.
There’s an opportunity that automobile might be the yet-to-be-announced fifth electrified mannequin to hitch the Ford Australia line-up by 2025.
It will neatly slot right into a market phase that features the Tesla Mannequin Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
Given the gross sales success of these three fashions – the Tesla particularly – there’s an opportunity an Explorer EV might outsell the Escape, which by no means actually fired down beneath.
