Each year, in the month of July, Ford tends to implement summer shutdowns as some of its U.S. plants, which can oftentimes halt production for a week or two. Coupled with the Independence Day holiday, this also means that output at many of these plants drops by a significant margin, which results in almost every model in the Ford and Lincoln lineup experiencing some sort of lull this July as well. That list included the Ford Escape this year, but production of the small crossover at the Louisville Assembly plant rebounded in a big way in August.
According to FoMoCo’s August 2024 sales report, Ford Escape production in Louisville totaled 22,981 units last month, which was a whopping 11,541 units or just over 100 percent more than July’s 11,440 units. Notably, that figure is also the Escape’s highest monthly total in the 2024 calendar year thus far as well, blowing away May’s output of 19,784 units by a notable margin and bringing the crossover’s year-to-date total up to 136,127 units.
Though it was just treated to a refresh for 2023, the Escape is also set to undergo quite a few changes for the 2025 model year, too. In fact, the small crossover is dropping the standard power liftgate for Active and ST-Line trims (it’s now a standalone option), along with Active Park Assist 2.0 from the entire lineup, as well as the standard premium wrapped steering wheel and eight-way power driver’s seat for Active models, plus the spare tire in non-hybrid models.
Additionally, the ST-Line is losing its aluminum foot pedals that were previously standard, while the ST-Line Elite and Platinum are ditching the previously-standard ambient lighting and the ST-Line and ST-Line Select are losing their monochromatic painted bodyside cladding, rocker panels, and bumpers. Finally, rain-sensing wipers are no longer standard on the ST-Line Elite and Platinum trims, too. As far as exterior colors go, Space Silver Metallic has been added as a no-cost option for all trims, though Iconic Silver Metallic and Race Red have also been deleted.
Comments
Yeah, Ford has over 30K ’24 units on lots and isn’t moving them. The biggest discount I’ve seen was on a 5K demo with $6K off sticker. That’s just not going to do it.
No wonder there’s no word on ’25 production or even the Order Guide at this point.
Congrats on the rebound however, eliminating some of the really nice features that Ford offers as standard in some cases is disappointing. The features are what makes Ford stand apart from its competitive as I think.