The Ford Escape is reportedly set to be discontinued following the 2026 model year, news that accompanies the automaker’s plan to complete a major retooling at the Louisville Assembly plant late this year in preparation for production of a new EV. However, it’s currently unclear what will happen with the Escape’s European counterpart – the Kuga – which is produced at the Valencia Assembly plant in Spain. On a side note, that begs the question – what if the Ford Escape lived on for a new generation as an imported model from that same country?
This notion comes to us from the Detroit Free Press, which recently pointed out that Ford sold just over 100k Kugas in Europe last year, which isn’t even close to meeting the 300k unit annual capacity that the Valencia plant has to offer, starting in 2027. The automaker sold around 146k Ford Escape crossovers in the U.S. in 2024, so it would presumably make a lot of sense to build a next-generation version of that model alongside the Kuga, and import it into the U.S., given this information.
Currently, the Ford Kuga is among the best-selling new vehicles in Europe, so it would also make sense for The Blue Oval to keep that model around, even if it discontinues the Escape in the U.S. as reportedly planned. However, there are a couple of problems that might stand in the way of such a move – starting with the fact that Ford already reportedly plans to begin building a hybrid SUV of some sort at Valencia at some point in the future, which will certainly ramp up the plant’s production closer to its capacity.
The other – and perhaps larger – issue with this proposed plan is the fact that it’s unclear what sort of tariffs automakers will have to pay on imported European vehicles in the future. As Ford Authority reported earlier this month, the EU and the U.S. are currently working on hammering out a new trade deal, with the former party hoping that it can lock in a lower 10 percent tariff compared to the universal 25 percent levy on imported autos that’s currently in place.
However, if Europe and the U.S. fail to reach an agreement by the current deadline of August 1st, tariffs on the EU would soar to 50 percent for virtually all exports, making it seemingly impossible to make business case for building the Ford Escape in Europe and importing it into the U.S.
Low-interest financing on the heavy-duty pickup truck.
They could claim the credit before taking delivery.
Which could even mimic a home's lighting.
Tariffs have resulted in investments in U.S.-based production.
Its application from 2022 is still under review.
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Meh, One Ford was never successful. But I’d rather that than nothing.
No more imports. Build it at Louisville.
Narrow minded.
Stupid idea.
Nobody wants the electric vehicles you might be building in Louisville
Keep the ESCAPE in the USA, let Spain build all the electrics.
Or about Louisville with the capacity of 300,000, they won't even sell 25,000 EV rangers in a year.
Ford needs to listen to their customers and not the shareholders. Ford constantly removes features from their cars, not because customers don't want those features, but because it makes the vehicle have a higher profit margin. They claim it's because these features are the least used... but they are still used. Should I also mention the cost cutting that resulted in record setting number of recalls?
The mismanagement and lack of a plan forward in this company is stunning.
It sure is. But many other automakers are brain-dead too. Which is not any excuse...
Spain do not build decent cars! Louisville does!