New EcoSport SUV will be positioned as a replacement to the Fiesta and Focus in the European market.
The Ford EcoSport has been a popular SUV, not just in India but many other markets like South America, and even in Europe. The SUV was taken off the shelves in India in 2021 and that coincided with Ford’s India exit – the Tamil Nadu plant was one of the last factories that was manufacturing the EcoSport for domestic, and a few export markets. It wasn’t long after, in December 2022, that the EcoSport was phased out of production from Ford’s Craiova factory in Romania.
The end of production of the EcoSport has left a significant void in Ford’s line-up in markets like South America and Europe, and while the former market has got larger, and more premium SUVs like the Territory and Bronco Sport, the European market has not seen any “proper” replacement for the EcoSport yet. Ford did introduce the Puma SUV as a premium B-segment contender for Europe, though that SUV is positioned at the higher-end of the segment, still leaving a void in the lower-end of the European B-SUV segment, which is where the EcoSport was positioned.
- New EcoSport to be made at Ford’s Almussafes facility in Valencia, Spain
- Electrified petrol powertrains to be on offer
- New EcoSport to be about 4.3m-long; to takle on Renault’s new Duster
The last EcoSport rolls out of Ford India’s Tamil Nadu plant as production ends (Jul 21, 2022).
Our friends at Motor.es have found out that Ford has now allocated an all-new B-segment SUV for series production at its Almussafes factory at Valencia in Spain. This new SUV is expected to be the all-new EcoSport for Europe, and will roll out from the plant some time next year. While not much is known about the new EcoSport, and there have been no sightings of any mules so far, what we do know is that this new SUV will be a “multi energy vehicle”, which means it will have electrified petrol powertrains on offer. While there are no specific details, we expect the midsize SUV to get at least two Ecoboost petrol engine options with some sort of hybrid setup.
Ford will position this new SUV at the lower-end of the European B-segment, which means it will be aimed squarely at the new entrant, the latest-gen Renault (or Dacia) Duster SUV that is slowly gaining popularity in Europe. The new EcoSport will be a proper B-segment SUV and will be built with European customers in focus. This means unlike the previous EcoSport, Ford does not have the made-for-India sub-four-metre-length constraints for the new model. Expect the new EcoSport to be around 4.3 metres in length, making it about the same size as the new Duster.
The all-new EcoSport is expected to see a global debut by mid-2025. Expect more details and sightings of the upcoming SUV to surface online closer to its debut. For India, Ford is working on restarting its innings here with the introduction of the Everest SUV, for starters. Read more on that here.
Also see:
Ford has no plans to bring EcoSport, Figo, Aspire back to India
Ford Ranger India sightings spark launch speculations
Ford Mustang celebrates 60th anniversary with retro design package