Ford is curtailing sales in Europe of the not very successful subcompact crossover EcoSport, the production of which ended last year.
The current second generation Ford EcoSport debuted in 2012 as a global model developed by Ford Brazil on the Fiesta hatchback platform. In addition to Brazil, production of the “second” EcoSport was established in India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia and Romania. In Russia, EcoSport was produced from 2014 to 2019 by a joint venture of Ford Sollers at a plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, and since 2016, the Russian EcoSport has been equipped with a localized gasoline engine with a displacement of 1.6 liters. The production of the crossover in our country was discontinued in 2019 after the decision of Ford management to withdraw from the passenger segment of the Russian market, and in 2022 Ford completely left the Russian Federation due to well-known geopolitical events.
The Ford EcoSport did not become a hit in any market, but in China and Europe it was a strong mid-ranger in its segment. In China, the peak sales of the model occurred in 2019, when about 120,000 copies were sold; in Europe, 2014 was the best year for EcoSport — about 85,000 copies were sold. EcoSport received European registration at the Romanian Ford plant in Craiova in 2017, production was curtailed last year due to falling demand, now the Romanian plant assembles the much more successful subcompact SUV Ford Puma and the new generation of commercial “heels” Ford Transit, which is much more successful than EcoSport. Courier/Tourneo Courier. At other factories, production of EcoSport ended even earlier, the European market became the last of this crossover, dealers sold out almost all the copies remaining in warehouses, EcoSport has already disappeared from most consumer sites.
EcoSport has established itself as a relatively inexpensive, but chunky and cramped crossover with not the best balance of consumer qualities. Nevertheless, it was the most affordable Ford crossover in Europe: in Germany, at the end of its career, the EcoSport was available in the basic Titanium configuration with a 1.0-liter petrol turbo engine EcoBoost (125 hp), 6-speed manual transmission and front-wheel drive cost from 25,100 euros, while the Ford Puma now costs from 27,400 euros.
The Ford EcoSport will not have a successor either in Europe or abroad; Ford will leave only the Puma crossover in the B-class. Let us remind you that the Ford Puma has been produced since 2019, this year the crossover will undergo a large-scale restyling and for the first time an electric version will appear in the range.