Ford discontinued the Escape just before Christmas. Did you know that? If not, now you do. Dealers were less than stoked by the decision, with one retail store’s head honcho calling the Escape their “bread and butter” in an Automotive News story. I’m also curious to know how investors are feeling because looking at the Blue Oval’s 2025 totals, the killed-off car outsold the Bronco Sport, making up more than half of the brand’s crossover sales. Just how exactly does Ford expect to recoup that?
The automaker’s Louisville Assembly plant built its last Escape on December 17, and going forward, it will be retooled to manufacture Ford’s “revolutionary $30,000 electric truck.” Clearly, that upcoming model is a huge deal for everyone at the Dearborn automaker—especially CEO Jim Farley—but you have to wonder why it would come at the expense of a model that sold 139,387 units before being abruptly killed off.
Now, the Bronco Sport wasn’t far behind at 134,493 units sold in 2025. The junior off-roader will likely absorb a decent chunk of the customers that would have otherwise bought an Escape, its mechanical sibling. But I’m not sure there’s a world where Bronco Sport sales double to recover what Ford stands to lose by ditching the Escape, which was a rental fleet superstar. The Bronco Sport is also made in Mexico instead of the U.S., for what it’s worth.
Farley is betting big on the low-cost EV taking off, and so far, he’s been pretty vocal about it. While talking about the pickup’s Ford Universal EV Platform, he said, “We took a radical approach to a very hard challenge: Create affordable vehicles that delight customers in every way that matters—design, innovation, flexibility, space, driving pleasure, and cost of ownership—and do it with American workers.”
Farley went on to criticize Detroit automakers whose “good college tries” led to “idled plants, layoffs, and uncertainty.” That’s obviously still a risk here, as Ford “tore up the moving assembly line concept and designed a better one,” the executive explains. Going from a dependable product like Escape to an entirely new one like this affordable pickup brings with it certain shades of anxiety.
It’s too late to turn around now, though, so here’s hoping that it works.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
