Ford Edge and Escape Replacements to Go All-Electric?

During an earnings call back in February 2023, Ford CEO Jim Farley revealed some juicy details about the future of its two-row SUV lineup in America. Inferring from his word choice, you can narrow down the subjects of his statements about to two models in particular, the Escape and Edge. Both are stalwarts in the lineup (the Escape being much more successful over the years), both due for new versions in the next few years. What did Farley say though, exactly?

“….so I’m very optimistic about our 8% because we are not going to be playing in the two-row commodity SUV market because Ford’s tried that in the ICE business, didn’t really work out for us. We want to play our hand, our strength, in commercial trucks, larger vehicles on the category side. We do not want to have too many top hats because that costs a lot to engineer.”

Commodity SUVs are essentially two-row mass market SUVs. With the Bronco Sport being relatively new, it’s easy to deduce that this statement refers to the older family members. Bronco Sport is also technically not considered a Commodity SUV because of its ulterior motives as a rugged off-roading vehicle. So, is Farley openly admitting that Escape and Edge will not live on unless their replacements are all-electric? We already know of four global electric crossovers in the pipeline – Puma, the existing Mustang Mach-E, and two other models yet to be revealed. At least one of those is going to Europe only, so is the other future model a next-generation Edge? We should know more as the year progresses. Ford will divulge more information about its electric strategy at the Capital Markets Day on May 22, 2023. Until then, it’s anyone’s guess.

More on the future of the Ford Edge and Escape here.