Ford Reportedly Planning $25,000 Entry-Level SUV for 2029, Inspired by Original Escape

Dearborn: Ford is reportedly developing a new entry-level SUV aimed at a roughly $25,000 starting price, with executives showing dealers early design mockups at a private product event in Las Vegas — a move that would finally give the Blue Oval an affordable crossover again after the Escape’s discontinuation.

What Dealers Actually Saw

Quick Answer: Ford showed a short video of early sketches depicting a boxy, upright, wide-bodied SUV styled after the original first-generation Escape rather than the sleeker outgoing model.

According to a report from Automotive News, the presentation was brief and the design was described by attendees as very early-stage — more a size and proportion study than a finished vehicle. Even so, the direction is a clear callback: a squared-off, practical shape rather than the swoopy styling Ford has favored on its recent SUVs. That’s a deliberate choice, since the new model needs to hit an aggressive price target that leaves little room for expensive design flourishes.

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Positioning, Powertrains And Where It Will Be Built

Quick Answer: The new SUV will use conventional gas and hybrid powertrains, not Ford’s dedicated Universal EV platform, and is expected to be built at the Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico starting in 2029.

Sitting below the Maverick pickup, the new SUV would become Ford’s most affordable vehicle in North America, reopening a price point the brand vacated when the Escape was discontinued. Unlike Ford’s upcoming low-cost electric models, which ride on the dedicated Universal EV architecture, this SUV is expected to stick with familiar internal-combustion and hybrid powertrains offered independently of each other — a pragmatic choice that keeps tooling and production costs down. Assembly is reportedly planned for Ford’s Hermosillo plant in Mexico, the same facility that already builds the Bronco Sport and Maverick, which would let Ford leverage existing supply chains rather than standing up new ones.

AutoAkhbar Verdict

An affordable, honest, boxy SUV is exactly the kind of vehicle Ford’s lineup has been missing since the Escape exited stage left. Whether Ford can actually hit a $25,000 sticker by 2029 without diluting it with fees and sparse base trims remains to be seen — history isn’t always kind to “affordable” promises made three years out. Still, this fits neatly into Ford’s public pledge to launch five vehicles priced under $40,000 by 2030, and AutoAkhbar will be tracking this one closely as it moves from sketch to showroom.

Source Name : Car and Driver

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