Toyota is famous for hybrids, and it recently says such vehicles helped it deliver yet more plump profits during the most recent quarter. How about Ford Motor Company? We don’t really think petrol-electric when considering what powers a typical Ford, do we? Perhaps that is going to change, maybe even in a big way.
Even with the mighty F-Series accounting for the majority of the brand’s US sales, still the American OEM saw a more than one third rise in its worldwide deliveries of hybrid vehicles during the second quarter. That percentage is obviously already far higher in European countries.
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Hybrids soon to be 10 percent plus of Ford sales
If the recent trend continues, HEVs, or FHEVs as Ford Motor also calls them, will shortly rise above the nine per cent mark at a global level. That was the number for Q2 and will surely soon be in the double digits. With even the giant Super Duty pick-up series headed for hybridisation commencing in 2026, the Blue Oval’s electrification process continues to accelerate.
In Europe, the best selling Ford – also the UK’s number one vehicle – boasts a hybrid powertrain, albeit a mild one. Buyers really seem to love the Puma and an EV called Gen-e will be added to the little crossover’s line-up fairly soon.
Choice, the American OEM has learned, is king. In China, where sales of locally-produced Ford vehicles have been far from from stellar in 2024 (-28% to 10,619 in H1), the market’s number one vehicle is electrified. This, the BYD Qin Plus, can be ordered either as an EV or a PHEV, unlike the second best seller of 2024: the electric-only Model Y. Which may be one reason why Tesla was down in H1 while BYD surged.
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By GlobalDataElectrification: letting buyers choose
Now, a campaign tagline from the US is being rolled out to other regions as a statement of intent. ‘Freedom of Choice’ means Ford wants to offer a buyer the powertrain which best suits them. And in Europe that means that a former electric-only goal is for the moment no longer being pursued. On the other hand, a ban on liquid fuel passenger vehicles by 2030 is a policy of Britain’s new government. Yet for the region as a whole, electrification is the word, not solely electric.
When it comes to the recently restyled Kuga, the choices still exclude EV power, while diesel disappeared a few years back. Sales of passenger vehicles which refuel at the black hose pumps are fading dramatically in the UK anyway.
As for EVs, Ford of Europe is presently launching not one but two electric SUVs. Both of a similar size to the Kuga, the Explorer and Capri could not be better timed: the Blue Oval brand finds itself under attack in the British market, dropping to fifth year to date as at 31 July according to SMMT data. Much is therefore expected of these three freshened or new SUVs.
Targeted at those who tow
Along with the updated looks, Ford has improved the pulling power of its electrified Kugas, this now rising to 2,100 kilos, better than just about every rival in the size class. Acceleration times and in some cases, emissions and fuel consumption, are also said to be reduced for certain engines.
The first of the three alternatives is a 110 kW (150 PS) and 240 Nm 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo EcoBoost. This sends drive to the front axle via a six-speed manual gearbox. Then come the two electrified options. Both FHEV and PHEV are powered by a four-cylinder Duratec-branded 2.5-litre engine-motor combination. AWD is a new option for the hybrid. Outputs are either 132 kW (180 PS) or 178 kW (243 PS) and unlike the EcoBoost, both the hybrid and plug-in hybrid have a standard CVT.
Vignale vanishes, Active arrives
Ford of Britain has also revised trim levels, deleting Vignale and adding the rugged-looking Active. The others are Titanium, ST-Line and ST-Line X. Each has exterior features specific to the model grade with even the base Titanium looking more premium than Fords did in recent memory.
Things which have not changed, and did not need to, include the clever sliding back seat, which can mean a boot capacity of up to 536 litres. For times when not much luggage room is needed, tugging on a couple of levers liberates spectacular space for lounging – more than one metre can be gained. This is definitely the family-sized five-seat SUV for anyone with a tall teenager.
New features include fresh seat fabric choices and of course, changes for other parts of the interior, including the dashboard, centre console (new cubby box) and infotainment. The digital instrument cluster has also had a revamp with a complementary head-up display (where included in the trim level) still featuring but also tweaked.
SYNC 3 gives way to a fourth generation
Ford calls its latest screen-based system SYNC 4. Claimed to have twice the computational power as the previous SYNC 3, there is 5G connectivity, cloud-based navigation, built-in Alexa and, naturally, CarPlay and Android Auto. One other handy feature is called Trailer Tow Navigation. This allows the owner to enter the dimensions of the vehicle with an attached horsebox, boat or caravan and any hazards such as low bridges or tight turns will be avoided.
Other handy features include a 360-degree camera which shows an overhead view – again a boon for owners who tow as it can make hitching a trailer far easier. Adaptive Cruise Control is one further novelty, or rather it has been updated. This will now automatically brake the car for curves and junctions as well as for any vehicle veering into the Kuga’s path.
Escape to vanish, Kuga will stay
A change of emphasis by the mothership in Dearborn means Ford no longer sees five-seat non-electric SUVs of this size as strategic, at least in North America. This despite all the money invested on the CX482 programme which brought us the Escape and Kuga twins as one global vehicle.
The C2 platform, which remains state of the art even now, may or may not become obsolete by the end of the decade. Happily, Europe’s Valencia-built Kuga has a lot of life left in it yet, and much to recommend it. As with the Focus, also a C2 model, the chassis dynamics are very good. The as-tested ST-Line not only looked the business but its handling and roadholding are among the best in the size class. Maybe the steering could be a touch sharper but this is an SUV after all, not a car.
Any news yet of an eventual replacement?
Will there be another Kuga? Potentially yes. Ford won’t tell us any specifics just yet, only that there is a plan to manufacture up to 300,000 units of a ‘multi-energy’ SUV at the Almussafes (Valencia) factory commencing in 2027. That sounds a lot like a successor for today’s FHEV and/or PHEV Kugas though some believe a smaller model (like the former EcoSport) could be more on the money. We will have to wait patiently to learn more but anyway, the pepped up Kuga should have few problems competing in its size class for a few more years.
The facelifted Ford Kuga range starts at GBP32,095 (three-cylinder petrol), with the front-wheel drive FHEV ST-Line test vehicle priced from GBP38,565 before options. The Kuga PHEV now costs from GBP40,555.
