Ford has revived the long-serving* Escort nameplate for a new model built and sold, initially at least, in China.
The car, built on the automaker’s global C-car platform, was launched at the Beijing show and said to have been built “specifically for Chinese customers who value interior roominess, superior safety and sophisticated design in an attainable compact car”.
Go deeper with GlobalData
It has the relatively new 1.5-litre Ti-VCT petrol engine and automatic transmission is available.
The car will be built in China by the passenger car joint venture Changan Ford (CAF) and distributed through its dealers.
The production car, effectively a long wheelbase derrivative of the Focus, follows the concept shown in Shanghai last year. Ford, which already builds the Focus in China, said the Escort would expand its range in the fast growing compact car segment which accounts for more than 25% of the country’s total vehicle industry. It is expected to grow to 7.2m vehicles by 2017 – bigger than the total light vehicle market in Germany, the UK and France combined.
See Also:
Market research found that many Chinese customers in the segment want a sedan with exceptional interior space, outstanding storage and great practicality, Ford said.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataThe Escort was developed largely by the automaker’s Australia-based Asia Pacific design team, working with the research and engineering centre in Nanjing.
Safety and convenience features appear on par with similar segment offerings and Ford highlighted the ‘Device Dock’, centrally mounted above the centre console, for storing, mounting and charging the likes of mobile phones, MP3 players and satellite navigation systems, integrating them into the car’s entertainment system. Its ability to house an array of portable devices and keep them within easy reach is expected to appeal to gadget-mad Chinese buyers.
Given the success of, say, the Figo (a previous generation European Fiesta, also reworked largely in Australia) in markets beyond India where it was originally launched, it’s hard to see the Escort confined to China.
According to just-auto‘s Production Life Database, markets in central Europe (where sedans are preferred to hatchbacks in contrast to the west) are a possibility and it might also be built in India – right-hand drive prototypes have been spotted on test.
*Ford got plenty of mileage out of the Escort badge before replacing it with a variety of others. Most industry observers would date it from 1968 to 2000 in UK and Europe (the Focus started edging in from 1998) and the European/UK version was built and sold all over the world. The nameplate was also used on different cars in North America from 1981 to 2003.
Less well known is its original application – on a small station wagon sold from 1955 to 1961. It was derived from the 100E English Ford Anglia sedan.
