Ford Endura void to be filled by new Escape, expanded Everest

Ford Australia has defended its move to axe the slow-selling Ford Endura less than two years after its release, as we reported exclusively last week.

The writing was on the wall for the large SUV after the discontinuation of the European Ford Edge on which it’s based and the end of right-hand drive production in Canada.

A longer seven-seat petrol Ford Edge/Endura is produced in China for domestic consumption, but a business case for it to be built in RHD for Australia was never established.

As such, the five-seat diesel-only large SUV failed to attract many sales Down Under, where the Toyota Prado has found more than 10 times as many customers so far this year and the Toyota Kluger is over seven times more popular.

Ford Australia this week issued a statement to selected media confirming the Endura’s demise, which leaves it without a direct rival for car-based seven-seat large SUVs like the Kluger, Mazda CX-9, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento and Nissan Pathfinder – or a replacement for the Falcon-based Territory that ceased production in 2016.

Communications director Matt Moran said the new Ford Puma released in September, this month’s new Ford Escape and the expanded range of Ranger ute-based Ford Everest variants would fill the hole left by the Endura, which has just received an MY21 upgrade in the US.

“With the expansion of the Ford SUV line-up in 2020 to include the all-new Puma and Escape, as well as our growing Everest offerings, we’ve decided to hone our SUV line-up to these three vehicles, meaning Endura will depart our Australian line-up by the end of 2020,” said Moran.

“Puma and Escape are our fresh entries in two of the fastest growing segments in Australia, so this is where we see significant opportunity. Puma is a highly equipped, stylish offering and with deliveries now ramping up, we’ve had great feedback from customers and dealers

“We’re confident that our new Escape line-up – with more variants and greater customer choice – will also prove popular. The Escape is also now a larger and more versatile SUV than its predecessor, offering more space for passengers.”

However, Ford Australia continues to rule out the rumoured seven-seat version of the new Escape and local dealer sources say such a vehicle is a long way away if it ever comes Down Under, leaving the Everest off-roader as Ford’s only seven-seater here.

“We have expanded our Australian-developed Everest line-up to include both five-seat and seven-seat models, multiple rear-wheel drive variants, as well as the Everest Sport and Basecamp variants to give Australian customers greater choice,” said Moran.

“As this line-up has expanded, year-over-year sales have increased, and our share of the [sub-$70K] large SUV segment has grown by 1.5 per cent to 6.6 per cent. We are confident that this expanded Everest line-up positions us well going into 2021.

“The Ford Australia SUV line-up offers customers a great range of options, from the urban chic of the stylish Puma, the comfort and tech of the new Escape, through to the space and award-winning off-road capability of the Everest.”

In the absence of the Endura, which was priced between $44,990 and $67,990, Ford’s revised SUV line-up now starts at $29,990 with the Puma, which replaces the unloved EcoSport (previously priced from $22,710), and tops out with the Everest priced between $50,090 and $73,190.

The rejigged Ford SUV line-up takes shape as the Blue Oval brand continues to eliminate once-staple passenger models from its line-up globally.

In Australia, these include the Mondeo mid-sizer, all but the ST hot hatch version of the Fiesta light hatch and, soon, all but the Active, ST and ST-Line hatch versions of the Focus small car.

The Mustang will be the only other car sold by Ford from next year in Australia, where the Ranger ute accounts for almost 70 per cent of Ford sales, followed by the Everest, Mustang and Transit van.

Ford is adopting a similar strategy in North America, where additional SUVs like the Bronco and Mustang Mach-E will soon join the best-selling F-Series pick-up and popular Explorer large SUV, but none of these models are on the horizon for Australia.