It’s a big day for Ford, with the automaker announcing a new electric platform that will first spawn a $30,000 electric crew cab midsized pickup truck. Arriving in 2027, this new truck will be American-made, built in Louisville, Kentucky. Hang on, isn’t that the same plant where the Ford Escape is built? Why, yes, and you can probably guess where this is going.
That’s right, because the plant has to tool up for electric truck production, Ford has stated that Escape and Lincoln Corsair production will exit production later this year. That’s a bit sooner than most people expected, but it gives context as to why certain Escape trims won’t be available in some states for 2026. If a model is ending production soon, why spend money re-homologating it? Still, this marks the end of 24 years and four generations of what can be considered America’s first real compact crossover, and that quietly feels like a big deal.
Ford has sold more than five million Escapes in America alone, and it’s easy to see why. The compact crossover is now officially the default form factor of cars, and the blue oval got in on the ground floor. In an era when the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V still featured rear-mounted spare tires, the first Escape burst onto the scene with a liftgate, the right sort of footprint for families’ needs, plus available V6 power. Since then, the formula has evolved slightly to include optional electrification and standard turbocharging, but the Escape’s been remarkably consistent over its run.
It’s also been a world car for the past two generations, sold around the globe under both the Escape and Kuga nameplates. It works just as well in Bloomingdale as it does in Bath or Berlin, and although the fourth-generation model did have some teething issues with assembly quality when it came out, those seemed to be largely sorted out a few years into the production run, right before production is set to end. Still, it’s not like Ford will be without a compact crossover after Escape supply runs out. After all, it does offer the Bronco Sport.
Right as the crossover market moved to favor squared-off silhouettes and a bit of ruggedization, Ford made a clever bet by using the Escape’s platform and some blocky design cues to leverage the brand equity of the Bronco nameplate. Guess what? It worked. Over the first half of 2025, Ford sold 72,438 Bronco Sports. That’s still not as many as the 82,589 Escapes sold during the same timeframe, but in today’s market, the two vehicles represent different propositions. The Escape is a fleet favorite of municipalities and companies that employ traveling sales reps, and its most expensive combustion-powered trim tops out at $38,400.
Meanwhile, the Bronco Sport tops out at $42,110 for its most expensive Badlands trim and isn’t nearly as discounted, as it’s more of a lifestyle vehicle targeted at consumers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bronco Sport commanded higher margins than the Escape, which could justify simplification of compact crossover offerings. Plus, Escape sales are down by more than 50 percent since the peak in 2017, and that can be directly linked to the existence of the Bronco Sport.
At the same time, the Escape does have a certain appeal on its own, given that Ford offers it as a regular hybrid or a plug-in hybrid in addition to regular combustion models. For drivers looking to save at the pumps, a little electrification goes a long way. Still, if it catches your eye and you’re looking for something you can get a deal on, you might want to at least look at an Escape before the opportunity, well, escapes.
Top graphic image: Ford
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