Funny enough, right after writing an article comparing the total cost of ownership of a Ford Mustang Mach-E to the total cost of ownership of a gas-powered Ford Escape, we get news that the Ford Escape may well be going electric itself! Built on the new Universal EV platform Ford is developing to bring down the cost of its electric vehicles, the Ford Escape electric is expected to come to market in 2029. “Ford discontinued the Escape after the 2026 model year as part of its nearly $2 billion investment to retool the Louisville Assembly Plant for next-generation electric vehicles,” Autoblog shares. “However, according to Ford Authority, the Escape nameplate may not be gone for good, as it is reportedly expected to live on as part of the Blue Oval’s future EV program.” It’s an interesting decision, as there aren’t many small or cheap electric vehicles on the US market, and the US EV market isn’t exactly hot at the moment. However, if Ford thinks it can bring costs down significantly, an electric Ford Escape could be a disruptive proposition on the market. Remember, it was the super advanced, low-cost Chinese EV market that inspired Ford to go down the Universal EV platform route. Right now, the new electric Ford Escape reportedly has the codename U833. “This will likely make the new Ford Escape EV the second vehicle to utilize FoMoCo’s new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform, following the debut of the new mid-size pickup that will also be built in Louisville starting next year,” Ford Authority shares. “As Ford Authority previously reported, UEV can support up to eight body styles, including a compact crossover, mid-size crossover, a three-row crossover, pickup, cargo van, and passenger van. The current roadmap for that new architecture includes both two- and three-row SUVs, a subcompact sedan, a, larger sedan, and a van, all of which are slated to launch over an as-of-now undisclosed timeline.” Again, Ford’s big aim with the UEV platform is to bring down costs on EVs and make them competitive in terms of upfront prices, not just total cost of ownership. CEO Jim Farley said at Ford’s most recent annual meeting that the midsize pickup truck leading the UEV revolution “will be an enormously important vehicle for us and platform.” He also said that they “have lots of plans for other vehicles off the platform.” And then there was the focus on cost: “We’ve designed this vehicle to be the most affordable and have the lowest operating costs of any EV for customers and this will be really exciting development for the company.” Hmm, imagine applying that kind of achievement to the low-cost Ford Escape…. Am I excited? Yes. Am I going to count on Ford delivering a revolutionary vehicle or EV platform before it delivers on that? No, at this point in time — after much hype, many missed targets, and pullbacks in investment — I need to see proof before I count on too much from legacy automakers — or any automakers, for that matter! But there’s no way anyone can look at this news and not be a little excited about it.
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