The Ford Escape is a compact crossover sold by the automaker Ford Motor Company introduced in 2000 as a 2001 model year and priced below the Ford Explorer. Although it is technically a crossover vehicle, it is marketed by Ford as part of its traditional SUV lineup (Escape, Explorer, Expedition) rather than its separate crossover lineup (Edge, Flex). The Escape was sold in Europe as the Ford Maverick. It was jointly developed with Mazda, in which Ford owned a controlling interest, and was released simultaneously with the Mazda Tribute. In the United States, Ford's Mercury division released a luxury version called the Mariner starting with the 2005 model year, but ended production in October 2010 as Ford ended the Mercury brand.
The Escape is built on the Ford CD2 platform, which is in turn based on the Mazda GF platform, which was used by the Mazda 626. However, on June 23, 2010, it was announced that Ford will end production on the second generation Escape in 2011 and move production to its Louisville Assembly Plant in Louisville, Kentucky, where it is slated to be succeeded by an American version of its European CUV counterpart, the Ford Kuga. The third generation Escape debuted in April 2012 as a 2013 model year.
A hybrid version of the Escape was released in 2004, making it the first hybrid SUV. In early 2012 Ford discontinued the production of the hybrid version as two of the 2013 Escape trims use turbocharged EcoBoost technology that delivers a higher fuel economy than the 2012 hybrid model. A total of 122,850 Escape hybrids were built since 2005.
Read more about Ford Escape: First Generation (2000–2007), Second Generation (2008–2012), Third Generation (2013), Sales
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