No More Ford EcoSport In The US

One of the vehicles Ford debuted after discontinued all of its cars in the United States except for the Mustang was the small EcoSport crossover. The vehicle was strange-looking and not a big seller for the Blue Oval, despite being popular in Europe. As Ford continues to tighten its belt amid the pandemic and chip shortage, it has confirmed that the EcoSport will no longer be available in the US after mid-2022.

Slow sales isn't the only thing that caused the ax to fall on the EcoSport. Rather, Ford confirmed last week that it was shutting down all manufacturing operations in India. The EcoSport was manufactured in India and is a casualty of the end of those operations. Although the little crossover will be no more after next year in the US, it will continue to be available in other markets.

It has been confirmed that European fans of the EcoSport will continue to be able to purchase it as Europe is supplied from a factory in Romania that will continue production. Ford sold 60,544 of the quirky little crossovers in 2020. However, reports indicate sales declined by 22 percent between January and August 2021 compared to the same timeframe of the previous year.

Analysts aren't particularly surprised by the demise of the vehicle in the United States. According to analyst Maeva Ribas, the EcoSport didn't belong in the US. Ford's little crossover was seen as unable to compete with strong competition in the subcompact SUV segment.

Leaders in that extremely competitive segment include the Chevrolet Trax, Nissan Kicks, and Honda HR-V. The EcoSport would also have to compete against Ford's Maverick pickup. It's worth noting that the EcoSport had been available in Europe and other countries for much longer than in the US. It was extremely popular in Brazil in the past, but a lack of updates left it far behind its competition in that market.