With the newest Ford Puma crossover reaching the market earlier this year, rumors started circulating that Ford would be discontinuing its EcoSport line. As it turns out, the next-gen EcoSport will emerge in a couple of years, co-designed with Chinese carmaker Changan.
Just what sort of assistance Ford expects from Changan remains unclear. It could be assumed that the next-gen EcoSport would be based on a Changan SUV platform. This would not be unprecedented for Ford, which released the Territory SUV closely based on the Chinese JMC Yusheng S330 last year. Then again, the new EcoSport might as well be based on the same architecture as its predecessor, albeit improved.
As for the engines, industry pros expect the 2021 EcoSport to ship with Ford’s 1.5-liter, three-cylinder gas engine in non-turbo and turbocharged versions. As for the 2.0-liter naturally aspirated unit,. it will likely be dropped from the lineup.
The current-gen EcoSport has been around since 2012. In Brazil, a different crossover SUV with the same name debuted as early as 2003.