Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant is retooling its production, and that will no longer include the Escape SUV.
Over the decades, the Blue Oval’s most popular SUV lines have been the backbone of its lineup, from Expedition to Explorer and the compact Escape. Times are changing, though, and the company will officially drop the Escape (and its Lincoln Corsair platform mate) after the 2026 model year.
The Escape has been a mainstay in the company’s SUV range since 2001, while the Corsair and its MKC forbear have been around since 2014.
Why? On Monday, Ford executives announced its “Model T” moment — its plan to create a new universal platform and assembly process to manufacture EVs in Louisville, Kentucky. The headline of that plan is a midsize electric pickup truck which Ford claims will arrive in 2027, sporting a $30,000 price tag, as much interior space as a Toyota RAV4 and acceleration similar to an EcoBoost-equipped Mustang. To make way for that vehicle and perhaps other EV models down the line, Ford decided to scrap the long-running Escape from the lineup.
With the Escape and Corsair’s departure, Ford and Lincoln are losing two popular models. Ford still sold 146,859 Escapes last year, while Lincoln dealers sold 27,513 Corsairs. Unlike most stories about manufacturers dropping vehicles then, the writing wasn’t necessarily on the well, especially for the Escape, which offers gas and hybrid models and is still popular with fleet buyers, in particular. Nevertheless, Ford does still have the Bronco Sport to occupy a similar niche to the Escape (they are based on the same platform), and we may see new Lincoln models emerge in due time, including one to replace the Corsair.
Ford says both current SUVs will stop production later this year. If you want to pick up a deal on one, though, the automaker should have enough inventory to last into 2026, before we see Louisville ramp up new production the following year. Dealers tend to price Escapes pretty aggressively too, so there’s a fair to good chance you can grab a deal while supplies last.
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