All-New Ford Kuga 7-Seater SUV in Development
The 7-seater Ford SUV could be called Grand Kuga.
It was speculated that Ford will launch the globally popular Kuga SUV in India; that didn’t happen. Instead, Ford has joined hands with Mahindra to develop an all-new C-segment SUV based on the next-gen XUV500 platform. The American automaker has also started working on the next-gen Kuga SUV for the European market. The Ford Kuga is also available in the North American market as the ‘Ford Escape’.
The Ford Kuga has been a very successful model for the American company in Europe. The company had delivered 1.51 lakh units of the SUV in 2017 and over 1.53 lakh in 2018. The second generation Kuga was launched in 2013 and is already 6 years old. The model has started showing its age and is set to receive a major makeover in the end of this year.
The next-gen Ford Kuga has already been spotted testing in Europe and North America. The SUV will share styling cues from the new Ford Focus. If media reports are to be believed, the next-gen Kuga will be available in 2 seating configurations – 5- and 7-seat. The 7-seater model will be launched in Europe and will replace the Edge SUV. It is expected to be called Ford Grand Kuga. Also See – 2019 Ford Endeavour – All Details
Ford is also testing an all-new crossover model in Europe, which will be based on the Ford Fiesta’s platform. Likely to be called the Puma, this SUV is reportedly to be launched as a replacement for the EcoSport compact SUV. However, nothing official has been revealed by the automaker.
In India, Ford will launch an all-new SUV based on the next-gen XUV500‘s monocoque platform. This model will be manufactured at Mahindra’s Chakan plant. Moreover, Ford and Mahindra alliance is also exploring to develop an all-new SUV to challenge Hyundai Creta. The new model could use the SsangYong’s X100 platform that also underpins the XUV300 compact SUV.
Video – Ford Freestyle Review
