Ford Territory SUV Will Be A Jeep Compass Rival In Emerging Markets
Ford will showcase the new Territory SUV at the 2018 Sao Paulo Motor Show
American automaker, Ford will showcase the new Ford Territory SUV at the 2018 Sao Paulo Motor Show. For people not in the know, Ford has developed this SUV specifically to serve Chinese buyers. However, growing demand for SUVs could be the reason behind the decision of showing product to Brazilian market. The American automaker will aim to gauge the visitors’ response and feedback for the new SUV. With such activity, Ford will know whether or not to launch the Territory SUV in their product portfolio in different emerging markets.
This again create a speculations that Ford Territory could be an option for Indian market, as our auto market is projected to be world’s 3rd largest by 2020. The Territory SUV is built by Ford in partnership with JMC (Jiangling Motors Corp.) for the Chinese market under the ‘Ford Market Operating Model (FMOM)’. This is basically a joint understanding to share parts, platforms and other equipments with local manufacturers, which helps to develop cost-effective cars. Read – Ford Cars To Be Powered By Mahindra Engines
The Ford Territory is based on the JMC Yusheng S330, but it has been heavily revised by Ford. The SUV gets newly styled exterior, featuring all-new front and rear end. Inside the cabin, the SUV gets dual-tone scheme, leather upholstery for seats, steering and door panels, and faux-wood inserts on the dashboard. For the Chinese market, the Ford Territory is available with 48V Mild-Hybrid petrol and a plug-in Hybrid petrol powertrain. Going by the size, this SUV will directly rival the Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass and the Toyota RAV4.
It is not likely to make its way to Indian market. Ford and Mahindra has joined hands to develop new products by sharing platforms. In fact, Ford has confirmed C-SUV based on the new-gen Mahindra XUV500’s platform.
