Our sister publication, Ford Authority, has uncovered some interesting news that may indicate an incoming rival for the Chevrolet Trax.
Ford Motor Company has trademarked the “Kuga” name in the United States for “land motor vehicles, namely, automobiles and their structural parts and engines; exterior insignia badges for vehicles; vehicle rooftop carriers; fitted motor vehicle covers; bug deflectors for motor vehicles; mud flaps for motor vehicles; trailer hitch receiver plugs for motor vehicles; sunshades and license plate frames for motor vehicles.”
Ford uses the Kuga name in other parts of the world for the compact Ford Escape crossover, and it’s highly unlikely Ford would ditch a well-recognized nameplate in North America like the Escape.
Therefore, using some calculated guessing and a dose of inference, we’d venture to guess the Ford Kuga could become an upcoming subcompact crossover to take on the 2017 Chevrolet Trax. Ford currently sells the EcoSport, closely related to the Fiesta, in other global markets, and the vehicle has recently been spied testing in the United States.
Ford is late to the game, but it only means the subcompact CUV segment is heating up. Chevrolet recently revealed its refreshed 2017 Trax at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, and the 2017 Buick Encore will debut with a new look at the upcoming 2016 New York International Auto Show.
Comments
Ford is rather late to the game in this segment- which is weird considering that the Ecosport has been on the market globally as long as the Trax. With the “One Ford” strategy, why didn’t they engineer the Ecosport to be ready for the North American market just in case? It seems like GM might have bested them in that regard.
I’ve been thinking this for years. Even before the Encore came stateside. I’ve wondered for the past five years or so why Ford hasn’t brought the EcoSport stateside. Now, I understand the safety standards for that model are probably much more lax. But the potential profits (now wasted profits for the last 2-3 years) more than make up for that R&D. And, actually the EcoSport has been sold for at least ten years globally. But, you’re right, Chevy, along with Honda, Jeep, Mazda, Mini, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Fiat, have taken those profits right out of Ford’s hand. The only thing that befuddles me with this news here is that they plan to change the name from EcoSport to Kuga for their North American SCUV. Kuga is the name for Escape globally, but EcoSport is almost a marketer’s dream for the U.S.!
It’s almost a forgone conclusion that Ford would enter this space at some point. Ford could not let the other manufacturers run away with the segment. They are late to the party and will have stiff competition from the Trax, Encore, Renegade, HRV, Crosstrek, etc.
Ford will shortly also announce that the Ranger is re-entering the mid-sized truck market.
Competition is always a good thing as it is what forces companies to not sit on their laurels and continue to get better as who knows, maybe the introduction of Ford’s Kuga CUV will force General Motors to integrate the weight savings program used in the GMC Acadia given how Chevy’s Trax AWD weighs almost 3,300 lbs.
The next gen Chevrolet trax and Buick encore will be lighter, and on these g2xx chassis ,which is going to be lighter.
An SUV name that doesn’t start with “E”?!? BLASPHEMY!!