Ford Maverick/Escape to be made in China
Ford are on the verge of signing a deal with joint venture partner Jiangling (English name JMC) to produce the Ford Maverick in China, which will be the first time that Ford have produced a Chinese built SUV in China.
Later this month JMC will have a board of directors and shareholder meeting where future product development and production capacity will be discussed, the Ford Maverick is likely to be a major topic of discussion as it further expands on the Ford joint venture and partnership.
Jiangling produces Ford’s business range of cars in China, which is basically the MPV version of the popular Ford Transit van. The Ford Maverick will be produced in China whilst the Ford Edge will be imported and will rival other large crossovers such as the Toyota Highlander and the forthcoming Honda Crosstour.
Previously Mazda sold the rights to the Mazda Tribute to Haima Auto, with the Tribute basically a Maverick underneath it seems that Ford are planning to get some good money out of the platform before retiring it.
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This a great news. I loved the ford escape back in the states and wanted to buy one here but at around 400,000 yuan it is way overpriced. Lets hope they cut that price in half and I will be really tempted.
My friend had one in China, it was of dubious quality, traded it in for a RAV4. He says he misses the power, but not the unreliability.
All the issues will probably now be sorted anyway.
Did Haima ever end up producing that Mazda Tribute-based SUV?
Yes – it never made it to CCT though.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on the road. Or maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention. Anyways, the Haima version would be worth considering.
Alas, the rear seat wasn’t as room as I would have liked, so I passed, but it seemed like it would have been a fun car to own.