Ford has a new $25,000 crossover SUV coming, but will it go electric?
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- Ford previewed a new crossover SUV to dealers at a private Las Vegas meeting, described as "boxy, wide" and resembling the first-generation Escape, with a starting price around $25,000 — its lowest-priced vehicle, positioned below the Maverick.
- The new crossover will be offered as a hybrid and gas-powered vehicle only, NOT built on Ford's Universal EV platform, with production slated for 2029 at the Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico.
- Ford's Universal EV platform investment went to a Louisville factory (not Hermosillo), and Ford has said the UEV platform is flexible enough to support B-car-sized vehicles — leaving room for a future affordable electric crossover on a separate timeline.
- Ford also announced the Fathom electric pickup at $28,350, with pre-orders opening early 2027 and deliveries later that year, targeting what the company called "the heart of the affordable EV market."
- Mustang Mach-E sales fell 46% from H1 2025 to 11,632 units in H1 2026, ranking seventh among US EVs, while four of the top five best-selling US EVs were affordable SUVs — Chevy Equinox EV, Toyota bZ, Hyundai IONIQ 5, and Tesla Model Y, with Tesla Model 3 second.
Why it matters: Ford's cheapest new SUV arrives in 2029 as a hybrid/gas vehicle — not an EV — even as affordable electric SUVs (Chevy Equinox EV, Toyota bZ, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Tesla Model Y) claimed four of the top five US EV sales slots in H1 2026. With Mustang Mach-E sales down 46% year-over-year to 11,632 units, Ford's sub-$30K gas crossover competes directly with rivals already established in that bracket.
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