DETROIT -- With U.S. sales of its subcompact Escort still strong, Ford Motor Co. has decided to delay its demise and continue producing it alongside its new Focus sedan and wagon.
Ford had planned to end production of the Escort in June as it retooled its plants in Wayne, near Detroit, and Hermosillo, Mexico, for the 2000 Focus. Instead, the No. 2 automaker will consolidate production of the Escort sedan and ZX2 coupe at Hermosillo through at least the 2000 model year.Production of the Escort's wagon version and the Escort's twin, the Mercury Tracer, will end in July, freeing capacity at the Mexican plant.
Escort sales in the United States were up 7 percent in the first quarter over the same period of 1998, due in part to generous discounts. The Escort ranks No. 5 in car sales behind the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford Taurus and Chevrolet Cavalier.
"There is plenty of room for both Focus and Escort in our Ford showrooms, particularly while we're experiencing one of the hottest automotive sales cycles in industry history," said Jim O'Connor, Ford division president.
Ford executives hope that if they keep the Escort on sale, consumers won't perceive the more sophisticated, European-designed Focus as simply an Escort replacement. The fear is that potential buyers who would never consider an Escort won't consider a Focus either if the two are closely linked.
"Clearly, they want to establish the Focus as its own product," George Peterson of AutoPacific Inc., an industry consulting firm, said Wednesday.
The Focus, which went on sale in Europe last fall and debuts in North America next autumn, has received positive reviews for its roominess, handling and unusual styling. European sales reached 165,000 cars in the model's first six months.
In North America, Ford will initially offer a sedan and wagon, followed by a two-door hatchback in early 2000.
Peterson said having both the Focus and Escort on North American dealers' lots makes sense.
"It's a car that is substantially better than the Escort and will be more expensive than the Escort," Peterson said. "It's like what Jeep did with the Cherokee, keeping it in production forever while the Grand Cherokee is there carrying the torch."
Ford won't say when it will kill off the Escort. Spokeswoman Anne Doyle said its survival beyond the 2000 model year depends on demand. The trade weekly Ward's Automotive Reports quoted unnamed Ford sources this week as saying the Escort will remain no more than two years, when Ford plans to begin producing a Focus-based, sport utility-car "crossover" vehicle at Hermosillo.
Ford expects the Focus to appeal more to younger buyers and those who otherwise would buy a Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic or other import.
The Focus is one reason Ford is expected to ax the Ford Contour-Mercury Mystique twin compacts by the end of the 2000 model year, Peterson said. The Contour has never lived up to U.S. sales expectations.