After Ford ended production of the Escape compact crossover and its upscale version, the Lincoln Corsair, at Louisville Assembly Plant in December 2025, it now has to make sure it doesn’t lose too many Escape and Corsair owners to other brands.
At the NADA Show last week, the Blue Oval announced plans to offer no fewer than five new models priced under $40,000 by the end of the decade, with the first of them–an electric midsize truck–scheduled to arrive in 2027.
While that’s good news for people who have been priced out of the market in recent years–the U.S. average transaction price for a new vehicle exceeded $50,000 in 2025–many Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair owners may need to change their vehicles before Ford gets to offer direct replacements for them.
Ford Expects Escape Supply To Last Until Mid-Year
Ford
So what does the automaker have in mind to keep their business? It’s a pretty straightforward solution: incentivize them to buy other vehicles in its lineup.
As it turns out, Ford has a very ambitious plan to retain the majority of Escape and Corsair owners–around 70% of them according to Automotive News–through a targeted marketing and incentive plan consisting of more affordable price packages and lower monthly payments for alternative products.
For example, Ford is targeting existing Escape lessees whose terms are up this year, offering them attractive deals on models like the Bronco Sport and Maverick, which Ford sees as alternatives to the Escape. That way, the company is hoping to avoid driving these customers to competitor brands.
For now, Ford still has plenty of Escape and Lincoln Corsairs in its inventory, with Escape supply expected to last through June based on current sales trends. The Lincoln Corsair supply is expected to last well into 2026 as well.
It’s A Recipe Ford Successfully Used With Edge Customers
Ford
It remains to be seen what will happen after that, and if Ford’s plan to retain Escape and Corsair owners will be successful. Rob Kaffl, Ford’s executive director of U.S. sales, told the Detroit Free Press that the plan that will roll out to dealers will ensure that the automaker not only retains Escape customers but also grows sales.
“We have the playbook from when we ended the Edge and we’ll use that same playbook with the Escape,” Kaffl explained. When production of the larger Edge ended in 2024, Kaffl said dealers successfully retained most Edge customers by introducing them to the Explorer and Expedition SUVs or to pickups, then offering them attractive incentives to make the move to those vehicles financially appealing.
Ford aims to adopt a similar strategy with Escape customers and propose a switch to vehicles similar in size and price range, such as the Bronco Sport or the Maverick compact pickup–both of which share the C2 unibody platform with the Escape and Corsair. On paper, the plan certainly makes sense as the 2025 Escape starts at $30,350 while the Bronco Sport is priced from $31,695 and the Maverick starts at $28,145.
Will Incentives Of $1,000-$4,000 Be Enough?
Ford
But the most critical aspect will be implementing the plan, as nearly 250,000 Escape owners are expected to visit Ford dealers this year to turn in their Escape for a different Ford vehicle–or go to the competition and choose similar vehicles to the Escape, which is a scenario dreaded by dealers.
According to Kaffl, Ford will set up “huge incentives” ranging from $1,000 to $4,000, depending on the vehicle the Escape customer chooses, to convince them to remain loyal to the brand. For example, moving from the Escape to a comparable Bronco Sport might qualify for $1,000 off, while trading the Escape in for a bigger, more expensive vehicle would result in bigger discounts of up to $4,000.
Will that be enough seeing as Edmunds data show the Ford brand has a 53.3% loyalty rate and only 44.1% of Escape customers traded their vehicles in for other Ford models last year? Time will tell, but the lack of a direct replacement for the Escape is certainly a huge handicap.
