New Ford Escort to be built exclusively in China

Ford has shown a production version of its new Escort in Beijing. It's the first car to wear the Escort badge since 2000, and is aimed at Chinese customers who find the current Focus too small in the back.

Chinese car buyers generally prize interior space above all other items, so Ford has created the Escort to fill the
gap between the Focus and the larger Fusion.

The new Escort will be built exclusively in China but Ford is apparently not ruling out appearances in other markets. A rear-drive sports version badged Mexico is sadly unlikely to ever make an appearance though.

Ford’s overall performance is on the upswing however. As it prepares to celebrate the Mustang’s 50th birthday with stunts including placing one on the roof of New York’s Empire State Building, Ford finally appears to be making sales headway in Europe.

Chief operating officer Mark Fields (the man most likely to replace current Ford global boss Alan Mulally) reckons that Ford’s European losses will narrow this year and hit break-even in 2015.

“The good news is we are seeing, not only the market actually growing a bit, but our performance – our share was up again in the first quarter and we’re adding production,” Fields said. “We’re starting to see our plan be effective.”