Ford postpones Escape SUV production following Kuga recall

The production of the Ford Escape SUV has been postponed until next year following a recall of battery and engine parts from Europe following reports of cars catching fire.

The American motor company will use this time to review vehicles that use these parts to ensure they operate as intended.

Dan Barbossa, a spokesman for the automaker, said: “We are moving full-scale production of Escape PHEV to the 2021 model year. The first Escape PHEVs will be sold next year."

Ford recently recalled 20,500 Kuga PHEV vehicles, which was the subject of a fault in Europe that could cause its battery packs to vent hot gas, becoming a substantial fire risk.

Barbossa added: “Because we share components with Kuga PHEV, including battery cells, we are moving production to next year, while we work with the battery cell supplier to resolve the issue affecting Kuga PHEV in Europe."

The recalled models were manufactured between July 2019 and July 2020 according to an EU safety notice.

Another spokesman confirmed that seven fire cases have been reported, but there have been no injuries or deaths.

The SUVs are manufactured at a plant in Louisville, Kentucky. The automaker has planned to roll out initial production last spring, but production was delayed until this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic forced them to shut factories.

The Escape is due to be sold in two hybrid versions, one of which is a plug-in.

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