The vehicle expected to replace the Australian-made Ford Territory from 2016 – the next-generation Ford Edge – looks set to be imported from Canada.
Ford says a C$700 million ($724 million) investment into its Oakville, Ontario assembly plant will improve its ability to meet “surging global demand” for new models in world markets and shore up 2800 jobs.
The Oakville plant currently supplies North America with the Edge SUV, as well as the Ford Flex, and Lincoln MKX and MKT vehicles. Ford says the upgrade will bring “several new global models to the plant” boasting “best-in-class quality, fuel efficiency, smart design and value”.
Spied late last week undergoing early prototype testing, the second-generation Ford Edge will become a global model under the brand’s One Ford strategy, sharing its platform with the new Mondeo, upcoming S-Max people-mover, and other mid to large Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
Due to enter production in 2015, the new Edge is favoured to replace the Territory when local production ceases in October 2016, with Ford insiders suggesting that neither the upcoming Ranger-based Everest nor the US market Explorer are suitable substitutes for the homegrown soft-roader.
Work on the Oakville assembly plant has already commenced and is set to be completed during the second half of 2014.
It is unclear at this stage exactly when Ford Australia will begin to import the model, and whether it will be badged Territory or Edge in our market.
