In case you haven't noticed, SUVs are back and more popular than ever. Wait, is it crossovers that are super popular now? Actually, both are. Anyway, SUVs/CUVs are selling like hot cakes and Ford has taken notice and decided to cash in on the trend in a big way. USA Today reports that four new SUVs from The Blue Oval are headed to the US over the coming years. What's more is that each one will be a new model, not simply a remixing of an existing one sold stateside.
This news-that each one will be new-comes courtesy of the automaker's head of global product development, Raj Nair. While presenting at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, CEO Mark Fields said one of the new Ford SUVs would be destined for Lincoln. Hopefully the Lincoln SUV will be an original product and not just a re-skinned version of an SUV headed for Ford USA dealerships as well. Nair's comments seem to point in that direction but we'll believe it when we see it. It seems fair to assume the other SUV among the new four would be a revived Bronco. That leads us to speculate where in the product pool Ford would pull the remaining three models from.
Lincoln is a luxury arm so we can't imagine Ford simply slapping makeup and leather onto one of its small or mid-size crossovers from abroad and calling it a day. Rather than speculate about which models will be all-new and which will be "imports," let's think about which models could be hybrid or Ford electric car. Remember that Ford has invested a ton of cash and made public promises about its electric car future. The automaker wants to add 13 new electric cars to its lineup, although it has hedged and said some of those would be hybrids. We'll be bold and say the Bronco won't offer a hybrid option but that the Lincoln will. The other model will likely have a hybrid option as well. As for the last SUV, well we think that one is going to be all-electric.
An all-electric crossover with a range somewhere around the newly revealed Chevrolet Bolt would make Ford an attractive option for those who can't afford an all-electric Audi or Tesla SUV. Yeah, a budget friendly EV with decent range still needs to prove that it has common man consumer appeal, but Ford can let Chevy figure the sales and marketing side out while it works on the tech. If Ford does kick out electric SUVs remember where you heard it first.
