Production of the Ford EcoSport has officially ceased in India. What does this mean for the South African market? Let’s take a closer look…

The final example of the Indian-build Ford EcoSport has rolled off the assembly line in Chennai, signalling the end of the Blue Oval brand’s production operations in that country.

In September 2021, Ford announced plans to exit the Indian market, though continued to build vehicles for export to markets such as South Africa. Now, according to various publications, including Autocar India, the curtains have finally come down at both of the automaker’s Indian factories.

So, what does this mean for the EcoSport in South Africa? Well, first we should point out only the Ambiente variants fitted with the atmospheric 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine were sourced from the Chennai facility, while the mid- and top-spec Trend and Titanium derivatives powered by the brand’s 1.0-litre turbo-triple engine are still being shipped over from Romania (for now).

From what we understand, Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa has secured a large allocation of the Indian-built Ambiente from that final production run, suggesting this stockpile will be enough to see it through the remainder of 2022. As things stand, the turbocharged variants are still being built at the Craiova plant.

The Romanian-built EcoSport Active was added to the SA range in June 2022.

However, in March 2022, Ford in Europe confirmed production of the EcoSport at the Romanian factory would “end later in 2022 as Craiova focuses increasingly on a future built on commercial and electric vehicle growth”. Indeed, the factory, which also produces the Puma, will start building the new Tourneo Courier and Transit Courier in 2023, before adding an all-electric version of the former (as well as a battery-powered Puma) in 2024.

We’d thus speculate the EcoSport will exit the South African market either towards the very end of 2022 or – perhaps more likely if Ford Motor Company of SA again manages to stockpile a decent collection of units – in the first half of 2023, depending on exactly when production ends in Romania.

As a reminder, the EcoSport is a decade old, having been revealed in 2012 and launched locally the following year. It received minor updates and adjustments over the years, with Ford also recently adding the Romanian-built Active derivative to the local line-up.

Despite its age and competition from far fresher rivals, the EcoSport has continued selling strongly in South Africa, with as many as 4 224 units registered locally in the first half of 2022 (that’s a commendable average of more than 700 units a month). Indeed, with the Figo and Fiesta discontinued in SA, the EcoSport has been doing all the heavy lifting for Ford in the passenger-vehicle segment…

Looking for a used Ford EcoSport? Find one here!