India-made Ford EcoSport to be exported to USA from 2018

American automaker Ford recently unveiled the EcoSport facelift at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. A vital product for the company, the American market will get the new model sometime by early 2018, while here in India we might see it in 2017. Fresh reports have emerged which indicate that the new model will be exported to the US market from its production facility in India in 2018. 

The design element of the new EcoSport does not take potential Indian buyers by surprise due to its familiarity and popularity in the market. The new EcoSport gets fresh cosmetic upgrades in form of a new grille, redesigned headlamps and a sportier bumper with faux skid plate and larger fog lamps. The rear also comes with a contrasting bash plate element which has been integrated into the bumper.

For the American automaker, the new Ford EcoSport will be the automaker’s smallest SUV to be introduced in its local market.  The America-bound model will be powered by a 1.0-litre EcoBoost motor as well as a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. Both the engines will come in six-speed AT and AWD options. As for the Indian market, we will get the 1.5-litre engine in petrol and diesel guise.

The interior offers refreshing changes in terms of features as well as design. The seats get offset body coloured stripes, while the door/dashboard get exterior colour coordinated inserts. The automaker has also revised the instrument cluster and introduced a new colour digital display. Moreover, it also features an eight-inch touchscreen with SYNC 3 system. In India, the new facelift version will help it strengthen its position in the compact SUV space, while in the US, customers might see it as an upgrade to a feature loaded crossover.