Where Are Ford Escapes Made? (Solved & Explained)

If you are looking for an affordable car with outstanding performance features, consider checking out the Ford Escape.

Even though its interior design is practical at best, it offers many driver assistance features like emergency braking and blind spot indicators.

Where is this vehicle made? Let’s find out.

Where are Ford Escapes Made?

The 2020 Ford Escape is manufactured in the USA and China. Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky, USA, and the Changchun plant in Chongqing, China are the two facilities that make the Ford Escape. That said, the Ford Escape has been produced in several countries.

In 2000, the Escape debut was built in 6 countries, including Japan, USA, Germany, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. Also, Ford started producing the Fiesta at its Santa Rosa factory in Laguna, Philippines in 2002.

By 2008, Ford had shut down production of the Escape in most of the countries where the first-generation Escapes were built.

The second-generation (2008-2012) Escapes were only manufactured at Ford’s Claycomo factory in Missouri, USA. The Escape hybrid was also assembled in Kansas City, Missouri.

After 2012, the company stopped the production of the Escape. When the Escape was revived in 2019, Ford did not manufacture the vehicle in the factories where previous generations of the Escape were made.

Are Ford Escapes for the US Market Produced in the US?

Ford produces Escapes for the US market at its Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky.

In the past, Ford Escape were also produced for the American market at the Avon Lake factory in Ohio, and the Claycomo factory in Missouri, USA.

Make sure to also read our article on how long the Ford Escape lasts.

Are They Being Assembled in the US?

The Louisville factory in Kentucky, USA, is assembles Ford Escape for the US market.

How Can You Check Where a Specific Ford Escape was Produced?

You can determine where a specific Ford Escape is produced by checking your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

The VIN, a special 17-character code, contains general information about your vehicle. This code is located on the dashboard of your car.

Each character on the VIN refers to a particular piece of data about the Escape. Some information encoded in the VIN are the model year, country of manufacture and name of manufacturer.

The first character on the list refers to the country where your Ford Escape was made.

This character may be a number or letter depending on the continent where the factory that built the vehicle is located.

While a number represents countries on the American continent, letter represents those outside the continent. In addition, some countries may be represented by a combination of letters which appear as the first and second characters on the VIN.

Below is an explanation of what some characters mean when you find them in the first position on your Vehicle Identification Number:

  • 1, 4, or 5 means that your Ford Escape was made in the USA
  • L means that it was produced in China
  • J is for Japan-built Escapes
  • W indicates that it was made in Germany
  • P indicates that the Escape was made in Malaysia
  • RF-RK indicates that the Escape was made in Taiwan, and
  • RL -RR means that it was produced in Vietnam.

Please also read our article about 11 Ford Escape statistics.

Are Japanese or European Built Escapes Better?

Escapes built in Japan and Europe are equally impressive. Experts are particularly captivated by the smooth handling and the illumination from the automatic headlamps in Japan-built Ford Escape.

The German-built Ford Escape was also complimented on its impressive horsepower, engine, and its Brake Assist Feature.

Nevertheless, the two versions have their flaws. A few consumers have complained about the noisy vibrations and the poor quality of the interior design in most Ford Escape versions.

Where Is the Escape Designed?

The most recent Ford Escape design was created at the Ford Motor company in Dearborn Michigan.

Where Are Ford Escapes Made for the Australian Market?

The fleet of Ford Escape the Australian market sells is produced at Ford’s Louisville factory in Kentucky, USA.

Where Are Ford Escapes Made for the Canadian Market?

The Canadian market imports Ford Escape from the Louisville Assembly plant in Kentucky, USA.

Where Are Ford Escapes Made for the UK Market?

The Ford Escape is not available in the UK. In the early 2000s, the model was marketed in the UK and the rest of Europe as the Ford Maverick.

However, it has now being replaced by the Kuga and EcoSport SUVs.

Also check out our article about the three most common problems with Ford Escapes.

Is Ford Planning to Move Its Production?

Ford does not intend to move production of the Escape to new countries. However, Ford moved the production of the Escape across several countries in the past.

When the Ford Escape debut was released in 2000, it was manufactured in 7 countries: Malaysia, Japan and Vietnam to name a few.

By 2008, Ford had shut down production of the Escape in most of the countries, leaving its Claycomo plant in the USA in sole control of the car’s production.

Today, the Changchun plant in China consolidates the effort of another USA factory, the Louisville plant, in the Escape’s production.

Is Ford Hiring or Firing in the USA?

Ford plans to employ temporary workers to stand in for its full-time workers who have to stay at home.

Ford also intends to lay off 1,400 workers to cut down on its expenses.

Also, top officials claim that the company will only retain young and vibrant workers, who are aligned with the company’s updated products. For this reason, it will relieve only older employees who are almost due for retirement.

Is Ford an American Company?

Ford is based in the USA. It was founded in Michigan, USA in 1903.

Today, Ford has spread its wings across the world, establishing branches and factories as far as the Middle East.

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