“We’ll have some public announcements quite soon.” “I’m anticipating within very few days from now, likely by the end of this week or early next week, there will be some announcements that will come from Ford of Europe that will clarify the current statutes and will also provide the projections of the supplier quality improvements that we’re making to mitigate the current situation,” he said. In a video posted to YouTube earlier this month, Ford Germany, Austria and Switzerland marketing and sales managing director Hans Jörg Klein implored European owners to not charge or drive their vehicles in full-electric mode with seven new Kuga PHEVs having caught fire while charging.ģ3,400 vehicles have been recalled to date while customers in continental Europe have reportedly been gifted a €500 (A$832) fuel voucher.Īccording to global Escape/Kuga vehicle line chief program engineer James Hughes, a series of announcements detailing the fault and the current recall/production status is due imminently from Ford Europe. “I can confirm the Australian and New Zealand vehicles have not yet been built, so they are not impacted.”ĭespite the vehicles having not yet been built, Mr Moran was hesitant when pressed for confirmation that the Australia-bound Escape PHEVs would be free of the faults plaguing the European examples which according to overseas reports has been traced back to one of the battery pack’s control modules. “We are currently experiencing some supply issues with the Escape PHEV and while timing is not yet confirmed, we do anticipate it will be late 2021 before it arrives in Australia and New Zealand,” Ford Australia and New Zealand communications director Matt Moran said. FORD Australia officially launched its all-new Escape medium SUV this week however the highly anticipated PHEV variants have not been included in the current line-up and are not expected to reach Aussie showrooms until late next year.Īccording to local executives, the delay stems from the ongoing recall and subsequent production halt of the European-spec Kuga PHEV – as it is called overseas – following the revelation the battery pack could be prone to overheating and sparking a vehicle fire.
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