[Ford EcoSport News]

At least, that’s what Automotive News thinks when the North America spec Ford EcoSport goes on sale in 2018.

Demand for subcompact crossovers have been on the rise lately with some automakers cashing in early including the Jeep Renegade, Honda HR-V, Subaru Crosstrek, Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore. But the EcoSport will still do well even if it’s hitting showroom floors a bit later than its competitors. That’s because the subcompact crossover market has been on a steep incline. In fact, Ford says it has quadrupled since 2011 and they’re expecting the market to double by the end of the decade with a slight cool down by 2020.

"I don't think you can ever get in the crossover market too late. Ford could have sold a good chunk if it would have been there one or two years ago, but they'll sell plenty when it gets here," said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book.

Stephanie Brinley, another analyst, thinks Ford will be able to move around 60,000 EcoSports, not a hard goal to achieve when you have a good product to work with.

Once it goes on sale, buyers will have a choice of engines: a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder or a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Both will be paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and the 2.0 liter option comes standard with all-wheel drive. There will be four trim levels to choose from S, SE, SES and Titanium.

Pricing has not been released yet, but we could see a starting price comparable with its competitors, which is around $20,000.

 

[WeeSUV]

Wouldn't mind seeing the 2.0-liter four go for $20,000 but that's highly unlikely. I want it for the all-wheel drive and hopefully, it won't feel too under powered.

 

[GoGreen]

I think it'll be around the $24k mark. This is trying to be sold off to millennials but at the same time, they can't make it stupid cheap because of course, everyone needs to make some coin. Entry level cars are in the ballpark $21-$24k ?

 

[Econobox]

$20,000 could be around the starting price for the base trim of a 2.0-liter or 1.0-liter turbo. Just the bare bones and it's not too far off from the UK prices.

 

[Econobox]

The subcompact crossover segment has been on the rise lately and I can see the trend continue into next year.

Here's a chart showing the sales increase this year compared to last year and there's some steep rises in certain models.

 

[workingclasshero]

The subcompact crossover segment has been on the rise lately and I can see the trend continue into next year.

Here's a chart showing the sales increase this year compared to last year and there's some steep rises in certain models.

The problem with you posting this is it shows a lack of the bigger picture and where buyers are coming from. That chart just represents a small portion of who bought. Not an exact representation.

With CUV's like this you get people coming in from a number of segments, even people coming from NO segment, just newbs.