A brand new Ford Territory is scheduled to land showrooms in South America, Southeast Asia and South Africa from subsequent month, the well-known Australian identify now utilized to a Chinese language-made SUV.
There aren’t any plans to deliver the Territory to native showrooms, and the up to date mannequin is just not associated – aside from its identify – to the Australian-made Territory offered right here between 2004 and 2016.
With gross sales kicking off in Brazil in July 2025, the ‘Novo Territory’ is a mid-life replace of the present mannequin. Ford is seeking to capitalise on the SUV’s sturdy gross sales, which quadrupled in Brazil over the past 12 months.
“Territory is the mannequin of our portfolio that has grown probably the most within the final 12 months in Brazil and South America and has room to advance even additional,” Antonio Baltar Junior, Ford South America director of gross sales, advertising and marketing and providers, stated in an announcement.
The Territory continues with a single mannequin grade in Brazil, the Titanium Turbo EcoBoost priced at R$215,001 ($60,372) earlier than on-road prices – R$3001 ($800) greater than the earlier mannequin – with solely key particulars introduced up to now.
The largest change is the brand new squared-off styling with redesigned bumpers entrance and rear that includes built-in fog lamps, whereas L-shaped ‘optical’ LED headlights with LED daytime working lights prolong into the decrease entrance bumper.
The entrance additionally sees a brand new thinner, black entrance grille and central however raised Ford blue-oval brand in an identical type to the ultimate Ford Escape SUV – and Fiesta and Focus hatchbacks – dropped from Australian showrooms.
There are additionally 19-inch silver alloy wheels – greater than any commonplace showroom wheel fitted to the earlier Australian Territory – and extra color coding for the mirrors and door handles, peppered with chrome components such because the aspect window surrounds.
The design follows the late 2024 facelift of the Chinese language-market Equator Sport SUV, which is similar automobile by one other identify. This mannequin has been on sale since 2018, with the present, second era launching in 2022.
There aren’t any modifications to the important thing dimensions – with a 4630mm size making it 10mm longer than the earlier Escape and 15mm longer than a Toyota RAV4 – and a major 258mm shorter than the ultimate Australian Territory (4888mm) offered in 2016.
Ford Brazil says the cabin advantages from new finishes, akin to new gray and brown colors, with electrically adjustable seats with ‘micro-perforated’ leather-based upholstery in addition to cooling.
A panoramic sunroof, rotary gear shifter and 12.3-inch centre touchscreen with Ford Co-Pilot 360 driver help tech – together with Parking Help – are additionally commonplace, together with a 12.3-inch configurable digital instrument cluster and wi-fi smartphone charging.
The turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 124kW of energy and 250Nm of torque, and the seven-speed dual-clutch computerized carry over unchanged. Solely front-wheel drive is offered.
The Ford Territory was launched in Australia in 2004 and is likely one of the automaker’s key masterstrokes.
The Australian-made SUV was additionally exported to a number of markets, together with South America and South Africa the place it launched the Territory identify which stays in showrooms at present.
The rear-wheel drive Ford Falcon household sedan/wagon/ute was the premise for the Australian-made Territory.
The big crossover SUV provided a masterclass in exterior design with 178mm of floor clearance and as much as seven seats, mixed with intelligent options akin to a gap rear windscreen and ‘moist space’, all whereas utilizing the Falcon’s highly effective 4.0-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol engine and providing sturdy 2300kg towing functionality.
From a producing viewpoint, it additionally allowed components sharing and improvement price efficiencies, with the Territory and Falcon’s corresponding enhancements feeding into one another.
It gained vital reward from the motoring media at its launch, catching arch-rival Holden flat-footed regardless of it cleverly utilizing the Falcon-rivalling Commodore for a raft of various physique sorts – but not a totally executed SUV like Territory.
Holden did provide the Adventra, a jacked-up model of the Commodore wagon with all-wheel drive, however it was short-lived and its gross sales numbers paled compared to these of the Territory.
A turbo-diesel model of the Territory added in 2011 helped enhance gasoline financial system in addition to enhance its braked towing capability to 2700kg for all-wheel drive variants.
Whereas Falcon gross sales tailed off as Ford Australia manufacturing wound down, the Territory remained a powerful vendor for the model till manufacturing resulted in October 2016 – simply outlasting its short-lived substitute, the Canadian-built Ford Endura (Ford Edge abroad) offered right here between 2018-2020.
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