Ford Prepares Mini-Crossover for European Market

Ford Motor Co. is developing a mini-SUV based on its Fiesta subcompact car and could unveil it at the Frankfurt auto show in September, says Automotive News Europe.

The tiny crossover will be produced at Ford’s assembly plant in Craiova, Romania, and may be named Puma, according to French consulting firm Inovev SAS. Ford lasted used the Puma name on a Fiesta-based sporty coupe marketed in Europe in the late 1990s.

The new crossover would join a next-generation of the compact Kuga crossover, called the Escape in the U.S., due later this year.

ANE says Ford sold more than 250,000 SUV/crossovers in Europe last year. Ford of Europe CEO Steve Armstrong emphasized earlier this week that such products will be “central” to the company’s plan to achieve sustainable profits in Europe.