New Escort van launch delayed until January
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• The launch of the new Escort van has been delayed. Ford had originally scheduled the launch for November, but delays in the build-up of Escort car production have been blamed for the delay. Both versions are built at Halewood on Merseyside.
Ford now expects the new vans to be in the showrooms by the end of January. Production has only just started and Ford expects that 3,000 models will have been built by the end of the year. Production for 1991 is targeted at 38,525, with approximately 10,000 destined for export.
The delay undoubtedly means lost sales for Ford. Production of the "old" Escort van stopped in June and stocks are now limited. Ford is playing down the lost production but the two-month delay could represent about 3,500 vehicles, based on the 1991 production figures. Ford argues that customers who specifically ordered the new model will be prepared to wait until January, so sales losses will not be in the thousands.
Vauxhall, with the Astramax, might be expected to have gained at Ford's expense, but the depressed state of the market has probably worked in Ford's favour. Vauxhall reports no increase in Astramax sales as a result. Prices of the Escort van have yet to be announced but Ford's last increase was only in October, paving the way for a nil increase on the new model.