Ford killed The Edge, but what would come next still doesn’t exist: Jalopnik

No, Ford didn’t kill U2’s guitarist, don’t misunderstand the headline. And yes, Bono is safe too. Ford has removed the midsize crossover/SUV/CUV known as the Edge from its lineup, leaving a gap between the Escape and the Explorer. The web page for the Ford Edge was turned into some kind of makeshift memorial, and the eulogy that FoMoCo posted invites you to “open yourself up to new adventures, while still keeping the same features, performance and style you loved in the Edge.” Well, if the Ford Edge ST had been sharper or cheaper, maybe the Edge nameplate would still be around.

If Ford planned to leave this hole in its SUV lineup, that could be the end of the story. After all, Ford still makes Expeditions, Explorers, Mustang Mach-Es, Broncos, Escapes, and Bronco Sports (which are mostly Escapes among them). So with all these options, was there really a place for the Edge to push its way in? There is a lot of cross-pollination here. And many crossings.

A replacement is said to be coming, but months after announcing the Edge’s demise there is still no word. Ford announced in 2023 a plan to invest $1.8 billion at its Oakville Assembly Complex in Canada (where Edges were assembled) so it could begin producing three-row electric crossovers by 2025. In April 2024, Ford announced a postponement of EV updates until 2027. Then in May 2025, Ford retooled the factory and invested $2.3 billion in the same factory to produce Ford. F-250 Super Duty’s instead. Unless Ford was planning on stuffing the Edge like a goose being prepared for foie gras, the huge, bulky Super Duty isn’t exactly a direct replacement for the midsize crossover.

In January 2023, when Ford planned to convert the Edge factory into a three-row electric vehicle facility, the average price of an EV was $62,529. In April 2024, when Ford announced that the Oakville plant was not planning to make EV Edge replacements after all, the average cost of EVs fell to $49,258, a big drop from previous years, but still not enough for good EV profitability. Boston Advisory Group (BCG) did an analysis of the profitability of electric cars in April 2024 and found out how much traditional car manufacturers are losing on electric cars. The analysis found that if a manufacturer sold an electric car for $50,000, it would lose an estimated $6,000 on that vehicle. So it’s no surprise that Ford would focus on making full-size pickup trucks in a factory once dedicated to producing electric vehicles. This is especially true today, as electric car prices continue to rise due to the loss of government incentives.

That makes Ford’s CFO John Lawler statement to the BBC even less surprising in August 2024, when the executive said Ford’s EV plans were being scaled back due to “pricing and margin compression.” And so Ford decided to focus on what was already selling: internal combustion trucks. F-Series trucks alone will earn Ford $41.5 billion in sales in 2022, surpassing Starbucks, Netflix and Visa.

According to Ford, the first vehicle on the platform will be a mid-size four-door EV pickup that prioritizes lightness, has a starting price of nearly $30,000 and accelerates as quickly as a Mustang EcoBoost. After the pickup, the Universal platform could support a similarly sized crossover to fill the Edge’s void, though nothing specific has been announced. Maybe there are other Edge candidates? There’s the Europe-only Ford Explorer EV, which sounds remarkably like the originally planned Edge replacement with three rows of seats and electric power. The problem is that while sales are among the 25 best-selling electric vehicles in Europe, they are so weak that Ford is cutting about 1,000 jobs at its Cologne, Germany, plant where Explorer electric vehicles are built.

Maybe Ford can replace the Edge with the Edge? Yes, Ford sells the “Edge L” in China. It’s a three-row SUV with a wheelbase that’s 8 inches longer than the old Edge. The hybrid version produces 271 hp and gets 37 mpg. Moreover, it has excellent reliability scores. All this while there has been absolutely no official word on an American Edge replacement. Edge fans, if this doesn’t get your blood boiling, what will?