Ford teases sporty Puma small SUV

AMSTERDAM -- Ford will launch its Puma SUV in Europe late this year. The Puma has sporty styling and is designed to appeal to customers who want a less utilitarian small SUV, the automaker said.

Ford released a teaser picture of the Puma on Wednesday after showing the SUV with a brief drive across a darkened stage at its GoFurther product event in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The Puma will be built at the automaker's factory in Craiova, Romania, alongside the EcoSport small SUV, Ford said in a statement.

The Puma has been designed to look far sportier than the EcoSport. It will be positioned between the EcoSport and the larger Kuga compact SUV. The new-generation Kuga was unveiled in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The Puma will be about 4200mm long, a Ford source said. The EcoSport is 4017mm long and the new Kuga is slightly longer than the outgoing model at 4613mm.

The Puma's dimensions put it at the top end of the small SUV segment to rival cars such the Volkswagen T-Roc.

Ford did not disclose pricing, nor many details for the Puma and ahead of its full unveiling in June, but the automaker did say the car would have "class-leading" luggage space of 456 liters.

Mild hybrid

The Puma will offer a 48-volt mild-hybrid drivetrain based on the 1.0-liter Ford's Ecoboost three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine making 153hp. The mild hybrid would have CO2 emissions of 124g/km under WLTP emissions regulations, Ford said.

The addition of the Puma will bring Ford's SUV lineup in Europe to five, including the Kuga, the Edge midsize SUV and the Explorer large SUV that will be sold only as a plug-in hybrid in Europe.

Ford hopes that expanding its offering of SUVs will help the company to return its European business to profit.

The Puma will help take Ford's SUV share of its passenger car sales in Europe to almost 50 percent, up from 27 percent last year.

"SUVs are critical to us. They are a growing segment and you enjoy better margins," Ford of Europe's new president, Stuart Rowley, told Automotive News Europe.

Rowley said Ford decided to launch a second vehicle in the small SUV segment in response to rising demand. "It's such a large segment. You need more than one product offering to serve all the customer desires," Rowley said. "Some people want a more rugged car, other people want something more refined," he said.

Ford will export the Puma to some markets outside of Europe including Australia. No production is planned for North America or China, although Ford in China has expressed some interest in the car, a Ford of Europe source said.

Renault Captur fighter

The Puma was conceived as a Renault Captur fighter under previous Ford of Europe president Jim Farley.

Ford has long lagged behind rivals in the small-SUV segment as buyers initially shunned its Brazilian-conceived EcosSport. Stung by slow sales, Ford improved the car considerably after moving production to Europe from India and last year the EcoSport passed 100,000 sales for the first time to finish sixth in the small SUV segment, according to data from JATO Dynamics.

The Puma revives a nameplate last used on a Fiesta-based coupe that ended production in 2002.

Besides the VW T-Roc, the Puma will compete against the Toyota C-HR, the Hyundai Kona, Kia Stonic and the upcoming replacements for the Renault Captur and Opel Mokka.