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.