Ford Everest aka Endeavour Concept leaked

Ford announced to shut its Endeavour manufacturing plants in Australia by October 2016. The reason given for this decision were high exchange rates, high losses, high production costs and slowdown in the market. The American auto maker will launch around 11 new products by 2017, and next-generation Ford Everest/Endeavour will also be part of the tally.

A couple of images of a Concept leaked on the web, which is expected to be the forerunner of the Ford Everest SUV (aka Endeavour). The current generation Endeavour was first launched in India during 2004 has gone through regular facelifts time-to-time. The Ford Everest/Endeavour is due for a platform change as the current model platform has aged and the competition is getting furious with new products launching worldwide.

Nothing official has come from the manufacturer, and the engine line up and other features are still unknown. We expect it to be powered by either a 2.2-litre or 3-litre turbo-diesel engines as the SUV is based on the Ford Ranger platform. The next generation Everest SUV could get EcoBoost turbo petrol engineThe vehicle is constructed on the Ranger pickups ladder frame chassis instead of a monocoque chassis.

The next generation Ford Everest/Endeavour has also got some design cues from the other Ford SUVs such as the Territory and EcoSport.  The images show that the vehicle will retain the 7 seat configuration available on the current model. The production version of the Endeavour is expected to be launched by 2014 in the Australian market. The Indian auto market is also expecting the introduction of next generation Endeavour by 2014. The SUV will compete against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra SsangYong Rexton and the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.