Ford Said to Move Production of Kuga SUV from Europe to the USA, and You Know What that Means...

The continuing decline of the dollar that has fallen 18 percent against the Euro this year has lead Ford to the decision to move production of its Kuga compact SUV from Europe to the U.S., or at least that is what Bloomberg reported citing three people familiar (but not named) with the plan. The news site claims that Ford will shift production of the Kuga from its factory in Saarlouis, Germany to Louisville, Kentucky in the U.S. starting from October 2011.

One of the 'insiders' told Bloomberg that as many as 80,000 examples of the Kuga a year will be exported to Europe.

Aside from making the members of the United Auto Workers union extremely happy (and the opposite for those working in Germany), Ford's move would also mean that the cool looking compact SUV would finally make its way to North American dealerships.

In Europe, Ford's VW Tiguan challenger is offered with a 200HP 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-five gasoline engine (with both automatic and manual gearbox options), and a 2.0-liter turbo diesel with 136 horsepower. However, it is very likely that Ford will add new powertrain options in the very near future as the company has already announced a new family of of 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol units.

Via: Bloomberg

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Ford Announces U.K pricing for New Kuga 2.0 FWD and 2.5 Turbo

Ford is expanding the range of its European market crossover, the Kuga, with the addition of a 2.0-litre TDCi 2WD (diesel) and a 2.5-liter Turbo gasoline engine. Retaining the existing Kuga's 136HP 2.0-litre diesel unit but with a CO2 output of just 159g/km, the new front-wheel-drive version delivers both enhanced fuel economy (46.1 UK mpg for the 2WD vs 44.1 UK mpg for the AWD) and cost benefits from the legislation changes in the U.K. in April next year.

Priced from £18,595.64, the Kuga 2WD will especially benefit business customers who will be eligible for a 20 percent write down allowance against Corporation Tax for a car with less than 160g/km CO2 (compared with 10 per cent over 160g/km). Private buyers will also profit from the model's improved fuel economy as it falls into the new sub-160g/km banding for Vehicle Excise Duty.

The new performance flagship model for the Kuga range, pairs AWD with the a detuned version of the Focus ST's 2.5-litre Turbo engine. With an output of 200HP and torque of 320Nm (between 1,600 and 4,000rpm) the five-cylinder petrol-engined Kuga powers from standstill to 62mph in 8.2sec and on to a top speed of 129mph when mated with the six-speed manual transmission. A five-speed automatic transmission is alternatively available with this engine. U.K. market prices for the Kuga 2.5T begin from £23,788.30.

FORD KUGA ZETEC

2.0l Duratorq (136PS) TDCi, 2WD - £18,595.64

2.0l Duratorq (136PS) TDCi, AWD - £20,460.64

FORD KUGA TITANIUM

2.0l Duratorq (136PS) TDCi, 2WD - £20,553.09

2.0l Duratorq (136PS) TDCi, AWD - £22,418.09

2.5 Duratec 6-spd manual (200PS) AWD - £23,788.30

2.5 Duratec 5-spd auto (200PS) AWD - £24,962.77

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Ford Kuga Update: New Image Gallery

FoMoCo has just released a new image gallery of its 2009 Kuga Crossover that was unveiled earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. As you probably already know, the Kuga won’t be coming towards our shores, which is pretty lame if you think about the free-fall of full-size trucks and the increasing popularity of compact crossovers in the U.S. market.

In Europe, the Ford Focus (Euro-model) based Kuga will go on sale this summer where it will be initially available with a 136Hp 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine that’s good enough to offer an average fuel consumption of 6.3 lt / 100 km or 37.3 MPG to the front-wheel-drive version and 6.4 lt / 100 km or 36.7 MPG to the all-wheel-drive variant. -Click through for the image gallery

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