The Ford Escape Isn't Dead Yet. But These Six States Can't Buy One

If you live in any of these six states, you might not be able to buy a Ford Escape in 2026.

Photo by: Ford

By: Jeff Perez

Jun 26, 2025 at 2:00pm ET

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Rumors of the Ford Escape's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Two years ago, reports suggested that Ford's compact SUV wouldn't live to see the next few years, yet the Blue Oval still sells a new model here and now in 2025. Now it's being reported that the Escape will live on until 2026—but with a few caveats.

According to a report from Ford Authority, Ford will sell a 2026 model-year Escape, but not in every state in the US. With stricter emissions standards in certain parts of the country, customers reportedly won't be able to buy or register a new Escape in six different states.

The Escape still uses the same 1.5-liter and 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder gas engines that it debuted with in 2020. It also packs a 2.5-liter four-cylinder plug-in hybrid unit—all of which are reportedly ineligible.

It should be noted that Ford hasn't officially confirmed this report, but we've reached out to the company for a statement.

Which States?

Six states allegedly won't allow you to register a 2026 Ford Escape since it has a ‘non-California' compliant emissions system. Customers living in those states who are interested in a new Escape will have to buy one for the 2025 model year.

For 2026, the Escape will not meet the emissions standards of these six states:

California
Massachusetts
New York
Oregon
Vermont
Washington

California, notoriously, has some of the strictest emissions standards in the entire country courtesy of the Clean Air Act. Other states, like New York and Massachusetts, follow a similar set of rules. Unfortunately for Ford, the Escape's dated powertrain doesn't meet many of those required standards.

The Escape Still Sells Well

Although it's been widely reported that Ford would discontinue the Escape, the compact SUV soldiers on into the new year with solid sales figures. In 2024, Ford sold 146,859 examples of the Escape SUV, marking a 4.2 percent increase over the previous year.

Already in 2025, Ford Escape sales are up. The company sold 37,357 examples in the first quarter of this year, an increase of just about two percent over the previous year.

What do you think?

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In recent years, the Escape has been a relatively big seller for Ford. The company moved more than 300,000 units of the Escape annually between 2014 and 2017, and well over 200,000 units annually between 2018 and 2019.

The last few years haven't been as successful, but the Escape remains a popular compact SUV despite rumors of its demise.