The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford since 2000 over four generations. The first generation was jointly developed with Mazda which also created the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner as the twin model. Second generations of the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute were released in 2007 for the 2008 model year, but mostly restricted to North America. In other markets, the first generation models were either replaced by updated first generation versions, or replaced by the Mazda CX-7 (2006) and Ford Kuga (2008). Unlike the collaborative approach taken with the previous model, this time the design and engineering was carried out solely by Ford. Since 2013, the model has been paralleled with the Kuga sold outside North America, making them essentially identical. A hybrid option was again available. Ford released the third generation model in 2012 for the 2013 model year. For the third-generation, Ford unified the model with the Europe-designed Ford Kuga as per the "One Ford" plan of having only one vehicle per segment internationally. It continues to the fourth-generation in which the North American Escape is identical to the Kuga with a minor cosmetic redesign. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid options are available for the fourth-generation model.
