You're Not Going to Be Able to Buy a 2026 Ford Escape If You Live in These States
Emissions rules will prevent some consumers from getting their hands one the last of the Escapes.
With 2026 being the final model year for the Ford Escape and Escape Hybrid, you’d think Ford would want its long-running compact SUV to sell in as many places as possible. But according to an alert on Ford’s consumer site at its Escape area, there are six states that cannot legally sell the 2026 model that were able to sell the 2025 version. What the heck is going on?
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You might be able to guess what's stopping Ford dealers from selling the 2026 Escape and Escape Hybrid by looking at the states on the list. If you live in Massachusetts, Oregon, New York, Washington, Vermont, and, of course, California, you won’t be able to buy the last model year of the Blue Oval’s compact SUV. Ford has elected not to certify the 2026 Escape for the emissions requirements of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and all those states follow California’s rules. What’s strange on the face of it is that the powertrains available for the 2026 Escape haven't changed from 2025, nor have the CARB rules been modified between the 2025 model year and now. At least we haven’t seen any changes that would limit selling the 2026 Escape in CARB states.
Making things even stranger is the Bronco Sport and Maverick effectively use the same powertrains as the Escape, and those two vehicles aren’t under the same restrictions. So, why couldn’t Ford get some sort of grandfathering for the 2026 Escape? CARB vehicle, engine, and drivetrain combinations need to be certified annually and individually, and those specific combinations are the only ones allowed. If an OEM disregarded that rule and sold a combination that wasn’t officially certified, violations could include a fine of up to $48,788 per vehicle as of the most recent adjustment done on February 21, 2025. And, considering the 2026 Escape tops out at $38,705, that's a potentially huge penalty that just isn’t worth it.
We reached out to Ford for comment and an explanation on why the 2026 Escape wasn’t certified. At the time of publication, we hadn’t heard back. Speculation among MotorTrend staff is that Ford just didn’t want to spend the time, money, and resources to CARB certify a vehicle that's going out of production, which is understandable given the circumstances. Although it could also be a not-so-subtle dig at California and the CARB member states for its separate emissions regulations, which are becoming more contentious as the present administration continues its rollback of federal government emissions rules. Whatever the reason, customers in CARB states who want an Escape are limited to buying the 2025 model year vehicle, while the rest of the U.S. gets to enjoy the last and latest version. (A 50-state legal 2025 Ford Escape Hybrid is pictured below.)
