Tokyo Motor Show - Ford

Why visit the Ford stand?
There’s a brand-new, bright orange 4x4 concept that Ford doesn’t want to draw much attention to, so it’s tucked in the corner of the stand.

It’s called the Equator and is a sporty new addition to the company’s off-roader family.

Oh, and it’s not just orange, it’s First Light Orange, which is to ‘evoke the image of the sun rising from the equatorial horizon.’ This too reflects its position heralding ‘a new generation of 4x4s’.

So is Ford going to bring it to the UK?
No. It’s happy enough producing 4x4s in the US, but is adamant that it doesn’t want to intrude on the territory of its sister companies Land Rover and Volvo in the UK.

Does that make sense?
Stealing sales from your sister companies doesn’t make any sense, but plenty of Ford’ key rivals are getting ready to produce new 4x4s over the next two years, including Citroen, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Suzuki and Volkswagen.

Even Mazda, another branch in Ford’ big family tree, is planning its own off-roader.