Ford has filed a trademark for Falcon name… in Mexico.
Ford Authority reports the Blue Oval brand trademarked the name there on May 12, 2023. While it’s not unusual for a company to hold onto a trademark to protect a heritage nameplate, Ford has been busy reviving the old name.
The Mexican-market Ford bearing the Falcon name will also have company from another former Australian nameplate: Territory.
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Ford Region (Mexico)
After exporting the Yusheng S330 SUV version built by Ford’s China collaborator JMC as the Territory, Ford is now launching a new vehicle with that name in markets like Mexico.
It’s again a rebadged Chinese SUV, but this time developed by JMC and Ford: the Equator Sport.
The front-wheel-drive SUV is offered with turbocharged four-cylinder power and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
It is not clear which vehicle Ford will use with the Falcon nameplate.
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Ford Taurus (UAE)
Ford does not offer any passenger cars other than the Mustang in Mexico, but it still has a presence in various passenger car segments in markets such as China and the Middle East.
The Focus remains for now in China and in Europe until 2025, although the China-market Escort sedan – based on the older Focus – has been discontinued.
Ford in China has developed a new generation Mondeo that also wears the Taurus nameplate in markets such as the UAE.
Given that Ford once planned to replace the Australian Falcon with the Taurus, it’s not a stretch to imagine the company applying the Falcon name to something known elsewhere as the Taurus. However, Mexican customers have more recent memories of the Taurus than the Falcon.
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1970 1/2 US Falcon -
Argentinian Falcon
Although it enjoyed a long and rich life in Australia, produced until 2016, the Falcon name was last seen in the US in 1970 on the entry-level version of the mid-size Torino.
The first generation Falcon version also continued to be produced in Argentina until 1991.
In addition to the Chinese-built Escort and Territory, Ford has also revived another classic name in the Puma, which was used from 1997 to 2001 on the Fiesta-based coupe and used from 2019 onwards on the Fiesta-based SUV.
The famous Bronco name is back after 25 years, and remains stronger for its continued use on body-on-frame off-roaders.
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Ford Puma -
Ford Bronco
The company said it is open to reviving more names.
Ford is rumored to be dusting off the Capri nameplate – used variously by Ford of Europe, Ford of Australia, Mercury and even Lincoln – on future models, which could potentially be a sportier counterpart to the European Explorer electric SUV.
That could see a rematch of the famous European battle, the Ford Capri versus the Opel Manta – but it won’t be a coupe anymore.
Former European rival Ford General Motors, now part of Stellantis, has teased the return of the Manta nameplate for an electric SUV.