Ford has announced it will use this week's Los Angeles motor show to reveal its redesigned Explorer, which could replace the homegrown Territory in its Australian line-up.
No images or details of the sixth-generation Territory have been released ahead of its world debut on November 19, but Ford has confirmed it will hit North American showrooms next year, when the large SUV marks 25 years as "America's favourite SUV".
Ford Australia, meantime, will next month introduce an upgraded Territory, before production of the Melbourne-made seven-seat crossover ceases forever less than two years later by October 2016.
What Ford directly replaces the Territory with remains the subject of speculation, given its new Everest seven-seat SUV will arrive here in the third quarter of next year priced to rival Toyota's market-leading Prado and positioned as Ford's flagship go-anywhere SUV.
To fill the void between the Everest and the mid-size Kuga crossover, which is currently occupied by the Territory, Ford could introduce the five-seat Edge and/or the Explorer.
The new Explorer would provide Ford Australia with a direct rival for large seven-seat car-based family wagons like the Toyota Kluger, Holden Capitiva 7, Nissan Pathfinder, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento and Mazda CX-9.
It would also give Ford Australia, which last year said it would expand its model range by 30 per cent, one of the widest SUV model ranges Down Under, where SUV demand continues almost unabated.
SUV sales growth remains a global phenomenon, with SUVs accounting for almost a quarter of all new Fords sold last year.
The Explorer has not been seen in Australian Ford showrooms since the fourth generation model was discontinued in early 2008.
Unlike the fifth generation Taurus sedan-based model released in the US in 2011, previous Explorers were body-on-frame designs like the Ranger ute-based Everest, offering greater off-road capability at the expense of on-road ride, handling and refinement.
Like the 2015 Explorer (pictured), the new 2016 Explorer will continue with a car-like monocoque chassis, this time based on the front/all-wheel drive EU-CD platform that also underpins Ford's new Mondeo, which also goes on sale in Australia next year.
Ford's Explorer has found more than seven million US homes since 1990, making it the top-selling 'medium' SUV in the US. This year Ford expects to export 56,000 examples of the outgoing model from its Chicago plant to more than 100 markets worldwide.
“Explorer changed the way the world thought about the family hauler – adventure became something you could put in your driveway,” said Craig Patterson, Ford Explorer marketing manager.
“Explorer helped the family vehicle become an emotional purchase rather than a necessity. It’s no surprise it’s been the best-selling sport utility vehicle for a quarter century.”