Bojan Vrbnjak
When Ford decided to discontinue the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion and Taurus a few years ago, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Basically the same thing happened in Europe, where they stopped making the Fiesta and Mondeo, and they will stop making the Focus in 2025.
Why is Ford abandoning popular car models? Because it is “getting out of the boring car business and focusing on the iconic car business”. So said director Jim Farley in a recent interview with the British magazine CAR, who admitted that these cars were "liked by a lot of customers". Although they are quite popular, the group boss says that it is simply not worth investing more money in cars such as the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo (although there is a new Mondeo in China), as opposed to, for example, commercial vehicles.
Unfortunately, there are no plans to directly replace these cars. Instead, Ford is hoping to reverse the trend with some electric SUVs based on Volkswagen models. Based on the MEB platform, the Explorer and Capri are closely related to the ID.4 and ID.5 models respectively. The very successful Puma crossover will soon get an all-electric derivative. Despite its zero-emissions push, Ford of Europe recently abandoned a plan to go all-electric from 2030 onwards.
Unfortunately, there are no plans to directly replace these cars. Instead, Ford is hoping to reverse the trend with some electric SUVs based on Volkswagen models. Based on the MEB platform, the Explorer and Capri are closely related to the ID.4 and ID.5 models respectively. The very successful Puma crossover will soon get an all-electric derivative. Despite its zero-emissions push, Ford of Europe recently abandoned a plan to go all-electric from 2030 onwards.
As for the "iconic" vehicles Farley mentioned, he was referring to the Bronco, Mustang and Raptor. The Pony Car gives Ford the confidence to "take on Porsche" with the Mustang, and the company wants to invest more money in the future. Proof of this is hardcore GTD. Top management explained that collector cars have always been a 'side business' that was never really financially supported, but now they are becoming 'our business'.
However, eliminating these 'boring' cars puts the Volkswagen, Toyota, Stellantis and Kia/Hyundai groups in a good position as these groups still produce regular cars. As previously reported, Ford's sales numbers in Europe are in decline. By June 2024, they will fall by 16,9% in the European Union, EFTA and the United Kingdom. This resulted in a decrease in market share from 4,1% to 3,3%. In Germany, the situation is hardly any better and amounts to 3,6%. The best-selling model in this country is the Focus.
In the first half of 2024, the three best-selling models in Europe were not SUVs. In Europe at least, Ford is taking a big risk, limiting its passenger car lineup to the Puma, Kuga, Mustang Mach-E, a few VW-related electric vehicles, and the Mustang, which is sure to be a niche product. We have already excluded the Focus, as the factory in Saarlouis will cease production next year. Of course, sales numbers are one thing, profit margins are another. But it's still strange not offering a 'boring' car and allowing competitors to take all the demand.
