Ford will not extend the Focus’s life cycle beyond 2025, despite the widespread drop in electric car demand that has prompted some rival manufacturers to slow the phasing out of their combustion cars.
Ford announced in 2022 that it would shut down the Focus production line in Saarlouis, Germany, in mid-2025. It has so far been unsuccessful in finding a buyer for the site, but Europe boss Martin Sander said the firm doesn’t have “any plans to extend Focus production”.
That’s despite Ford having adjusting its EV sales forecast in light of “adoption slowing versus our original assumptions”.
Recently, the similarly sized Mercedes-Benz A-Class was given a stay of execution until 2026 because of sustained ICE demand.
Meanwhile, Renault has cancelled the IPO of its electric vehicle division, Ampere, JLR said it would slow its EV transition to build more PHEVs and the Volkswagen Group throttled back on the output of several EVs as supply outpaced sales. But Sander said Ford remains committed to retiring ICE models and progressing with the switch.
He said: “In the long run, we are still deeply convinced that EVs will be the future and we will see a significant increase in volume.”
He added: “By the end of this year, we will have a full range of electric vehicles – both in the passenger vehicle sector but also in our commercial vehicle business line – and we are quite flexible to adapt to market demand. For the next couple of years, we have a broad choice.
“Basically, our customers have the power of choice to pick what they want.”
The Blue oval has suggested that smaller cars are not off the cards, however. The firm has suggested it will offer small electric cars once it has launched a family of four electric SUVs in Europe.
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Ford have decimated their european line-up - even the Focus is now on life support and now 'starts at' £28500, which is ridiculous. The once great Ford will soon just be another also-ran outside of the US, not even using their own designs, but basically re-badged VW's. Forget the Mach-E and 'new' Explorer - both dead designs and with both starting at well over £40k, probably not many sales either. Did you know you can build a new Explorer that's pretty much £60k. SIXTY GRAND.
I'm laughing at the bit about JLR realising too late that EV sales aren't the way forward, at the moment. They're too far down the Thierry Bollore path now, killing off Jaguar and McGovern telling their "poor" customers to p off. If you've not got £100k they're not interested in you.
And that's where Ford should be picking up plenty of customers, the ones who want an average family sized car that the Focus is. A hugely popular model and they're killing it off. It really is crazy all these "business people" telling customers we're not interested in you! Gerard Rantner did a similar thing and his business soon disappeared.
Customers have a choice, apparently, and private customers aren't buying £100k EVs, not even used ones, because they don't get the benefit in kind (BIK) tax relief. And those on an average wage can't afford EVs either, they need lower cost of ownership. That's why the Focus is so popular otherwise we'd all have a Ferrari!
Basic economics, yet it seems so many in the automotive industry have delusions they know better.
I'm laughing at your inane rant about Jaguar in a Ford article! :-p
Perhaps the truth of it is that Ford can't afford the development costs of a new Focus, the company says it's now an American brand but the long and the short of it is that it's no longer a muli national brand. Look how the Ford manufacturing empire has shrunk, the plants in Australia ,Brazil.India,Indonesia & the UK have gone and the German plant that builds the Focus is up for sale, I wonder if the cars that are being produced using VW platforms are likely to be the last European offerings from the Blue Oval? will in ten years the only vecehicles being produced will be the F-Series pickups and various SUV's purely for the North American market,if so the company will have come back full circle to when Henry Ford founded the company 120 years ago
One of the problems is that they're not offering the Focus with an engine of any power worth talking about. A 1.0l engine that has a 0-60 of 10.4s. That's slow. And probably without having four people in the car too!
Same engine in the Puma and it's 9.8 to 60. Still not quick.
And the version with 155ps I'd be surprised if it wasn't suffering from terrible turbo lag. I've experienced that with a Focus. Struggles to get out of junctions when the turbo hasn't spun up. Which is probably why they only offer it with an automatic gearbox.