Currently reading: Ford UK boss: no hot ST SUVs will come to Europe

The US market is getting a 330bhp Edge ST, but we won't be seeing it in the UK

Ford will not launch high-performance ST-badged SUVs in Europe, reasoning that it won’t deliver what customers want from such cars, according to UK boss Andy Barratt.

Explaining why the US market is getting an Ford Edge ST, which is powered by a 2.7-litre V6 Ecoboost engine making around 330bhp, Barratt said: “All our research shows buyers want a combination of the sporty ST styling with a more luxurious feel to it, from the interior finish to the engine package.”

Dsc 4504

Barratt also played down the likelihood of that decision changing, despite premium marques making good business cases for high-end sporty cars in the booming SUV segment.

“The customer will always have the casting vote. If the demand is there, it is unlikely we’ll resist it,” he said. “But we already have plenty of evidence that ST-Line is the way to go. The Ford Kuga (above) has led the way on this and the Ford Fiesta is following suit. Customers are stepping up from Zetec trims and that’s good business.”

17fusionsport 05 hr

Ford illustrated this 'customer chooses' approach just last week when it announced that it will remove the Fiesta and all saloon models from its US line-up. The cars, which include the Fusion (America's version of the Mondeo, pictured above) and larger Taurus, have seen dwindling demand as customers move away from traditional bodyshapes to SUVs.

Advertisement

Read our review

Car review

Ford tops its range line-up with an Americanised, big Ford for the 21st century. But can it make a large enough impact to upset its premium rivals?

Back to top

The company said it was removing low-volume cars to boost profitability. It is using the money saved from these kind of efficiency measures (it expects to free up $11.5 billion) for the development of alternatively fuelled models.

Read more 

Ford Focus RS review 

Ford Edge review 

Ford Fiesta ST review 

Join the debate

Comments
15
Add a comment…
Rollocks 13 September 2018

Who did they ask?

"All our research shows that UK customers want to pay big car money for an underpowered medium-sized SUV. They also said we should reincarnate the Cortina Ghia..."
Ford101 2 May 2018

Ahhhhh!

I work for Ford's and find this approach constantly frustrating.  This year we will have a ready-made high power diesel engine (235BHP) which could be dropped into the Kuga to create a fast desirable ST version, without sacrificing the MPG. I agree with one of the previous comments, the lack of an Fiesta ST version for over a year is probably driving the ST-Line sales of that model.

TS7 30 April 2018

There's certainly a market for fast SUVs in the UK...

...Audi SQ5, BMW X3/4M, Mercedes-AMG GLC 43/63, Porsche Macan, possibly a Tiguan R to come. So one can only conclude that they 'realise' customers don't want a fast Ford SUV. One wonders if they've actually asked potential customers though; something that undercuts the German opposition on price might be exactly what some people want.