The Ford Fiesta supermini will be axed from Ford‘s line-up according to rumours, with a briefing outlining the brand’s plans for the big-selling small hatchback expected later this week.
Auto Express understands that an official statement with news of the Fiesta’s demise – as well as plans that outline when the Blue Oval’s iconic supermini will go off sale, possibly by the middle of 2023 – could come in days as Ford’s march towards full electrification continues.
Auto Express contacted Ford for comment and was told: “We are accelerating our efforts to go all-in on electrification and therefore review our vehicle portfolio in line with our business strategy. We do not comment on speculation and will share more information in the coming months.”
Ford is undergoing a huge transition towards a fully electric line-up and confirmed in March this year that the Fiesta’s bigger brother, the Puma compact SUV, will be available as a fully-electric car by 2024. It’s understood that the Puma EV will share components – including elements of its platform – with the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier electric vans in order to keep pricing affordable and will be built at the same factory as the commercial vehicles in Craiova, Romania.
However, although the combustion-engined Puma shares its Global B Small Car platform with the Fiesta, Auto Express understands that the Blue Oval has no plans for a Fiesta EV on this new, more affordable platform.
This would in theory help keep the cost of electrifying Ford’s small cars down, a problem many brands are tackling at the moment with models such as the future reborn Renault 5 EV and the Volkswagen Group’s ‘MEB Entry’ cars, the VW ID. Life, Cupra UrbanRebel and Skoda’s forthcoming model on this platform.
However, it’s thought that part of the reason for axing the Fiesta in the first place is due to the rising cost of small cars and sliding sales in this sector compared with more popular small SUVs.
Previously speaking to Auto Express on the subject of an Ford’s future plans for electrification, President Ford of Europe and Chief Transformation and Quality Officer Stuart Rowley said: “This will not be the end of the journey. We’ll only sell electric passenger cars by 2030. We look forward to developing future plans.”
Ford’s switch to electric mobility will see its Cologne plant – where the Fiesta is currently built – turned into an EV manufacturing hub that will produce Ford-badged models based on the Volkswagen Group MEB platform for electric cars following a tie-up between the two companies. The first Ford model using this tech is set to go into production next year.
The Fiesta is Britain’s best-selling car ever having shifted nearly five million units over its 46-year lifespan so far. The car routinely topped the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders annual registration charts until it was recently overtaken by the Vauxhall Corsa.
The Fiesta didn’t feature in the 2021 top 10 chart and, year-to-date, despite a facelift in late 2021 the model doesn’t feature in the 2022 top 10 list either. However, Ford’s Puma does rank in this year’s list up to the end of September, in third spot with 27,680 registrations.
Earlier this year Ford suspended orders for its updated Fiesta (along with the newly facelifted Focus and the Galaxy and S-Max MPVs) citing supply chain issues.
Although both the Fiesta and Focus are back on sale, with greater profit margins on its more popular SUV models such as the Puma and Kuga (the latter seventh in the registration chart year-to-date) it’s likely that Ford has prioritised production of these cars to boost profitability, underpinning a potential decision to axe the Fiesta and continue on with Puma sales as the entry point to the firm’s line-up, along with the EcoSport compact SUV.
Click here for our list of the best superminis on sale in the UK…