FUTURE PROOF
Something is afoot at Ford. And Paul Horrell has a very bad feeling about the whole situation
Pains me to say this but I think Ford in Europe is a bit stuffed Ford used to be the people’s champion It had loads of cars in the top sellers It won rally championships We adored generations of hot hatch Cosworths and STs and RSes Even when Ford would launch an everyday car a Mondeo say we’d stick it on the cover and run an eightpage road test inside because everyday Fords were anything but mundane to drive
But Ford is about to roll over and play dead Or at least mortally wounded It has lost its sparkle The Mondeo once a dominant force in family cars has departed The Galaxy too The SMax will surely follow When did you last even see a newish one? Ford wants to migrate you into a sevenseat Grand Tourneo Connect instead Me neither
And here’s the shocker reliable sources tell me that the Fiesta will go out of production next year With no replacement Ford simply can’t turn a profit on it The Focus will join it in the graveyard soon after These have been bestsellers for decades Our driving test cars our first cars our neighbours’ cars our hire cars our hot hatches of choice But Ford sales are wilting because it seems everyone now wants some premium badge or a Korean nameplate with spectacular warranty
“SHOCKER RELIABLE SOURCES TELL ME THE FIESTA WILL GO OUT OF PRODUCTION NEXT YEAR”
In March Ford sold cars in the UK Kia sold You can just imagine the panic at pm on Thursday March as Ford employees were told to rush online and hit the buy button on one of their own cars Meanwhile Audi BMW Mercedes and VW all hit almost bang on so others are snapping at Ford’s heels
Now it’s not like Ford has a wholly bare cupboard It has announced huzzah electrification Like everyone else From next year it’ll build an electric crossover at its Cologne plant But this is not an allFord car It uses the bones of the VW
ID In there’ll be a battery version of the Puma And a coupecrossover related to the VW ID And the Mustang MachE will still be imported from America of course And you’ll find electric Transits and Tourneos
Which sounds healthy until you start to look for the gaps No direct replacements for any of the hatchbacks It’s only electric crossovers And vans some with extra windows some with engines for the time being There won’t even be a new Kuga because of the VWbased car VW will even manufacture much of the underpinnings for Ford Cologne will just do the top hat
I’m old enough and sentimental enough to look at Ford’s contraction rather dolefully If you’re young you probably don’t care You learned to drive in a Kia Stonic But it looks overwhelmingly like Ford will have to shut a big plant If you live in Valencia or Saarlouis that’s bad for your local economy
Of course Ford says it’s doing this to cut CO emissions Admirable But too easy Any business can cut CO by simply closing down the shop
TG’s eco-conscious megabrain, Paul Horrell, is one of the world’s most respected and experienced car writers. Has attended every significant car launch since the Model T