► It’s official: Ford’s killing the Fiesta
► Fiesta’s been a consistent best-seller
► Ford’s electrification plans mean death of Galaxy and S-Max, too
Ford has officially confirmed it’s removing its Fiesta supermini from sale in 2023, after more than 45 years on sale.
The small car has been a huge bestseller in the UK and Europe for decades, but Ford is busy reviewing its current car line-up as it electrifies. Despite continuing to clock in solid sales numbers, the Fiesta has recently dropped out of the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK, according to 2022 data from the Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders. The Vauxhall Corsa is the current number 1 and, interestingly, Ford’s Puma is the third best seller in the UK this year.
Ford has revealed in a statement: ‘We are accelerating our efforts to go all-in on electrification with our passenger vehicles being fully electric by 2030 – and all vehicles across our Ford portfolio by 2035. As we get ready to transition to an electric future, we will discontinue Fiesta production in Cologne, Germany by end of June 2023.
‘We will introduce three new exciting electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024. We plan to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in the region by 2026, and the electric passenger vehicle production at the Cologne Electrification Centre will reach 1.2 million vehicles over a six-year timeframe.’
Small cars of this size have incredibly small margins, and Ford is busy reprioritising its car line-up in order to get the biggest bang for its buck in the cars that remain on sale while it invests in electrification. It’s already made a similar decision in the North American market, killing off cars like the Focus and Fusion in favour of SUVs, pick-up trucks and the Mustang. Interestingly, as well as the Fiesta, Ford confirms that it will also discontinue the S-MAX and Galaxy in 2023.
In order to speed up its electrification plans, the brand has partnered up with Volkswagen to get access to its MEB battery-electric platform, for example, and is jointly developing a new Ranger and Amarok with VW, too. The brand has dipped its toe in the EV waters with the Mach-E, and has already outlined its plan to introduce new EVs by 2024.
It’s a massive moment for the UK and European car industry that such a big seller is being pulled from forecourts. How has the Fiesta shaped your automotive life? Let us know in the comments, or get in touch on social media.