Ford Fiesta axed as brand focuses on new electric cars

Ford has confirmed that production of the iconic Fiesta supermini will end in June 2023 after 47 years. Since it's introduction in 1976 nearly five million examples have been sold in the UK alone, but the Blue Oval is refocusing its efforts on creating a new line-up of electric cars. 

In an official statement Ford of Europe President Martin Sander said: “At Ford in Europe, 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 production of S-Max and Galaxy in Valencia, Spain in April 2023 and discontinue Fiesta production in Cologne, Germany by end of June 2023.

“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.”

There are no plans for a Fiesta EV, but Ford has confirmed it will launch three new electric cars by 2024 to sit alongside the Mustang Mach-E SUV. First up is an as-yet-unnamed "medium-sized crossover" that’s arriving in 2023, followed by a "sports crossover" in 2024, both of which will be built at the company's Cologne factory in Germany.

They’ll also share underpinnings with Volkswagen's 'ID' electric cars thanks to an agreement between the two companies signed several years ago. Ford says the medium-sized crossover will seat five people and be capable of up to 310 miles on a charge. Its name will be revealed by the end of the year, with production expected to begin in early 2023.

Finally, in 2024 Ford will also launch an electric version of its popular Puma compact SUV (the Fiesta’s big brother). It’s understood that the Puma EV will share components – including elements of its platform – with the electric versions of the Transit Courier and Tourneo Courier in order to keep pricing affordable. The Puma EV will roll off the same Romanian production line as the petrol-powered versions of the car.

There's no confirmation as yet what the new passenger-car models will look like, but in late 2019, Ford of Europe’s chief designer Murat Gueler told us that Mustang design influences were likely to appear on other electric Fords: "The Mustang influence wasn’t considered until an earlier direction with the Mach-E wasn’t really working," he said. "Once we introduced Mustang as inspiration, it came together quickly. We’re really excited by what this brings to the electric car and we've talked about expansion to some sort of family."