“It’s time to say goodbye to the stroller that has affected us all.” It is with these few words in a tweet that Ford announced the discontinuation of the Fiesta. The small compact will no longer leave the factory chains in Cologne (Germany) from June 2023. Marketed since 1976 and sold exclusively in Europe since 1996, the Fiesta has sold a total of 22 million copies since the year 47 .
Ford’s strategic shift to electric
The Fiesta is one of the collateral victims of two great automotive trends: SUVs and electric vehicles. Several times the best-selling model in Europe, such as in March 2010 or in March 2017 ahead of the Volkswagen Golf, the small car had since lost its shine. Especially in recent years, the Fiesta has been overtaken by the Puma in the hearts of buyers: the small SUV became the manufacturer’s best-selling model in Europe last year.
The electric turn that Ford has given in Europe has also been successful for the Fiesta: the American brand plans to sell 600,000 100% electric cars on the continent in 2026 before becoming 100% electric in 2030. For this reason, the manufacturer is committed to its future zero-emission models saying goodbye to part of its current autonomy. how do you remember free belgiumFord has discontinued the Mondeo, the Focus will no longer be marketed in 2025, while the S-Max and Galaxy will end their careers in 2024.
A future electric model
At the same time, the American manufacturer is adapting its industrial tool. The Cologne plant is undergoing a “profound restructuring with a view to becoming Ford’s center of electrical excellence in Europe,” a group spokesman told AFP. The Cologne plant will soon start production of a new electric SUV model designed through a partnership with German giant Volkswagen, the spokesman added. Ford will use the “MEB” electric platform developed by the German manufacturer, which allows several different car models to be assembled on the same technical base.
European factories are preparing for the reorganization of the activities of the group, which has already announced this summer the elimination of several thousand jobs across the Atlantic and in India during the conversion of factories to electricity. Ford already announced last June that it had chosen its Spanish factory to manufacture a future electric model, to the detriment of its West German factory in Saarlouis, threatening thousands of jobs. But the change in production at the Cologne site should not affect the workforce at the site, according to German media. automobilwoche.
Source: BFM TV
