Another iconic Ford rumoured to be on the chopping block

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

The Ford Focus nameplate could soon be a thing of the past, according to widespread industry speculation overseas.

Discussions around the future of the Focus ramped up following a recent interview with Ford Europe electric vehicle executive Martin Sander and Italian publication Quattroruote.

Sander told the publication that there will not be a fully electric Focus, seemingly putting a full stop to production of what was once one of the company’s most beloved models.

The Ford Focus will continue to live on in New Zealand, but for how long is unknown.

'We have no plans for an electric Fiesta and Focus. After all, the market is changing and the days of sedans and station wagons are over,” Sander said (the quote translated to English).

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Ford has yet to formally confirm the culling of the Focus, although the nameplate has been on thin ice in the recent past.

Earlier this year it was confirmed that the Focus would soon be pulled from sale in Australia, with the brand now only offering the Focus in ST trim.

Ford New Zealand has been slightly more charitable with the nameplate. It still sells the Focus locally in three specs; Active, ST-Line X, and ST. The former pair form part of the brand’s local hybrid range.

Should the Focus get axed for good, it will be the latest in a series of ‘traditional’ passenger car nameplates to disappear from showrooms.

The Falcon, Taurus, and Mondeo (badged as a Fusion in North America) have already been culled by the manufacturer. Most recently, the Fiesta, S-Max, and Galaxy were also added to the list of models set to go the way of the dodo.

The pivot in customer tastes away from traditional hatchbacks, sedans, and MPVs to SUVs and pick-ups caused significant drop-off in sales of each of the aforementioned models before they were canned. Ford believes this is only going to continue. Its North American and European line-ups are now almost entirely SUV and ute based – save for its iconic Mustang.

It had been thought that the Focus would simply continue on as an electric vehicle, but that appears to not be on the cards. Ford has previously connected the decision to cut the Fiesta, S-Max, and Galaxy from its line-up with the brand’s focus (pun not intended) on transitioning to electrification.

It’s worth noting that Ford could decide to reprise the Focus nameplate at some point in the future. The company is known to occasionally dig into its lineage to bring back names from the past, with the current Puma and F-150 Lightning being two recent examples.

Launched in 1998, the Focus was immediately considered to be a game changer within the hatchback space. Designed to show that compact cars did not have to be dull and built to a price, the first generation Focus came with radical styling, independent suspension on all four corners, and tack-sharp handling.

It helped rejuvenate Ford’s reputation at the time, while also helping pioneer the hardcore hot hatch genre with its motorsport-inspired Focus ST variant launched towards the end of its life cycle.