The end of the Focus is also likely to mean the end of Ford production at Saarlouis plant in Germany.
Production of the Ford Focus will end in 2025 as Ford pivots its attention to electric vehicles, the company has said.
The end of the family car is also likely to mean the end of Ford production in Saarlouis, Germany, although Ford stopped short of saying the plant would be closed.
“We’re seeking other alternative opportunities for vehicle production at Saarlouis, including [selling to] other manufacturers. We don’t have in our planning cycle an additional model that goes into Saarlouis,” Ford of Europe head Stuart Rowley told journalists on Wednesday.
Saarlouis lost out to Ford’s production facility in Valencia, Spain, to build vehicles on the company’s planned new global EV platform, starting later this decade.
Ford gave no indication whether the EVs to be built in Valencia will be smaller or larger than the compact crossover that go into production in Cologne, Germany, in 2023 on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform.
However, the fact that the platform is global suggests that they will be larger models and not a replacement for the Ford Fiesta. Ford Australia has already cut its local line-up down to just the Ford Focus ST and Ford Fiesta ST.
Ford gave no indication as to whether the Focus name will continue into the electric era.
The good news for Valencia in winning the right to build EVs to replace the Escape was tempered by the information that Ford will make “significant” job cuts at the plant.
“The reality of the industry is that the production of EVs will require less people,” Rowley said.
Ford currently employs 6000 in Valencia and 4600 in Saarlouis. Overall, it employs 41,000 in Europe, but it has been reducing its headcount as it tries to swing the region back to consistent profitability after years of losses.
Ford has been one of the manufacturers most vocal about switching to electric in Europe, and it will no longer sell ICE cars in the region after 2030.
Nick Gibbs