Is Ford about to resurrect its hot-selling Fiesta?
Words/Images NZ Autocar
Back a few years, the Ford Fiesta was Britain’s best selling nameplate. So what did Ford do? Axed it. Evidently it couldn’t make any profit from the five-door hatch.
What have Ford sales done since in the UK? Rhetorical question. However, thanks to a technology sharing tie up with Volkswagen, Fiesta might yet make a comeback.
Volkswagen’s Martin Sander told Auto Express that there may be opportunities for further EV platform sharing. Ford already uses the ID 4 and 5 underpinnings for its Explorer and Capri EVs.
If it returned, it is likely a reborn Fiesta would use MEB Entry platform mechanicals. Those are the same underpinnings set to find use in ID.1 and ID.2. A future Fiesta might therefore have up to 450km of range and DC fast-charging speeds of up to 125kW.
The initial agreement with Ford enabled Volkswagen to scale up and this could be repeated with a second round of smaller family cars.
While Puma remains a big seller for Ford in Europe, it is no longer the affordable entry-point it originally was. However, Ford ditched Fiesta and Focus because they couldn’t make a profit on city cars or small family hatchbacks.
However, Ford has said it is confident in its ability to compete in the right segments, meaning it is keeping its options open.
The outgoing Fiesta was 4068mm long which is marginally longer than the ID. 2all concept. But the VW’s wider stance and low-mounted battery should give a future Fiesta that typical dynamic character present in modern-day Fords.
Styling is an unknown but a blanked off front end, slimline headlights and aero wheels are a given for the five-door only hatch.
Add to the mix Ford’s California-based Skunkworks team that is working on a ‘new affordable electric vehicle platform’. However, that project seems to be developing ‘a medium-sized pick-up’. That would be better suited to US conditions than a compact hatch.
Ford has said it will update the market on its future EV strategy in August, along with results for the first half of 2025.
