Ford has confirmed it’s killing off the Fiesta, S-Max and Galaxy as it transitions to an electric future.
The Blue Oval made the announcement this morning and released a nostalgic video of the Fiesta (which you can watch above).
The decision comes as sales of minivans and superminis decline as automakers seek higher profit margins with SUVs and crossovers.
Ford’s Cologne plant in Germany will manufacture the last Fiesta by the end of June 2023.
Production of the S-Max and Galaxy minivans in Valencia, Spain will cease three months earlier.
For the Fiesta, the curtain will fall on 45 years of sales.
Until the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fiesta was consistently the best-selling car and topped new-car sales month after month.
It was the UK’s best-selling new car for 12 consecutive years between 2009 and 2020.
In July 2014, Ford declared the Fiesta to be the UK’s best-selling vehicle with over 4.1 million sold since 1976.
Since then, the total has reached nearly five million.
The Fiesta has only appeared twice in the monthly Top 10 Selling Cars data compiled by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), once in 2022.
In September, Ford moved 4,570 Fiestas, securing it sixth place in that month’s best-selling chart, while in March it finished 10th with 3,890 registrations.
The city car and its hatchback brother, the Focus, were replaced by the Puma and Kuga in the best-selling charts.
Ford will now rapidly roll out a series of new electric cars, and the Fiesta is not in this product plan.
Martin Sander, Managing Director of Ford Model e Europe, said: “At Ford in Europe, we are accelerating our efforts to move forward with electrification, with our passenger vehicles being fully electric by 2030 – and all vehicles in our Ford portfolio by 2035. .
“As we prepare to transition to an electric future, we will stop production of S-Max and Galaxy in Valencia, Spain in April 2023 and stop production of Fiesta in Cologne, Germany by the end of June 2023. .”
He added: “We will introduce three exciting new electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024.
“We expect to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in the region by 2026, and production of passenger electric vehicles at the Cologne Electrification Center will reach 1.2 million vehicles over a six-year period.”
The Ford Fiesta, however, remains a success in the used car market.
SMMT’s most recent used car data shows there were 71,429 sales of the Fiesta in the second quarter of 2022, more than any other used car.
Data from Auto Trader shows there were 43 million used Ford Fiesta ad views between September 2021 and September 2022, with an average sale price of £10,956.
It was also named Small Used Car of the Year at the 2021 Car Dealer Used Car Awards.
Commenting on Ford’s announcement, Used Car Awards host and Mr. Wheeler Dealer, Mike Brewer said: “I’ve made my career with cars like the Fiesta, Escort, Capri and Cortina, and I helped keep those cars alive.”
“Killing the Fiesta is heartbreaking.
“I understand that Ford has a vision and there is a race towards electric SUVs, but to drop the Fiesta when it’s still so popular is madness – it’s a global car and you see them everywhere. “
Brewer added: “We will no doubt be seeing the Fiesta name again over the next decade on some hot hatched electric SUVs.”
Auto Trader Editorial Director Erin Baker said that while the ax falling is sad, Ford’s decision to make electric vehicles more accessible is “a very positive step”.
“After 46 years and 4.8 million sales, it’s a shame to see that the end is in sight for the iconic Ford Fiesta,” she said.
“Our data shows that the Fiesta has been the most advertised car in our market this year with over 100,000 adverts. In fact, since 2019 we have seen over half a million Fiestas advertised on our platform, which which really shows how much she is appreciated.
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“Interestingly enough, we have identified a UK Fiesta capital by looking at the data, it shows that people in the South East of England have a soft spot for this car.
“While it’s sad to see such an icon disappear from the market, it should allow one of the biggest automotive brands to really tackle electric vehicles and make them more accessible to more buyers. of cars, which is a very positive step in the right direction.’
The decision to kill off the Fiesta, S-Max and Galaxy follows the scrapping of the Mondeo earlier this year.
Ford has also confirmed that production of the Focus will end in 2025.
What are your memories of the sale of the Ford Fiesta? Email us at [email protected]