Photo: Ford
So long, multi-purpose vehicles! Even in Europe, crossovers and sport utility vehicles are all the rage, and something had to give as far as Ford is concerned. To the point, C-Max and Grand C-Max are going out of production in Saarlouis towards the end of June 2019.
“These actions represent an important step towards delivering the products our customers want and a more competitive business for our stakeholders,” declared Steven Armstrong, chairman of the supervisory board. On the upside, Saarlouis will continue production of the Focus hatchback and wagon.
Speaking of which, the Kuga is up for a redesign, and the compact crossover shares the C2 vehicle architecture with the Focus. Over in the North America, the 2020 Ford Escape will be the first nameplate from the Blue Oval to feature the C2 in this part of the world. Both models are going official on April 2nd at the Go Further event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Canceling the compact-sized minivans in June 2019 means that Ford will cancel the night shift. Moving to a two-shift schedule sounds counterintuitive, but the restructuring plan in Europe boils down to “reduced structural costs and increased efficiencies.”
Ford-Werke GmbH oversees the Saarlouis plant, and the workers were informed back in December 2018 that C-Max and Grand C-Max are not long for this world. Care to guess how bad the two nameplates fare in terms of sales?
53,937 is the number of total sales in Europe last year, down from 68,019 in 2017 and the historic high of 165,537 in 2004. There’s no sugarcoating this failure, not when crossovers and SUVs are selling this well on a worldwide basis. The truth of the matter is, MPVs aren’t in with the “in” crowd.
Over in Germany, the C-Max starts at €17,900 from the get-go or €14,590 as part of a special offer. The Karosserien Grand option adds €1,200 to the price. At the upper end of the spectrum, the Titanium trim level of the Grand C-Max costs €26,100 and €21,490, respectively.
Speaking of which, the Kuga is up for a redesign, and the compact crossover shares the C2 vehicle architecture with the Focus. Over in the North America, the 2020 Ford Escape will be the first nameplate from the Blue Oval to feature the C2 in this part of the world. Both models are going official on April 2nd at the Go Further event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Canceling the compact-sized minivans in June 2019 means that Ford will cancel the night shift. Moving to a two-shift schedule sounds counterintuitive, but the restructuring plan in Europe boils down to “reduced structural costs and increased efficiencies.”
Ford-Werke GmbH oversees the Saarlouis plant, and the workers were informed back in December 2018 that C-Max and Grand C-Max are not long for this world. Care to guess how bad the two nameplates fare in terms of sales?
53,937 is the number of total sales in Europe last year, down from 68,019 in 2017 and the historic high of 165,537 in 2004. There’s no sugarcoating this failure, not when crossovers and SUVs are selling this well on a worldwide basis. The truth of the matter is, MPVs aren’t in with the “in” crowd.
Over in Germany, the C-Max starts at €17,900 from the get-go or €14,590 as part of a special offer. The Karosserien Grand option adds €1,200 to the price. At the upper end of the spectrum, the Titanium trim level of the Grand C-Max costs €26,100 and €21,490, respectively.
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