Photo: Ford
Fiesta sales may have been on the low side of subcompacts in the past five years or thereabout. However, the freshly discontinued Fiesta may come back in the form of an EV by decade's end.
Martin Sander, the guy in charge of passenger cars at Ford of Europe, let it slip that Ford is currently exploring multiple opportunities to bring the Fiesta back from the dead. Speaking to Automotive News, he also waxed lyrical about Dearborn's cooperation with Wolfsburg in regard to future electric cars and SUVs.
As you're fully aware by now, the Ford Motor Company uses the Volkswagen Group's MEB platform to build the Explorer EV for Europe at the American automaker's Cologne assembly plant in Germany. The MEB will also serve as the basis for yet another electric crossover, which is due next year. A coupe-styled crossover, the second MEB-based sport utility vehicle may revive the Ford Motor Company's Capri moniker.
Regarding the Fiesta EV, chances are the Dearborn-based company will use Volkswagen's upcoming MEB Entry platform. Think of it as the lower-cost version of the MEB. The biggest difference between said platforms comes in the form of a front-mounted electric motor for the MEB Entry versus RWD for the MEB.
Martin Sander made it clear that nothing concrete has been decided as of July 2023, though. A Fiesta EV based on the MEB Entry is merely wishful thinking for the time being. With Ford currently weighing the development of a small vehicle platform of its own, the Fiesta EV may very well be 100% Ford underneath.
Sander told the cited publication the Fiesta EV isn't high on the European division's list of priorities. Although Martin didn't explain why, chances are Ford of Europe is reluctant to a conventional hatchback. In this case, there's no place for a Fiesta EV in the automaker's European lineup due to the Puma EV.
A different animal from the original sport compact, the Puma is made exclusively at Ford's assembly plant in Craiova, Romania on the B-car platform of the Fiesta. Its electric sibling is due in 2024, with series production to be handled by the production site in Craiova as well.
We also have to remember that relying too much on a competing automaker's technologies will ultimately hurt the Ford Motor Company. The MEB-based Explorer EV and yet-unconfirmed Capri EV are merely stopgaps in an ultra-competitive market where automakers are required to meet an extremely ambitious CO2 target for their entire fleet, each and every year.
On the other hand, the Fiesta EV makes plenty of sense in this part of the world. Lest we forget, a subcompact hatchback was crowned Europe's best-selling new car in 2022. In addition to the Peugeot 208, the top 10 also comprised subcompacts like the Renault Clio-based Dacia Sandero, Toyota Yaris, Opel and Vauxhall Corsa, Dacia Duster, and – in 10th place – the Renault Clio.
As you're fully aware by now, the Ford Motor Company uses the Volkswagen Group's MEB platform to build the Explorer EV for Europe at the American automaker's Cologne assembly plant in Germany. The MEB will also serve as the basis for yet another electric crossover, which is due next year. A coupe-styled crossover, the second MEB-based sport utility vehicle may revive the Ford Motor Company's Capri moniker.
Regarding the Fiesta EV, chances are the Dearborn-based company will use Volkswagen's upcoming MEB Entry platform. Think of it as the lower-cost version of the MEB. The biggest difference between said platforms comes in the form of a front-mounted electric motor for the MEB Entry versus RWD for the MEB.
Martin Sander made it clear that nothing concrete has been decided as of July 2023, though. A Fiesta EV based on the MEB Entry is merely wishful thinking for the time being. With Ford currently weighing the development of a small vehicle platform of its own, the Fiesta EV may very well be 100% Ford underneath.
Sander told the cited publication the Fiesta EV isn't high on the European division's list of priorities. Although Martin didn't explain why, chances are Ford of Europe is reluctant to a conventional hatchback. In this case, there's no place for a Fiesta EV in the automaker's European lineup due to the Puma EV.
A different animal from the original sport compact, the Puma is made exclusively at Ford's assembly plant in Craiova, Romania on the B-car platform of the Fiesta. Its electric sibling is due in 2024, with series production to be handled by the production site in Craiova as well.
We also have to remember that relying too much on a competing automaker's technologies will ultimately hurt the Ford Motor Company. The MEB-based Explorer EV and yet-unconfirmed Capri EV are merely stopgaps in an ultra-competitive market where automakers are required to meet an extremely ambitious CO2 target for their entire fleet, each and every year.
On the other hand, the Fiesta EV makes plenty of sense in this part of the world. Lest we forget, a subcompact hatchback was crowned Europe's best-selling new car in 2022. In addition to the Peugeot 208, the top 10 also comprised subcompacts like the Renault Clio-based Dacia Sandero, Toyota Yaris, Opel and Vauxhall Corsa, Dacia Duster, and – in 10th place – the Renault Clio.
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