Photo: Ford
As Ford of Europe is moving toward a purely electric future, the Ford Focus is nearing its end of life, as the company’s Chairman Stuart Rowley has told a conference call of journalists today that production of the hatchback will end in 2025.
Besides confirming the demise of the Ford Focus, the carmaker’s honcho also admitted that the future of the Saarlouis plant in Germany is uncertain, as the company has no plans to replace the Focus hatchback after its lifecycle ends in three years’ time and was not able to come up with a solution to keep the factory up and running after that.
"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," Rowley said.
There aren’t many options for Ford, really, as it could either sell the plant to another automaker or repurpose it for other operations.
Ford of Europe could have used the Saarlouis plant to build the company’s new range of EVs or at least some of them, but the carmaker preferred to send the production of the vehicles based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture to its Spanish plant in Valencia.
During the same conference, Stuart Rowley also admitted that "significant" job cuts are expected at the Saarlouis plant, where Ford currently employs 4,600 people.
"The reality of the industry is that the production of EVs will require fewer people," he said.
The Ford Focus, which was once a best-seller in key markets including Britain, registered a significant drop in sales during the first months of this year, falling out of the top 10. The hatchback lost its place to the Ford Puma and Ford Kuga models, both SUVs.
The Saarlouis factory, which opened in 1970, sits on 296 acres of land and was once a major assembly plant for Ford, producing the Ford Focus, Wagon, ST and Active versions, as well as the Ford C-MAX and Grand C-MAX.
"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," Rowley said.
There aren’t many options for Ford, really, as it could either sell the plant to another automaker or repurpose it for other operations.
Ford of Europe could have used the Saarlouis plant to build the company’s new range of EVs or at least some of them, but the carmaker preferred to send the production of the vehicles based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture to its Spanish plant in Valencia.
During the same conference, Stuart Rowley also admitted that "significant" job cuts are expected at the Saarlouis plant, where Ford currently employs 4,600 people.
"The reality of the industry is that the production of EVs will require fewer people," he said.
The Ford Focus, which was once a best-seller in key markets including Britain, registered a significant drop in sales during the first months of this year, falling out of the top 10. The hatchback lost its place to the Ford Puma and Ford Kuga models, both SUVs.
The Saarlouis factory, which opened in 1970, sits on 296 acres of land and was once a major assembly plant for Ford, producing the Ford Focus, Wagon, ST and Active versions, as well as the Ford C-MAX and Grand C-MAX.
Google News