Ford CEO Tell European Dealers That New Passenger Cars Are Coming

In recent years, Ford’s pendulum of development has swung in the opposite direction of smaller passenger cars in favor of new SUVs and electric vehicles. Recent years have seen once-popular models like the Fusion, Fiesta, and Focus be filtered out of the lineup, first in North America and then in Europe, where the Focus is on its last legs. However, it seems like that pendulum might swing back in a big way, as information leaked from a dealer meeting suggests the automaker wants to get back to cars.

Automotive News Europe has reported that Christoph Herr, Ford’s German boss, recently held a meeting with European dealerships about the future of the brand, where he revealed that Ford CEO Jim Farley is apparently focused on developing new passenger cars. It’s unclear if that means the North American market will also benefit from newer, smaller models in the future. In the past, the Focus and Fiesta were closely shared between the two markets, but the latest updates of both were exclusive to Europe. The Fiesta has already been phased out of that market, though, and the Focus will die this year. Ford also killed its Galaxy and C-Max vans from the market already, with no replacements.

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There’s Still The Puma

It’s likely Ford will point any customers interested in smaller cars to its new compact Puma crossover as its smallest offering in Europe. Those interested in a compact van can look at the brand’s slate of new SUVs. Overall, the Puma is already Ford’s bestseller in the region, moving 64,212 units in the first five months of the year.

The Escape-sized Kuga SUV moved 44,573 units, and the expiring Focus was still capable of selling at least half the Puma’s figure, at 32,499 units. It’s a dismal outlook so far for the brand’s newer electric SUVs, though, with the Explorer EV selling just 15,764 units so far this year. The sporty Capri EV – controversially recast as a crossover – sold just 5,068 examples.

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Is Volkswagen Going To Help?

Europe’s dealers reportedly praised the Ford brand and its apparent decision to bring back new passenger cars. It’s not clear what timeline there is for these new models, nor whether Ford will leverage its existing partnership with Volkswagen, which is already in the development phase of new compact passenger cars. It’s worth noting the Explorer EV is already based on VW technology, but if there is an expanded Ford-VW partnership for more models, don’t expect them to come stateside.

However, if Ford goes through the trouble of developing new passenger cars all on its own, it’s possible those ambitions could have a global reach. Where is that four-door Mustang, after all?

Source: Automotive News Europe