An Era Has Ended: Ford Focus Production Ends in Germany
Last Friday, November 14, Ford Motor released the last unit of the Focus model. It was a white five-door hatchback, destined straight for the museum in Saarlouis, Germany.
What's Known
At the end of September, Ford produced the last series example of the Focus ST wagon in Germany. Now, in November, the Focus model has been completely discontinued.
Since its inception in 1970, nearly 16 million vehicles have rolled off the assembly line at the Ford Motor plant in Saarlouis. Recently, about 2,700 people worked there. It is expected that 1,000 of them will remain at the plant and continue to produce automotive components.
The Ford Focus appeared in 1998 as the successor to the popular Escort model. Despite a controversial design, the car was hugely successful, won the “European Car of the Year” award in 1999, and reversed a long trend of declining brand sales on the continent. It also appeared on the U.S. market.
For the second generation Focus, Ford split the development into two separate vehicles: one for Europe (C307) and one for North America (C170). This began an unusual three-year production cycle of the Focus sedan and coupe from 2008-2011. Europe got a completely different car, produced over a more extended period until both vehicles were discontinued in favor of the third-generation Focus in 2010.
In its third iteration, the Focus for America and Europe became a single model once again. However, the car's market share gradually declined under the onslaught of crossovers and SUVs. This led Ford to discontinue the Focus, Fiesta, Fusion, Taurus, and C-Max for the U.S. market in 2018. However, the Focus continued in Europe, receiving its fourth generation that same year, which lasted until Friday.
Ford plans to fill the gap in its lineup with a new mid-size crossover. Its market debut is scheduled for 2027.
Source: Motor1
