Small Cars Are Alive and Well According to Ford

Ford has recently discontinued its Fiesta and has not yet announced a replacement for the Focus which will be phased out by 2025. However, this does not mean that the automaker is abandoning the small car segment altogether. In a recent interview with Autocar, Martin Sander, the general manager of Ford's Model e electric vehicle division in Europe, expressed that there is definitely room in Ford's lineup for non-SUV models in the future.

Sander mentioned that Ford's core values of quality and value for money have been key to their success and they are not straying from that. While it is unclear if Ford will expand its partnership with Volkswagen to include passenger cars, they have already collaborated on commercial vehicles and Ford has access to Volkswagen's MEB electric vehicle architecture. Although Ford has confirmed the creation of a 'skunkworks' team to develop an affordable EV to compete with Chinese brands, Sander hinted that future Ford small cars in Europe may not be high-volume models but rather iconic and emotional products.

Ford CEO Jim Farley previously mentioned that the skunkworks team has been working on a flexible platform for different types of vehicles and reports suggest that the first set of vehicles will include a small ute, a compact SUV, and possibly a ride-hailing vehicle. Despite the shift towards SUVs, Ford will continue to offer compact vehicles such as the Puma and the upcoming electric Gen-E model, as well as the Explorer which straddles the small and medium SUV segments. While Ford currently only offers the Mustang as a passenger car in markets like Australia and North America, they are expected to introduce more SUV models in these regions.

The shift towards SUVs has led to the discontinuation of models like the Escape and Puma, but the electric Gen-E will be available. Overall, Ford's future lineup in Europe will focus on iconic and emotional products rather than volume-based models, signaling a shift in their approach to the small car segment.