Ford Could Be Bringing the Fiesta Nameplate Back to Europe
Ford is eyeing the return of the Fiesta nameplate for Europe, according to a new report out of Automobilwoche.
At the same time, Ford could be planning a quick revival of the Focus, which is currently scheduled to exit production later this year.
Both revived models are likely to be built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, which already underpins the Ford Explorer and Capri models sold in Europe.
While the reasons Europe is served with an abundance of small cars and we’re stuck in our (admittedly cool) gargantuan pickups are multifarious, they don’t keep us from wishing we would get more small cars in the United States. Ford is here to exacerbate that incongruity once more, as according to a new report out of Automotive News Europe’s German sister publication, Automobilwoche, the automaker could be bringing back the Fiesta.
While the diminutive hatchback left production for the U.S. following the 2019 model year, it carried on in Europe before being dropped in 2023. Ford hasn’t outright confirmed the Fiesta is making a return, though Christoph Herr, head of the Ford Service Organisation (FCSD) for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, told European dealers that the brand’s leadership approved investments for new hybrid and electric models.
Ford will “invest in several vehicles, some of them together with partners and also with different forms of propulsion, including hybrids and fully electric vehicles,” Herr said.
According to the report, that could also include a revival of the Focus nameplate, which left the U.S. in 2018 and is scheduled to end European production later this year. A similar report from Automotive News Europe says that European dealers are hoping for a replacement for the Focus.
Both models could be built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform, which Ford is already using to some success in Europe. Both the Explorer and Capri models sold in Europe are built on the VW platform, but a smaller version of the platform will underpin the upcoming ID.1 and ID.2 models.
Even if the Blue Oval does resurrect the small hatchback models, the likelihood that either will make its way to the U.S. is very low.
