Here's why Ford discontinued the Focus..

[StephenFord]

Stumbled across this article. It's not gospel! Just for interest...

https://www.slashgear.com/1522552/what-happened-to-ford-focus/

[alexp999]

It’s being discontinued because “SUVs” and crossovers are higher margin. 
 

They can sell you a Puma at a higher price than a fiesta even though they are the same platform. 
 

Same with the Kuga on the focus platform. 
 

People will (did?) pay more because they thought they were getting more car for their money when in reality they are just over paying for the same platform. 
 

It’s higher margins on these unnecessarily bigger cars and the marketing to convince people they want them that have killed the hatchbacks. 

[DaveT70]

17 hours ago, alexp999 said:

It’s being discontinued because “SUVs” and crossovers are higher margin. 
 

They can sell you a Puma at a higher price than a fiesta even though they are the same platform. 
 

Same with the Kuga on the focus platform. 
 

People will (did?) pay more because they thought they were getting more car for their money when in reality they are just over paying for the same platform. 
 

It’s higher margins on these unnecessarily bigger cars and the marketing to convince people they want them that have killed the hatchbacks. 

We are currently witnessing Ford committing commercial suicide.

They are killing off the run of the mill cars and putting all their eggs in the BEV basket.

But there is already a backlash starting over BEVs, with people preferring HEVs & PHEVs and a large shift in development of Hydrogen powered and, more importantly 100% Ethanol powered vehicles, they've already stopped building so many F150 Lightnings because A: Nobody really wanted them, only the brainwashed and they've bought them now and B: they lost $35,000 per unit

They have no BEVs on the market, apart from the Mustang Cack-E so all they have is an overpriced Fiesta and an overpriced Focus that are at 20% volume of the Fiesta and Focus, just look at the pre-pandemic sales figures

They refused to build Fiestas and Focus' through Pandemic due to "so-called" semi-conductor issues, but in reality, they wanted to make more money per unit.

I believe Ford will be bankrupt in 5 years, the killing of the Fiesta was the most stupid thing to do, ever.

You just watch the new MG3 become market leader

And Focus is next

 

[alexp999]

4 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

We are currently witnessing Ford committing commercial suicide.

They are killing off the run of the mill cars and putting all their eggs in the BEV basket.

But there is already a backlash starting over BEVs, with people preferring HEVs & PHEVs and a large shift in development of Hydrogen powered and, more importantly 100% Ethanol powered vehicles, they've already stopped building so many F150 Lightnings because A: Nobody really wanted them, only the brainwashed and they've bought them now and B: they lost $35,000 per unit

They have no BEVs on the market, apart from the Mustang Cack-E so all they have is an overpriced Fiesta and an overpriced Focus that are at 20% volume of the Fiesta and Focus, just look at the pre-pandemic sales figures

They refused to build Fiestas and Focus' through Pandemic due to "so-called" semi-conductor issues, but in reality, they wanted to make more money per unit.

I believe Ford will be bankrupt in 5 years, the killing of the Fiesta was the most stupid thing to do, ever.

And Focus is next

 

The cost of living squeeze also means companies still offering good value cars will be in a better position.

Not only have companies like Ford bet on BEV too much, they've bet on disposable income too much for people to buy the high margin cars. I think that will be a shrinking market.

[TomsFocus]

I don't think Ford will go bankrupt any time soon.  They're still a major supplier of commercial vehicles.  I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up focussing on commercial only and letting private cars wane though.

[DaveT70]

14 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

The cost of living squeeze also means companies still offering good value cars will be in a better position.

Not only have companies like Ford bet on BEV too much, they've bet on disposable income too much for people to buy the high margin cars. I think that will be a shrinking market.

Correct, BMW and VAG still offer both

[DaveT70]

9 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I don't think Ford will go bankrupt any time soon.  They're still a major supplier of commercial vehicles.  I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up focussing on commercial only and letting private cars wane though.

Their only saving grace is Transit, but it can't last forever, if, five years ago I'd have posted on here that Fiesta will be dead in five years, with no replacement, you'd have all laughed

Ford have had it and Europe has never performed (due to letting Germany call the shots instead of Britain, when Britain was highest market) but they'll never be able to sell it off, like GM did with Vauxhall/Opel, because it's all under the Ford name

[Mark-UK]

46 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

The cost of living squeeze also means companies still offering good value cars will be in a better position.

Not only have companies like Ford bet on BEV too much, they've bet on disposable income too much for people to buy the high margin cars. I think that will be a shrinking market.

  I guess lots will point to the Norway car market, where last year, 90% of all new cars sold were electric and expects to hit 100% next year.

[alexp999]

5 minutes ago, Mark-UK said:

  I guess lots will point to the Norway car market, where last year, 90% of all new cars sold were electric and expects to hit 100% next year.

Because in Norway you'd be stupid not to buy Electric.

The govt has incentivised EVs unlike here and have been doing so for decades so the infrastructure has grown with it.

In Norway there is no duty or VAT on an EV. Whereas combustion vehicles are heavily (based on emissions iirc) taxed. They also have abundant hydro power, which is state owned and so costs are low.

My best mate is Norwegian, last year he bought a brand new e-208 GT for £27k. It's about £10k more in the UK. Whereas my ST over there is more like double the price it is here. He's saving about £200 a month in "fuel" now.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

57 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

You just watch the new MG3 become market leader

Recently read a quote from MG on the demise of the Fiesta : "A very iconic car has disappeared and I think there's a great opportunity for someone to come and sweep up for those people that don't necessarily want an SUV and still want a 4.1 metre supermini that pretty much ticks all the boxes" said MG's David Allison of its new £18,000 hybrid.

[Mark-UK]

I was not a Ford owner at the time, but was there similar commentary when they ended the Escort, Cortina, Sierra, or Fiesta. Is it just because they dropped the Focus name or that they are (as far as we know) not replacing with a similar sized model.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, Mark-UK said:

I was not a Ford owner at the time, but was there similar commentary when they ended the Escort, Cortina, Sierra, or Fiesta. Is it just because they dropped the Focus name or that they are (as far as we know) not replacing with a similar sized model.

 

Other than nostalgia, are people really that bothered about the actual name? I don't recall that much upset when the last Escort was replaced by the Focus. I was involved in fleet buying at the time the Cortina was dropped and there was a bit of a fuss about the Sierra but that was more about the "jelly mould" looks rather than the name. Most "user-choosers" were won over when they actually drove it.

Back to today, just because ICE is being killed off by politicians, doesn't necessarily mean that all Fiesta, Focus, Polo, Golf, etc owners will suddenly want to switch to an electric SUV.

Other makers have recognised this with e.g. VW ID 3 and forthcoming Polo size model, Renault with outgoing Zoe and new 5 EV, PSA with e-208, e-Corsa, etc, etc.

Like many others I don't want an SUV however it's powered and whatever it's called, so I'm on my last Ford. People who do want an SUV are spoiled for choice as it is.

[troy45]

The semi-conductor issues that affected car production worldwide were most definitely not imagined or made up. 
 

While the supply chain was severely limiting supply of parts it made commercial sense to assign the ones available to models making the most profit while other assembly lines were sat idle and people were being paid to stay at home. 

[DaveT70]

17 hours ago, Mark-UK said:

  I guess lots will point to the Norway car market, where last year, 90% of all new cars sold were electric and expects to hit 100% next year.

Not really, their market is about 10% of UK and 5% of German market

[DaveT70]

14 hours ago, troy45 said:

The semi-conductor issues that affected car production worldwide were most definitely not imagined or made up. 

Absolutely, but manufactures shifted volumes to suit, pushing lower margin products into extinction or, if you're Ford, pushing people who went into dealerships to buy a Fiesta to buy a Puma because they made more money on them

[Eric Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, DaveT70 said:

if you're Ford, pushing people who went into dealerships to buy a Fiesta to buy a Puma because they made more money on them

From my own, and friends experience, that certainly happened. I guess another factor in that is the Puma is manufactured in Romania, where labour costs are probably lower, while the Fiesta was made in Cologne, which they wanted to switch to EV.

That said, Ford model cycles have traditionally been around 6-7 years, so both the recent Fiesta and Focus would have ended their run 2024-25 anyway. The difference this time round is they haven't been replaced with anything similar.

 

[DaveT70]

Just now, Eric Bloodaxe said:

the Puma is manufactured in Romania, where labour costs are probably lower,

Exactly that, 40% less manufacturing costs plus higher retail sale price

[AntonovAN12]

Look at the state of today's pot holed roads. That as well as speed bumps must be part of the reason why crossovers with higher ground clearance are more popular.

[unofix]

17 minutes ago, AntonovAN12 said:

today's pot holed roads. That as well as speed bumps

Is a pot hole just and inverted speed hump ? 🤣

[Mark-UK]

I think this could be the same issue for Ford, the fast emerging alternatives to “traditional” manufacturers, and how some are struggling to keep up with the new companies coming out of the like of China. We've all seen how the Korean car companies like Kia and Hyundai went from quirky off beat cars to major players in a very short time.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/ba9d43aa-b1ab-4244-82b2-7bd12d3799ac

[Botus]

On 3/13/2024 at 2:03 PM, DaveT70 said:

We are currently witnessing Ford committing commercial suicide.

They are killing off the run of the mill cars and putting all their eggs in the BEV basket.

But there is already a backlash starting over BEVs, with people preferring HEVs & PHEVs and a large shift in development of Hydrogen powered and, more importantly 100% Ethanol powered vehicles, they've already stopped building so many F150 Lightnings because A: Nobody really wanted them, only the brainwashed and they've bought them now and B: they lost $35,000 per unit

They have no BEVs on the market, apart from the Mustang Cack-E so all they have is an overpriced Fiesta and an overpriced Focus that are at 20% volume of the Fiesta and Focus, just look at the pre-pandemic sales figures

They refused to build Fiestas and Focus' through Pandemic due to "so-called" semi-conductor issues, but in reality, they wanted to make more money per unit.

I believe Ford will be bankrupt in 5 years, the killing of the Fiesta was the most stupid thing to do, ever.

You just watch the new MG3 become market leader

And Focus is next

 

the world is far more muddled than many understand

the big corporations have a FAR CLEARER understanding of what Israel has in store for all of us and are landing what will work for them and their sick leadership
when we asked the accountants to help the UK understand how to ruin the world ongoing - by 1948 the special people that created ww1 and 2 had some extra curricular activity going on

the facts for simple people

the UK for UK citizens destroyed
all manufacturing
all mining and mineral exploration
all jobs
all future
other than a financial mess ruining the entire planet on behalf of a select bunch of criminals - vote putin - the ONLY one other than china trying not to kill you - but the marketeers aren't selling you that one are they !!!