Ford to stop making iconic car model after 46 years

Ford has confirmed that its iconic Fiesta model will be dropped next year after 46 years on sale.

Following speculation yesterday (October 25) about the model’s demise, Ford has now come forward to confirm that the brand’s once best-selling supermini is being axed as the brand ‘accelerates’ its plans to become fully electric.

The Fiesta first arrived in 1976 and Ford has now produced more than 22 million examples of this supermini across nine generations, which has proven popular over the years to a broad audience, from learner drivers through to families.

Despite the Fiesta remaining the best-selling car for a number of years up to 2020, Ford has now confirmed that production of the model will finish at the brand’s factory in Cologne, Germany, ‘by the end of June 2023’. Ford will also be stopping its S-Max and Galaxy people carriers in April 2023.

In a statement, Ford said: “At Ford in Europe, we are accelerating our efforts to go all-in on electrification with our passenger vehicles being fully electric by 2030 – and all vehicles across our Ford portfolio by 2035.

“As we get ready to transition to an electric future, we will discontinue production of S-Max and Galaxy in Valencia, Spain in April 2023 and discontinue Fiesta production in Cologne, Germany by end of June 2023.”

Ford currently only sells two EVs in Europe – the Mustang Mach-E SUV and E-Transit van – but is set to introduce three new passenger vehicles and four commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024. The firm says it plans to sell ‘more than 600,000 electric vehicles’ in Europe by 2026.

The discontinuation of the Fiesta follows similar news about long-running Ford models. Production of the Mondeo came to an end earlier in 2022, while the Focus is also set to be axed by 2025, though this date could be brought forwards.