Immediately after Ford stopped production of the Fiesta last year, some reports from British sources indicated that the possibility remains that the Fiesta will one day return to the scene, but in an electric version. Now some new details have emerged revealing Ford’s plans to replace the Fiesta with an electric equivalent.
The Ford Fiesta went out of production in July 2023 after 47 years and seven generations, to make way for the new Ford Explorer electric SUV (based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform) to replace it on the production line at Ford’s Cologne plant in Germany.
A new range of smaller and more affordable electric Ford models should benefit the future ‘skunkworks’ architecture on which the company aims to produce the most efficient electric cars in the world.
This new platform, whose development is being led by a former Tesla engineer, could underpin spiritual successors to the Fiesta and Focus and a replacement for the Puma, as well as opening up the potential for other small cars from Ford.
The program is still in the engineering phase, but it is the first concrete sign that Ford sees a way to offer a whole package of more affordable models below the new Explorer, Capri and Mustang Mach-E SUVs in addition to the Puma.
“We spend a decent amount of time at the corporate level talking about affordability,” Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer of Ford’s Model E division, told Autocar recently.
“We know we need to do that and it’s a muscle we need to build over time. “If you look at our offering globally, we don’t have much in the affordable segment at the moment. The key for us is to be affordable, differentiated and profitable. We have stayed in the affordable segment for too long, either on the verge of breaking even or losing money. “The question is: How do you compete in that segment, especially if you have a very low-cost manufacturing location like China that makes affordable vehicles?
“It’s a dilemma. There’s no doubt that if we want to be a true mass brand, we want people to switch to a vehicle like the Explorer. That’s what we’re doing in the US with an affordable platform, and there’s no reason why that platform can’t create products for Europe as well.”
The architecture would also be used to replace the Puma. It would inevitably be an electric model and serve as a replacement for Puma’s electric variant, which will join the range later this year. The first car based on the new platform – which will be launched in the US first – will arrive “in late 2026 or early 2027,” Gjaja said.
Gjaja’s comments about affordability bring hope, as does the expectation that the Puma won’t be the only Ford below the Explorer. With the Explorer measuring 4.5 meters long and starting at £40,000, there’s plenty of room underneath for other models to join the Puma.
However, like all new Fords of the future, whatever models emerge from the new architecture will not be of conventional shape and size and will be “differentiated” in their segments, says Gjaja.
When news of the new architecture was first revealed in February, Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “All of our EV teams are relentlessly focused on cost and efficiency in our EV products, because the competition will be affordable Tesla and the Chinese.”
Gyaja said the new architecture is likely to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology, which is fast becoming dominant in electric vehicles. “It’s a much more affordable technology and it’s also very durable,” he added.
Anna Lena Strigel, director of sales at Ford Model E in Europe, said that Ford will have a “smaller, more targeted portfolio” of models in the future and that it will “not aim only for volume”.
Prepared by: Ivan Mitić – Autoblog.rs
Source: autoblog.rs
