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Entry model: Ford Fiesta in 1976
Photo: Motor / Motorsport Images / IMAGO
"It wasn't a big car, it wasn't an extravagant car, but a car for everyone." With these words, Ford heralds the farewell to one of its best-selling car models.
On Wednesday, the group released a video to announce the demise of the Fiesta, a small car that had been in production since 1976.
"Thank you for the unforgettable time together," writes the group.
The company announced on Twitter that production of the Ford Fiesta in Cologne will end by the end of 2023.
It prefers the end of the small car - because according to the current status, it should be built until 2024.
The reason for this is the accelerated turn to electric cars, as Ford writes: By 2030 at the latest, all new cars from the manufacturer in Europe should be fully electric.
Three "exciting" car models would be introduced by 2024.
The »Cologne Electrification Center« is currently being set up at the Cologne plant.
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No more partying: The current Ford Fiesta
Photo: Charlie Magee
The Fiesta should make way for the faster ramp-up there and thus end the production of combustion engines at the site, several media had reported unanimously.
According to "auto motor und sport", the Fiesta is to be followed by a "medium-sized, sporty crossover" called the CX43.
A crossover SUV is also planned as a further model, so both are created using the MEB electric car kit licensed by Volkswagen and correspond to the VW models ID.3 and ID.4.
The third electric model is an electric variant of the Ford Puma from Romania, also a crossover SUV.
In plain language: No more small cars.
There had previously been speculation about an electric Fiesta, but the Volkswagen platform has not yet been equipped for small cars.
Overall, more compact electric cars of the next generation are a long time coming.
According to the report, the Galaxy and S-Max vans manufactured in Valencia, Spain, are to be phased out as early as spring.
Ordered cars would still be delivered.
As the BBC writes, over 20 million copies of the model have been built worldwide in the past 46 years.
The car got its start during the oil crisis of the 1970s to save fuel.
In Great Britain in particular, the Fiesta led the sales lists of all car models for years, but recently slipped to sixth place in the wake of the trend towards SUVs.
In Germany he didn't even appear in the top 50 anymore.
ani/ahh