The sad farewell of the Ford Focus
The compact car from the oval brand says goodbye to the market after 27 years and four different generations
The end of 2025 will be one of the saddest in Ford's history, as it will cease production of the Focus, the compact car launched in 1998 that revolutionized the market, positioning itself ahead of the Opel Astra, the Renault Mégane, and the segment's long-standing king, the Volkswagen Golf. For the past 27 years, the Focus has been manufactured at the Saarlouis plant in Germany, a factory that will also close its doors at the end of the year after serving the brand continuously since 1966.
The Focus had a challenging dual objective: to succeed the Ford Escort and to carve out a niche in the market. It achieved this spectacularly, winning the 1999 Car of the Year award and becoming the new benchmark in the European C-segment. In 2004, Ford launched the second-generation Focus, followed by the third in 2011, with remarkable sales results. In 2018, Ford unveiled the fourth and final generation of the Focus, built on a lightweight and efficient platform, which also enjoyed strong sales.
With over 12 million units sold in Europe in the last 27 years, it's clear that the Focus's problem has never been its level of acceptance or sales. In fact, the Focus is currently Ford's third best-selling model in Europe, close behind the Kuga and the Puma, two more modern models that enjoy the brand's approval. The Focus is being discontinued simply because the brand is prioritizing investments in other models and segments with higher added value and profit margins, such as the aforementioned Kuga, to the detriment of the Focus or the also-discontinued Fiesta and Mondeo.
Commercial retreat and electrical focus
Ford's roadmap involves the complete electrification of its range, and the reduced sales in Europe are explained by the organizational restructuring to focus efforts and available financial resources on the North American market, historically the most powerful stronghold for the Blue Oval brand. For the moment, Ford has not announced a replacement for the Focus, although there has been speculation at various times about the possible arrival of a new model. crossover A compact electric car to take over from the Focus, although the brand has never commented on this possibility.
