Is it the end of the road for the iconic Ford Fiesta? Britain’s most popular car is set to be ‘axed’ after 46 years and 4.8million sales, with no electric model in the works ahead of 2030 ban on diesel and petrol vehicles sales
- Ford Fiesta – Britain’s most popular car until 2020 – expected to be scrapped after 46 years of production
- Since it was launched 46 years ago there have been 4.8 million sales and it has featured in James Bond film
- Ford has no plans for an electric version of its £19,000 2022 Fiesta, meaning it could be the end of the road
- Fiesta likely to come off market with UK government ban on new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030
Britain’s most popular car, the Ford Fiesta, is expected to be scrapped by the company after 46 years of production and 4.8 million sales, according to an insider.
Ford is instead opting for more electric models, as the UK government’s ban on new petrol and diesel cars is set to come in in 2030.
The manufacturer has no plans for an electric version of its £19,000 hybrid 2022 Fiesta, meaning the latest model could mark the end of the road for the iconic supermini, the Sun reports.
This means the five door hatchback is likely to be withdrawn from sale in the coming years, with the three-door vehicle already scrapped in spring this year.
Pictured: 2022 Fiesta. The five door hatchback is likely to be withdrawn from sale in the coming years, with the three-door vehicle already scrapped in Spring this year
Henry Ford II with a Fiesta S. in 1976, the year the car was launched
An insider described the move as a ‘strategic decision’ by the company to move its style more towards crossovers.
Fiestas are widely considered Britain’s favourite car and had 12 consecutive years as the number one bestseller from 2009 to 2020.
There have been seven generations of the popular car since it was launched in the summer of 1976.
The same year, a Fiesta appeared alongside Roger Moore in James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Other celebs associated with it include two-time Academy award-winner Renee Zellweger, who is said to drive one, and Idris Elba, who worked on the Fiesta plant for two years before he found fame.
Ford Fiesta motor car being driven by Daily Mail motoring correspondent Michael Kemp
Idris Elba, who worked on the Fiesta plant for two years before he found fame
1993 Ford Fiesta. The car was built at a plant in Dagenham until 2002, before production moved to Germany
Fiestas are widely considered Britain’s favourite car and had 12 consecutive years as the number one bestseller from 2009 to 2020
Actress Keeley Hawes in an advert for the 2017 Ford Fiesta
An employee of the Kolner Ford plant Niehl in 1996, when, every 40 seconds, a new Fiesta would leave the car manufacturer’s belt
The car was built at a plant in Dagenham until 2002, before production moved to Germany.
But SUV-style cars are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with the British-manufactured Nissan Qashqai rising up car sales to a close second behind supermini Vauxhall Corsa.
Ford appears to be increasingly seeing larger models as the way forward commercially, as sales of SUVs reached a record high of 45 per cent of global car sales last year.
A surge in electric car sales has also taken place, with a record 28 per cent of car sales battery-powered last year.
An M-Sport Fiesta in action during the SS17 Fafe of the WRC Vodafone Rally Portugal 2016
The 2011 Ford Fiesta subcompact car being driven near Half Moon Bay, California, U.S.
A modified Ford Fiesta taking to the water. A Ford spokesman said: ‘Ford is changing and we are looking at all possibilities for our future portfolio of all-electric vehicles.’
Ford is certainly going green, with four new battery-powered cars and five vans set to come in by 2024.
Mustang mach-e, a Puma EV and two mid-size crossovers are expected, while electric Fiestas have reportedly been ruled out.
There is already an electric version of Ford’s iconic Transit vans, with a smaller E-Transit Custom coming soon.
A Fiesta Ghia in 2006, the year it celebrated its 30th birthday
Employees work on the assembly line producing the new Ford Fiesta car, at the Ford Motor Co. plant in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico
The company axed its Mondeo model earlier this year and production will cease on the popular Ford Focus will stop in 2025.
A spokesman said: ‘Ford is changing and we are looking at all possibilities for our future portfolio of all-electric vehicles.’
Ford has faced major supply chain issues in recent months and was even forced to temporarily stop Fiesta orders in June due to supply chain issues.
A 1982 Fiesta Bravo II manual. Neither the Fiesta nor the Ford Focus have appeared in the list of best-selling cars in the UK this year
A shortage of semi-conductors hit the car manufacturing industry this year, with widespread supply chain difficulties also exasperated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Neither the Fiesta nor the Ford Focus have appeared in the list of best-selling cars in the UK this year.
Meanwhile, Ford’s Transit Custom remains by far Britain’s best-selling van.
Government’s 2030 ban on new diesel and petrol car sales
A ban on new diesel and petrol car sales from 2030 was announced by Boris Johnson’s government as part of its wider plan for a ‘green industrial revolution’ in November 2020.
The measure is a major part of ministers’ efforts to meet the target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Earlier this month, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan doubled down on the ban, saying it will go ahead.
The decision comes despite concerns that a global shortage of computer chips since the start of the pandemic – as well as problems producing enough batteries – could impact the growth of the electric vehicle market.
Earlier this year, the Department for Transport set out an ambition for 22 per cent of manufacturers’ new car sales to be zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in 2024, rising to 33 per cent in 2026, 52 per cent in 2028 and 80 per cent in 2030.
There are similar targets for the sales of zero emission vans.
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