Ford is set to call time on the Fiesta S-Max and Galaxy as it plots an all-electric future. The brand has announced a complete reshuffle of its range that lays the groundwork for the introduction of new electric models.

In a statement explaining the decision, Martin Sander, General Manager for Passenger Vehicles at Ford of Europe, 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. 

We will introduce three new exciting electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024. We plan to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in the region by 2026, and the electric passenger vehicle production at the Cologne Electrification Centre will reach 1.2 million vehicles over a six-year timeframe.’

The biggest casualty of the cuts is the Fiesta, which will end production after 46 years. Launched in 1977, the Fiesta has been one of Ford’s biggest selling models ever and has enjoyed a top five position in the UK sales charts for more than 40 years. However, the success of the Fiesta-based Puma SUV has seen the traditional supermini version slip down the sales charts. The soaring popularity of the Puma, combined with the arrival of cheaper supermini options and high production costs at Ford’s German factory means that the Fiesta is no longer one of the brand’s big sellers. 2021 marked the first time that the Fiesta didn’t appear in the UK top ten. 

Sales have also been affected by the industry-wide semi-conductor shortage that has seen brands like Ford prioritise more premium models with higher profit margins. 

However, Ford is set to launch an all-electric version of the Puma on a heavily modified version of the current Fiesta platform. The new model is set to appear in 2024 and will share its battery and motor set up with Ford’s all-electric Transit Courier. To help keep production costs down, production is earmarked for Ford’s Craiova plant in Romania - where the brand will build its next generation of electric vans.  

Ford is also planning to accelerate its electrification plans with a second SUV that will sit above the Puma and below the Mustang Mach-e. This new, as-yet-unnamed model will be built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform – which the German brand uses for its ID. range of cars, along with ŠKODA, Cupra and Audi all-electric models. By using Volkswagen’s MEB platform, Ford can dramatically shorten the development programme for its new models. Moving forward, Ford is understood to be developing its own scalable electric platform that will underpin models from 2025 onwards. 

Seven new electric Fords due in next two years

All-electric Puma will arrive in 2024 and will be Ford's entry-level electric car