Is Ford about to resurrect its hot-selling Fiesta?
Back a few years, the Ford Fiesta was Britain's best selling nameplate. So what did Ford do? Axed it. Evidently it couldn't make any profit from the five-door hatch.
What have Ford sales done since in the UK? Rhetorical question. However, thanks to a technology sharing tie up with Volkswagen, Fiesta might yet make a comeback.
Volkswagen's Martin Sander told Auto Express that there may be opportunities for further EV platform sharing. Ford already uses the ID 4 and 5 underpinnings for its Explorer and Capri EVs.
If it returned, it is likely a reborn Fiesta would use MEB Entry platform mechanicals. Those are the same underpinnings set to find use in ID.1 and ID.2. A future Fiesta might therefore have up to 450km of range and DC fast-charging speeds of up to 125kW.
The initial agreement with Ford enabled Volkswagen to scale up and this could be repeated with a second round of smaller family cars.
While Puma remains a big seller for Ford in Europe, it is no longer the affordable entry-point it originally was. However, Ford ditched Fiesta and Focus because they couldn't make a profit on city cars or small family hatchbacks.
However, Ford has said it is confident in its ability to compete in the right segments, meaning it is keeping its options open.
The outgoing Fiesta was 4068mm long which is marginally longer than the ID. 2all concept. But the VW's wider stance and low-mounted battery should give a future Fiesta that typical dynamic character present in modern-day Fords.
Styling is an unknown but a blanked off front end, slimline headlights and aero wheels are a given for the five-door only hatch.
Ford and VW may cooperate again the future, this time resurrecting the Fiesta.
Add to the mix Ford's California-based Skunkworks team that is working on a 'new affordable electric vehicle platform'. However, that project seems to be developing 'a medium-sized pick-up'. That would be better suited to US conditions than a compact hatch.
Ford has said it will update the market on its future EV strategy in August, along with results for the first half of 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
17 hours ago
- Scoop
Australia: Less Bang For Your Buck – NSW Budget Is Missing Key Opportunities For Everyone
We've crunched the numbers and can show that the financial cost of discrimination and exclusion is far higher than the costs associated with investing in inclusion. 'Despite repeated calls from people with disability, the NSW Government has failed to deliver a clear and sustained investment in disabled lives in the 2025-26 Budget, the outcomes of which will be felt by all,' said Trinity Ford, President, People with Disability Australia (PWDA). The key messages from PWDA's pre-budget submission are that making NSW more inclusive and accessible offers: Wellbeing benefits for people with disability. Wellbeing benefits for the wider community. Opportunities to save over $12 billion. These key benefits and opportunities have not been considered throughout the Budget. A targeted investment in Foundational Supports was clearly missing—and that's deeply concerning. "The complete omission of any specific funding for Foundational Supports is a serious missed opportunity—and one that Australia can't afford. We are increasingly concerned that this may signal a deliberate move to sideline foundational supports from the Government's agenda. We will be raising this urgently with Minister Washington and will be monitoring the Government's position closely', said Ms Ford. A commitment to accessible housing is also lacking within announcements. Although the Government has committed to improve housing for the people of NSW, PWDA is disappointed the Budget does little to directly address the housing crisis facing people with disability. Currently, 66,698 households are on the NSW social housing waiting list. The government's own data acknowledges that around one-third of these applicants are people with disability. The Government is committing billions to fast-track 465,500 new homes over the next five years through private and mixed development initiatives. However, most of these are not social or accessible housing, and there are no clear guarantees of how people with disability—especially those on low incomes—will benefit. "Making all new homes accessible by mandating the National Construction Code's minimum accessibility standards would not cost the government anything—and it would help more people with disability live independently, instead of relying on social housing', said Ms Ford. Right now, homelessness is costing NSW about $6.5 billion every year. Over 10 years, that adds up to $65 billion. If the Government invested just one-third of that amount—$26 billion over 10 years—it could stop many people from becoming homeless and save almost $4 billion each year. PWDA welcomes the NSW Government's investments toward improving access to support for victim-survivors of violence and trauma. However, there is no mention of how these funds will support people with disability—despite clear evidence people with disability are at significantly higher risk of experiencing violence and need different interventions. 'Funding responses to violence must be inclusive. Without specific measures to address the unique risks and access barriers faced by people with disability, we risk leaving behind the very communities most in need of protection,' said Ms Ford. PWDA is calling on the NSW Government to commit to the inclusion and wellbeing of people with disability. 'Continued discrimination against people with disability, and doing nothing to address it, is expensive. There are clear gaps in the 2025-26 NSW Budget. People with disability are being left out, which will end up costing the Government and taxpayers more in the future,' said Trinity Ford, President of PWDA.
Scoop
5 days ago
- Scoop
Indonesia: Presidential Visit For New EV Battery Factory Is 'a Disaster For Uncontacted Indigenous People'
This week's expected announcement that Indonesia plans a new $6-7bn EV battery factory on Halmahera Island spells disaster for the island's uncontacted Indigenous people, experts warned today. President Prabowo Subianto is reportedly planning to travel to Halmahera this week to inaugurate construction. The government calls the planned facility, 'the world's first upstream-downstream car battery ecosystem' — meaning the entire process from mining and refining nickel to battery manufacturing will happen on Halmahera. But the project is a catastrophe for the estimated 500 uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people. Their ancestral forests are already being destroyed by nickel mining. The planned expansion will almost certainly lead to the complete destruction of their rainforest — and of them. CATL, the world's largest EV battery maker, is set to be a joint venture partner in the new battery factory. It supplies Volkswagen, Tesla, Ford, Stellantis, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, among others. The news comes just two weeks after the Indonesian president cancelled four nickel concessions on the neighboring islands of Raja Ampat over concerns that mining would harm its thriving tourist industry. Survival International Director Caroline Pearce said today: 'This announcement is a death sentence for the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa. Nickel mining concessions already cover 40% of their territory. Their home – the land that is theirs under international law – is being brazenly seized and destroyed to cater to global industries and global consumption.' Halmahera – the only home of uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people – is already the site of the world's biggest nickel mine, which has razed vast areas of the island's rainforest. The mine's operator, French company Eramet, has known of the severe risks to the 500 uncontacted Indigenous people for more than 10 years, but continues to deny their presence. 'These plans are turbo-charging the destruction of their rainforest home,' Pearce added. 'Going ahead means devastating the Hongana Manyawa's homes, livelihood, food, shelter, medicines and their very identity – and it will kill Hongana Manyawa families. They have lived on and cared for this island and its forests for countless generations - and now they are being destroyed in the name of a supposedly sustainable way to combat climate change.' The most likely site for the new battery factory in Halmahera is less than 12 miles away from where two uncontacted Hongana Manyawa men were filmed in 2023 aiming arrows against bulldozers on their territory. 'The Indonesian government has shown it's prepared to cancel nickel mining to save tourism; it must now also do so to stop an appalling human rights atrocity,' Pearce said. 'By acting now and establishing a no-go zone for mining on the territory of the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people, the government can prevent their annihilation.' Notes: Almost half of the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa's territory already overlaps with mining concessions. (See p24 of Survival's 'Driven to the Edge' report) Tesla says it is exploring 'the need for the establishment of a no-go zone for mining to protect indigenous and human rights, particularly those of uncontacted communities', in Indonesia. Leaked documents from Weda Bay Nickel (Eramet's mine), obtained by Survival, reveal the company knows its own mining activities could 'affect the existence' of the Hongana Manyawa but it dismisses this as 'hypothetical' and 'unimportant'. (For citation or more information, contact Survival.)
NZ Autocar
5 days ago
- NZ Autocar
GTI Edition 50 celebrates a half century of hot Golfs
A half century after the arrival of the Mk1 Golf GTI, Volkswagen has revealed the hot new Mk8.5 Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50. This is essentially the successor to the Clubsport S. This new Edition 50 is about as hardcore as a Golf GTI gets. At almost 240kW from the EA888 turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol it also stumps up with 420Nm. By comparison, the standard GTI makes 195kW and 370Nm. Golf GTI Edition 50 is said to hit 100km/h from standstill in 5.5 seconds, right up there with Civic Type R. Top speed is limited to 269km/h. It's hardly a stripped out three-door lightweight special like its forebear either. This retains the practical five-door body and rear seats, along with a fully-loaded cabin and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Power goes to the front wheels only, the grounding of it assisted by an electronically controlled limited slip differential. Read our test of the Current Golf GTI. When fitted with the optional GTI Performance Pack, the Edition 50 gets all-new suspension kinematics. There's more negative camber, 20 per cent stiffer springs, retuned adaptive dampers, stiffer rear wheel hub connections and firmer bushes. The DCC (dynamic chassis control) and VDM (vehicle dynamic management) are tweaked to suit the new set-up. So too is the steering. It also rides 15mm lower on forged 19-inch alloy wheels that, together with Bridgestone Potenza Race semislick tyres, reduce unsprung weight by 8kg. An Akrapovic titanium exhaust system subtracts another 11kg off the total weight compared with the GTI Clubsport. 'It is also the most capable on the track,' said chassis development boss Lars Frömmig. So VW is clearly wanting to rival the best in class for driver engagement. And it is already the fastest of any production VW around the Nurburgring, posting a time of 7min and 46.13 sec. Styling changes are relatively restrained. There are two heritage colour options not available on standard Golf GTIs, Moss Green and Tornado Red. Meanwhile, the forged wheels are finished in red and black and the front and rear lights have smoked inners. And there's a unique stripe on the sill but the look is the opposite of outrageous. Inside is a special tartan fabric trim along with microsuede inserts, plus red seatbelts and Edition 50 badges. But the seats themselves are standard GTI pews. The twin-screen layout is standard fit, and comes with customisation options. VW has not yet said how many it intends to build or what the price premium over the GTI will be. However, we do know that the first RHD deliveries are due early in 2026.
