Ford Fiesta is Scrapped

For any brand, becoming a household name is the goal. If your brand, product or name becomes so well known that even people with no interest know what it is, you’ve won. This is, of course, an easy feat for household products. Hovis, Fairy Liquid, Tetley Tea (even though Yorkshire Tea is better). It’s not as easy for a car, though. Unless, of course, that car is made by Ford. For the Blue Oval, making a car a household name is in its DNA. The Escort, the Capri, the Sierra, the Mondeo and of course, the iconic super mini – the Ford Fiesta. It’s been our favourite small car for years, it’s been with us for an incredible forty-six years, it’s been a racer, a hot hatch, a first taste of motoring freedom, a family favourite and a feature of the world’s streets for literally generations. But despite this, Ford looks set to send it to the scrap yard in the sky. Pour one out. Pop on your black tie. Stare solemnly at the floor. The Fiesta is leaving the building.

Henry Ford II, who championed the Fiesta name (it was called the Bravo)

Initially, there wasn’t an official line about the death of the Ford Fiesta, though the signs and outbreak of news did suggest the writing was on the wall, as Ford did say that in coming weeks it will be announcing its future strategy as it looks towards its, yes you guessed it, electric future. “We are accelerating our efforts to go all-in on electrification and therefore review our vehicle portfolio in line with our business strategy. We do not comment on speculation and will share more information in the coming months.” Said a suit from Ford, somewhat glibly. How torturous of them. We just want to know if the machine that goes ‘ping’ is going to be turned off. If this is indeed the case, expect the executioner to make his appearance during the summer of 2023.

A statement released at 10am on the 26th October confirmed the Fiesta’s demise. “‘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.”

The other consideration is that the small cars of 2022 are in fact not all that small, and nor are they all that cheap. The original Fiesta of 1976 could have been yours for around £1,700. Adjusted for inflation, that’s £10,263. A new Fiesta in 2022 is, however, £18,395. For a base model. Ouch. You can see why Ford might be looking at the Focus or the Puma (not the cool one) as a replacement entry point. So to speak.

While we at Car & Classic aren’t really here to promote what’s going on in the world of new cars, we thought the potential demise of the Ford Fiesta was worth a mention, because it’s one of those rare cars that yes, you can buy brand new, but you can also buy as a classic. The boxy-but-good Mk1 is a classic Ford legend. For many, it was a gateway into the classic car world. Plentiful, infinitely modifiable, fun to drive, easy to work on, it was lovey. As too was the Mk2 and the Mk3. Even the Mk4 has some appeal in the form of the zesty 1.25 Zetec model. Things went a bit downhill after that – the Mk5 wasn’t even available as a three-door to begin with – but the Ford Fiesta did find its feet again with the Mk7, which was and still is a riot to own a drive, especially in Zetec S guise.

Some young ladies painting a Fiesta Zetec S for… reasons?

Then we have the aspiration. It seems ironic to think of a Fiesta as something to lust after, but we all did it. The XR2 was the first. It was nothing but some spotlights, stripes and a 1.6 engine, but it was still so damn cool and exciting. Then we got the impossibly stocky and stout Mk2 XR2. How could it look so mean, despite being the same car in essence as your nan’s 1.1 Pop? Madness. And things got even more fun with the Mk3. We had the XR2i with fuel injection, we had the RS1800i and we even had a chuffin’ turbocharged version in the guise of the RS Turbo Ford Fiesta. It would go on to be a motorsport champion, dominating in circuit racing, in rally cross and for years it would be the star of the World Rally Championship. It was a defining hot hatch for a generation, one that still sees us get lots of clicks – people want these cars, they need them, they want that petrol-soaked direct line back to their youth.

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Monte Carlo 

To see the Ford Fiesta move into the past tense marks a sad day. Yes, it was just a car, but to many it was more than that. It was freedom, it was fun, we either owned one or know someone who did, we learned to drive in one, we got our first taste of performance in one and we loved every minute. The Fiesta was more than a car, it was a member of the family, a giddy, happy little terrier of a car. But it seems that final, upsetting trip to the vet is upon us. Forty-six years, though. That’s not a bad run at all. Rest in peace, Ford Fiesta.