![\"Ford](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ford-focus-suv-leads-affordable-crossover-comeback-in-europe-for-2027.jpg\" "\\"Ford")
<\/a><\/p>\nExpansion of model line-up on the cards \u2013 with affordability in focus<\/p>\n
Ford is preparing to launch a crucial new Focus<\/a>-sized crossover as the first step in a radical rethink of its European gameplan.<\/p>\n Following the landmark unveiling of a new platform for affordable EVs in the US, Ford<\/a> is expected to follow up soon with details of how it will expand and electrify its European range \u2013 emphasising its\u00a0commitment to remaining an important player in the region\u2019s car market.<\/p>\n Ford took the Fiesta<\/a> out of production in 2023 so it could start building the electric Explorer<\/a> and Capri<\/a> crossovers \u2013 which cost around twice as much as the petrol supermini \u2013 at its Cologne factory in Germany, leaving the Puma<\/a> as its cheapest car.<\/p>\n With the Focus due to end production in November as Ford shuts its Saarlouis factory in Germany, the company\u2019s car line-up is, on average, far more expensive than it has been at any point in its 122-year history.<\/p>\n But a wide-reaching shake-up of the firm\u2019s European business in the coming years \u2013 which is set to be detailed soon \u2013 is intended to restore it to a mass-market volume player that once again does battle for sales chart supremacy in the region, while boosting its electric vehicle sales mix with the introduction of more affordable models.<\/p>\n The company will put a stake in the ground in 2027 with the launch of a new mid-sized crossover, built in Spain and effectively filling the gap left by the Focus when it retires later this year.<\/p>\n With an annual capacity of 300,000 units at its Valencia plant in Spain, the new crossover could become one of Ford\u2019s best-selling model lines globally.<\/p>\n It will not replace the Kuga<\/a>, but rather will be sold alongside it as a separate model line that introduces a \u2018multi-energy\u2019 powertrain offering with petrol-hybrid and electric drivetrains, as it\u00a0has done with the Puma.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the two cars will be built in parallel at Ford\u2019s Valencia plant, it is also expected to be a close match size-wise \u2013 to avoid the need for costly alterations to the production line and process \u2013 while also sharing key components.<\/p>\n The new model is highly likely to be based on the same \u2018C2\u2019 platform that Ford uses for mid-sized C-segment models in Europe.<\/p>\n Having first been used for the outgoing fourth-generation Focus from 2018, this architecture underpins a range of saloons, crossovers and SUVs worldwide \u2013 testament to its flexibility \u2013 but has so far yet to accommodate a pure-electric powertrain.<\/p>\n But while Ford has abandoned its pledge to offer only electric passenger cars in Europe from 2026, it still needs to totally electrify its cars by 2035 in the UK and EU and significantly boost its EV sales mix in the years before that \u2013 so the new \u2018multi-energy\u2019 model is likely to be offered as a pure-EV, even if not initially.<\/p>\n In a recent interview with Autocar<\/a>, executive chairman Bill Ford doubled down on the ongoing importance of a combustion offering in the firm\u2019s European line-up, with EV uptake generally lagging behind the levels that had been forecast by law makers.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWhat went wrong is that the regulators got out ahead of the customers. That\u2019s never a good situation. In the future, electrification will play a very important role in transportation, but it won\u2019t be the only part. The ICE business will be gradually phased out, but it won\u2019t disappear. What happens will vary according to region.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Ford, we\u2019ve invested in all of these clean technologies, and I feel good about that. But it\u2019s down to customers. They want what they want, and it\u2019s our job to give it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kuga is currently offered with a choice of mild, full or plug-in hybrid powertrains \u2013 though Ford has not said which could be carried over into a new model. One potential addition to the ranks could be a range-extender (REx) system<\/a>, following Ford\u2019s confirmation last year that it was developing REx technology for SUVs and pick-ups in response to a global dip in demand for pure-EVs in those segments.<\/p>\n Regardless of powertrain, the new model will need to be substantially differentiated from not just the Kuga but also the electric-only Explorer and Capri crossovers.<\/p>\n A diverse powertrain offering will be one means of giving the new arrival a clearly defined position, but it is also likely that the new crossover will be significantly more affordable than those models.<\/p>\n Introducing more electrified cars at a far lower price point than the \u00a340k Explorer will be pivotal in helping Ford to reduce its fleet emissions and growing market share. For reference, the new electric Puma Gen-E<\/a>, priced at around \u00a326k, drove a 324% year-on-year uptick in Ford\u2019s UK electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2025 \u2013 demonstrating the importance of maintaining an affordable entry point into each segment.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is currently a circa-\u00a314k gap between the electric Puma and Explorer, and it is in here that the\u00a0new crossover is expected to be pitched, lining it up as a rival to the likes of the Volkswagen Tiguan<\/a>, Kia Sportage<\/a> and Hyundai Tucson<\/a> \u2013 some of Europe\u2019s best-selling cars \u2013 with a starting price in the mid-\u00a330,000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n A return to the glory days of the mid-1990s, when Ford dominated the European market with the wildly popular Escort, Fiesta and Mondeo<\/a> \u2013 claiming a share of around 12% \u2013 is unrealistic. Today, the firm has around a third of that figure, has axed the Fiesta and Focus and must face off against a far greater number of rivals in all segments these days \u2013 but Renault<\/a>\u2019s 6.7% share would seem a viable target.<\/p>\n Distinctive designs and dynamics play a central role in Ford\u2019s ploy to grow again in Europe, so the new Valencia-built SUV will be styled according to the company\u2019s bold new American-flavoured design principles, and engineered to give driving characteristics that major on engaging handling and\u00a0refinement \u2013 attributes that have long helped Ford\u2019s cars claim an edge over rivals in Europe.<\/p>\n The company, like many other European marques, is looking to leverage its strong heritage in the region and the brand\u2019s defining qualities \u2013 as part of a bid to keep new Chinese rivals<\/a> at bay \u2013 and that extends to the redeployment of historic, familiar nameplates such as Capri and Explorer.<\/p>\n Ford has given no indication of what the new multi-energy car could be called, but has recently filed to trademark terms including Fuze, Mythic and Hive, which some reports have suggested could be used for upcoming new models.<\/p>\n However, given the firm\u2019s strategy of retaining existing badges, it is more likely any new Europe-focused hatchback would bring back a previously used moniker \u2013 and given it will effectively fi ll the gap in the line-up left by the departing Focus, that name would seem a logical fit.<\/p>\n In the past few years, the company has also renewed the rights to names such as Zephyr, Orion, Granada and Cortina.<\/p>\n The Blue Oval\u2019s eponymous executive chairman Bill Ford hinted at a forthcoming shift in strategy for the company\u2019s European car business.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, of course we\u2019ll go on [in Europe]. On the passenger car side, we realise we\u2019re not as robust as we need to be,\u201d he admitted, but added: \u201cWe\u2019re working on our future strategy right now. But I think you\u2019ll be surprised \u2013 pleasantly surprised \u2013 by what\u2019s coming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He gave no indication\u00a0of what changes would be made, but recent developments all point to the company reversing its EV-led shift upmarket in a bid to regrow its share of the local market.<\/p>\n Bill Ford suggested that his company\u2019s original strategy of rapid total electrification in Europe was underpinned by the general consensus that market demand for EVs would rapidly accelerate throughout the 2020s on the way to a mandated shift to pure-EVs in the middle of the next decade \u2013 a trend that has ultimately been much slower than forecast.<\/p>\n Indeed, Ford\u2019s then EV boss Marin Gjaja (now its chief strategy officer) told Autocar last year that the plan to totally electrify its European passenger cars by 2030 had proved \u201ctoo ambitious\u201d, and Ford \u2013 like many other manufacturers including Volvo<\/a>, Renault and various Stellantis brands \u2013 had slowed its all-EV ambitions in light of sustained demand\u00a0for combustion cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n Introducing a new \u2018multi-energy\u2019 offering with a mix of combustion and EV powertrains will allow Ford to cater to evolving market demands while it transitions to a pure-electric future.\u00a0<\/p>\nNew ‘Focus’ SUV<\/h2>\n
![\"Ford](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ford-focus-suv-leads-affordable-crossover-comeback-in-europe-for-2027-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ford](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ford-focus-suv-leads-affordable-crossover-comeback-in-europe-for-2027-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFord’s European problem<\/h2>\n
US experiment<\/h2>\n