The Ford Focus hasn’t been sold in North America for several years, but the car has remained a fixture in several other countries in the time since. That’s now coming to an end, at least for one popular variant of the car, as the automaker recently announced the end of production for the Focus ST, saying the final unit had rolled off the assembly line.
Ford cut the Fiesta ST a few years earlier, with CEO Jim Farley saying the automaker didn’t make money on the cars, despite their popularity with customers. The Focus ST’s order books closed a few months ago, so this day doesn’t come as a surprise.
The Blue Oval’s moves to cut models in Europe coincide with a slide in its market share. It commands just 3.3 percent of the market, behind Korean rivals Hyundai and Kia. Volkswagen has sold several times more cars than Ford in the first part of this year, but it’s hard to say that the Focus, Fiesta, or Mondeo would turn the company’s fortunes.
Tightening Euro emissions rules have made it increasingly difficult for automakers to sell gas-powered performance cars in Europe, leading to the demise of the Honda Civic Type R and other vehicles. Ford has a long tradition of building small, fun-to-drive cars for European markets, however, so almost anything is possible as it plots its next moves on the old continent.
[Images: Ford]
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