Official: Ford Hot Hatches are history
Ford and sport. It's a long history with a rich tradition. Just think of the hot RS models of the Capri and Escort in the 1970s. Things became more popular in 1980, when the Fiesta Supersport was launched in the UK. The more powerful Fiesta XR2 followed the following year.
45 years after the Supersport, the company is finally exiting the hot hatch segment. After the Fiesta ST was discontinued a few years ago, the Focus ST is now following suit.
In a statement to Motor1, Ford confirmed that it is no longer accepting new Focus ST orders. The company's European communications manager, Finn Thomasen, explained: "All Focus ST orders up to the end of production have now been reserved." This disappointing news follows a recent announcement by Ford UK about the discontinuation of production of the Focus as such. This leaves the Saarlouis plant with nothing to produce.
Although it's no longer possible to configure a new Focus ST, Thomasen mentioned that unsold vehicles are still available in most European markets. As previously reported, production of the Focus and its derivatives will cease in November. Ford will then be without a non-SUV car in Europe, following the discontinuation of the 2023 Fiesta , the 2022 Mondeo , and the small Ka in 2020.
Sure, the Mustang remains, but it's ultimately a niche product. The pony car's 5.0-liter V8 engine is both a blessing and a curse. While it's an excellent naturally aspirated engine, high EU taxes on large-displacement engines make it a difficult product to sell. The smaller, turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder was withdrawn from the European market at the end of 2020.
With the Ka, Fiesta, and Mondeo already discontinued, and the Focus coming to an end, Ford's sales in Europe continue to decline. According to the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), deliveries through April in the EU, the UK, and the EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) fell by 2.2% to 149,601 vehicles. By comparison, Volkswagen sold 488,033 cars during the same period. Even South Korean companies Kia and Hyundai surpassed Ford, delivering 183,095 and 174,106 vehicles, respectively.
Whether new models are on the horizon, let alone another hot new model, is unclear. The era of internal combustion engines appears to be coming to an end, so any future performance offering would likely have to be electric. VW sales and marketing chief and former Ford Europe boss Martin Sanders has hinted at the possibility of Ford gaining more access to the MEB platform to develop new models. These would follow the ID.4/ Explorer and the ID.5/ Capri .
It's still too early to say whether Ford will launch something similar to the ID.3 or the upcoming ID.2 and ID.1 . VW has committed to electric GTI models , so perhaps the Fiesta ST or Focus ST could one day be launched as electric cars. In the meantime, crossovers like the Puma and Kuga will have to form the heavyweights in the EU, EFTA, and the UK, where Ford's market share currently stands at 3.4%, about three times less than VW's. In Germany, Ford's share was 3.7 percent in May 2025.
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