Ford ends production of iconic vehicle popular in the UK after 20 years

Ford has finished building its last ever Focus ST as the popular hot hatch is formally discontinued. The last Focus ST rolled off the production line at Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany last week.

Earlier this year, Ford confirmed plans to end Focus production in Europe before the end of the year. However, owners have been unable to secure a Focus ST for months, with the order book closed in the UK since the Spring. The Focus is the latest household name to be axed by Ford in recent years with the Mondeo ceasing production in 2022.

The news to scrap the Focus comes just two years after the Ford Fiesta was also pulled off the market in 2023. Last year, Ford boss Jim Farley defended the move to scrap certain vehicles, explaining the model ranges had not made sufficient money despite the popular customer base.

Instead, the Ford boss outlined plans to focus on higher-priced models to boost margins, with the Puma among the vehicles now on their radar.

Jim said: “We’re getting out of the boring-car business and into the iconic-vehicle business. ‘We’d always competed at the heart of the passenger-car market, which didn’t work out too well for Mondeo, Focus and Fiesta. They were loved by a lot of customers, but they could never justify more capital allocation – unlike commercial vehicles.”

The Focus ST debuted back in 2002 with the Mk1 Focus ST170, the first to hit the roads. The new ST range was released at the height of the Focus’ popularity, driven primarily by their successes with ColinMcrae in the World Rally Championship.

A Mk2 ST model was revealed by Ford back in 2005, with the Mk3 in 2012 and more recently the Focus ST Mk4. In recent years, Ford has decided to shift its ST badge to the Puma range.

However, Mr Farley has hinted that the Focus name could return on future cars later down the line. Last year, Ford unveiled a new electric Capri more than 50 years after the original first rolled off the production line. Ford also reused the Mustang moniker with the Ford Mustang Mach-E model released in 2020.