Ford cancels all sedans and hatchbacks for U.S. market

In a victory for crossovers everywhere, Ford has just announced in its quarterly financial report that it will not invest in a next generation of sedans for North America.

Over the next few years, the Ford car portfolio in North America will transition to just two vehicles — the Mustang and the all-new Focus Active “crossover” coming out next year. Ford says all its trucks, SUVs and crossovers will carry on, and they will pursue further models with “higher ride height, space and versatility.”

By 2020, Ford says 90% of its portfolio in North America will be trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles. This move is due to “consumer demand and product profitability.”

The carmaker has also announced that they will add hybrid powertrains to the F-150, Mustang, Explorer, Escape and upcoming Bronco. They will also produce an EV by 2020 that will be a “performance utility,” and that there will be 16 battery-electric vehicles by 2022.

This does not mean that the Fusion, Focus, Fiesta and Taurus will necessarily die in other markets, since they are also built elsewhere. The Fusion is also built in Germany and sold as a Mondeo in Europe (some German ones are on sale even here, rebadged as Fusions). The German-built Focus just got an all-new model, and should come here next year. The Fiesta is discontinued in the GCC to make way for the Figo, but carries on in Europe with a new model. And the Taurus carries on in China as a redesigned model, although it will surely be discontinued for the GCC since cars came here from the States.