Ford Fiesta set to be ‘axed’ after 46 years and 4.8million sales with no electric model in the works

Britain’s most popular car, the Ford Fiesta, is expected to be scrapped by the company after 46 years of production and 4.8 million sales, according to an insider.

Ford is instead opting for more electric models, as the UK government‘s ban on new petrol and diesel car sales is set to be introduced in 2030.

The manufacturer has no plans for an electric version of its £19,000 hybrid 2022 Fiesta, meaning the latest model could mark the end of the road for the iconic supermini, the Sun reports.

This means the five door hatchback is likely to be withdrawn from sale in the coming years, with the three-door vehicle already scrapped in the spring.

Pictured: 2022 Fiesta. The five door hatchback is likely to be withdrawn from sale in the coming years, with the three-door vehicle already scrapped in Spring this year

Henry Ford II with a Fiesta S. in 1976, the year the car was launched

An insider described the move as a ‘strategic decision’ by the company to move its style more towards crossovers.

A briefing is expected to be held this week among select parties to discuss the demise of the Fiesta.

The brand’s electrification of its model line-up could see the car removed from showrooms as early as the middle of next year, according to some reports. 

Fiestas are widely considered Britain’s favourite model and had 12 consecutive years as the number one bestseller from 2009 to 2020.

It was knocked off the top spot last year by the Vauxhall Corsa, with Ford opting to prioritise its commercial vehicle production on the back of higher demand during parts supply shortages resulting from the Covid pandemic. 

DVLA records for last year showed that of the 39.2million licenced vehicles of all types on the road in Great Britain, 1.54million were Fiestas. The larger Focus was second with 1.3million on UK roads in 2021.

There have been seven generations of the popular car since it was launched in the summer of 1976.

The same year, a Fiesta appeared alongside Roger Moore in James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

Other celebs associated with it include two-time Academy award-winner Renee Zellweger, who is said to drive one, and Idris Elba, who worked on the Fiesta plant for two years before he found fame.

Ford Fiesta motor car being driven by Daily Mail motoring correspondent Michael Kemp

Idris Elba, who worked on the Fiesta plant for two years before he found fame

1993 Ford Fiesta. The car was built at a plant in Dagenham until 2002, before production moved to Germany

Fiestas are widely considered Britain’s favourite car and had 12 consecutive years as the number one bestseller from 2009 to 2020

Actress Keeley Hawes in an advert for the 2017 Ford Fiesta

An employee of the Kolner Ford plant Niehl in 1996, when, every 40 seconds, a new Fiesta would leave the car manufacturer’s belt

The car was built at a plant in Dagenham until 2002, before production moved to Germany. 

But SUV-style cars are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, with the British-manufactured Nissan Qashqai rising up car sales to a close second behind supermini Vauxhall Corsa.

Ford appears to be increasingly seeing larger models as the way forward commercially, as sales of SUVs reached a record high of 45 per cent of global car sales last year.

A surge in electric car sales has also taken place, with a record 28 per cent of car sales battery-powered last year.

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The Fiesta has been a star on the track as well as the road. Pictured, an M-Sport Fiesta in action at the WRC Vodafone Rally Portugal 2016

The 2011 Ford Fiesta subcompact car being driven near Half Moon Bay, California, U.S.

A modified Ford Fiesta taking to the water. A Ford spokesman said: ‘Ford is changing and we are looking at all possibilities for our future portfolio of all-electric vehicles’

Ford is certainly going green, with four new battery-powered cars and five vans set to come in by 2024. 

Mustang mach-e, a Puma EV and two mid-size crossovers are expected, while electric Fiestas have reportedly been ruled out. 

There is already an electric version of Ford’s iconic Transit vans, with a smaller E-Transit Custom coming soon.

A Fiesta Ghia in 2006, the year it celebrated its 30th birthday

Employees work on the assembly line producing the new Ford Fiesta car, at the Ford Motor Co. plant in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico

The company axed its Mondeo model earlier this year and production will cease on the popular Ford Focus in 2025.

A spokesman said: ‘Ford is changing and we are looking at all possibilities for our future portfolio of all-electric vehicles.’

Ford has faced major supply chain issues in recent months and was even forced to temporarily stop Fiesta orders in June due to supply chain issues.

A 1982 Fiesta Bravo II manual. Neither the Fiesta nor the Ford Focus have appeared in the list of best-selling cars in the UK this year

A shortage of semi-conductors hit the car manufacturing industry this year, with widespread supply chain difficulties also exasperated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Neither the Fiesta nor the Ford Focus have appeared in the list of best-selling cars in the UK this year. However, the Puma SUV – which shares a platform with the Fiesta but is higher off the ground – is the nation’s third most-popular new passenger car with 27,680 registrations by the end of September, which is around 1,500 fewer than the Corsa in the number one spot.

Meanwhile, Ford’s Transit Custom remains by far Britain’s best-selling vehicle, with more new versions hitting the road in 2022 than even the Corsa. 

Some 33,564 Transit Customs have been bought this year compared to just 29,342 examples of the Vauxhall supermini. A further 25,178 units of the larger one-tonne Transit have been registered this year.