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In a move that some industry pundits may have seen coming – but not really believed would happen – Ford has announced that it intends to stop production of saloons (sedans, of course) in North America. This means that such well-known names as Fiesta and Focus (and related C-MAX), together with less familiar names such as Taurus and Fusion will disappear from dealerships.
Post 2020, the only models remaining in the Ford portfolio that are even vaguely like a three-box saloon will be the Mustang and the all-new Focus Active, a crossover version of the hatchback’ which has yet to reach European markets. In a nutshell, the plan is to concentrate on producing more of what sells best in the North American market – this includes pickups, such as the best-selling F-150; SUVs, including the Edge, Explorer and Expedition; and commercial vehicles, including the Valenica-built Transit Connect.
Ford is currently the best-selling brand in the United States. But national market share has hovered slightly above 14% since 2014, down from a recent high of 16.1% in 2011. Looking further back, in 1996 Ford commanded a 21.1% share of the US market.
The phasing out of these models could result in further share reductions. But while such figures are a solid indicator of overall OEM performance, automotive revolves around cold cash and Ford is anticipating the move to save about $25.5bn (£18.8bn) by 2022. This will come from cutting related product development, marketing, materials and manufacturing for the cancelled nameplates.
Why am I commenting on the decision by Ford to largely remove itself from the saloon market in North America? Well, the decision could have some knock-on consequences for the UK market. While premium brands have performed well in the saloon segment, sales across the ‘volume’ section of the market have failed to recover from the 2008 – ’09 downturn. The SMMT top 10 best-sellers list for 2017 did not include a single volume saloon model (the C-Class was ninth with 45,912 units).
It’s notable that the soon-to-be-no-more Ford Fusion serves as the basis for the European Mondeo. With Ford axing the NA version of the car, pan-European Mondeo sales of between 50,000 and 80,000 units (2013-2017) are not sufficient to support development of a next-generation, ground-up platform. And the same issue affects the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, which has suffered declining sales across the continent for the past four years. Even the Volkswagen Passat could fall victim to saloon rationalisation.
What we appear to be witnessing is a major market rebalance in response to the popularity of crossovers and SUVs. When the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Qashqai first appeared in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were just another choice. Now, they are the choice, which is being made at the expense of volume saloons. Looking at the Mondeo and Insignia, it’s possible that when the current models reach the end of the line they will not be replaced.
But consider this. When everyone is riding high in an SUV, will anyone be riding high?