Ford Says It Isn’t Giving Up On Regular Cars

Ford intends to introduce new products beyond pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans. This commitment comes from William Clay Ford Jr., the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, who has served as executive chairman since 2006.

William admitted that the company is lacking in its passenger car lineup after discontinuing models like the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, and Fusion. He stated, “We realise that we are not as robust as we need to be,” and assured that a strategy is in place to improve this, adding, “You will be pleasantly surprised by what is coming.”

It’s unclear if any new cars will be introduced in North America. There are rumors of a Mustang sedan, known internally as the “Mach 4,” but Ford hasn’t confirmed it. However, a report from Automobilwoche magazine suggests that European dealers have been informed about new models. With Ford backing away from its all-electric plan in Europe by 2030, these new models are likely to feature internal combustion engines, especially since the Explorer and Capri electric vehicles have struggled to sell.

As for models based on Volkswagen’s platform, more may be in the works. Martin Sanders, Volkswagen’s head of sales and marketing (and Ford’s head of Europe until last year), hinted at further collaboration: “[We] don’t want to rule out the possibility of sharing technology again.” It’s not clear whether he was referring to more electric cars on Volkswagen’s MEB platform or gasoline-powered vehicles on the MQB architecture.

Ford’s decision to reintroduce passenger cars signifies a departure from CEO Jim Farley’s statement from last year. At that time, he mentioned that Ford was “getting out of the boring car business and getting into the iconic vehicle business.” The “boring” category included cars that Farley acknowledged were “loved by many customers but could never justify a larger capital allocation, unlike commercial vehicles.”

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