Ford Fiesta: Britain’s most popular car to be axed after four decades

‘Shame to see the end is in sight’ for motoring icon

Ford has announced it is to end production of the Fiesta – Britain’s most popular car – will be stopped after more than four decades.

The car giant confirmed reports the model is being axed next year as it “accelerates” plans to sell only electric vehicles (EVs).

It means the Fiesta name will follow the Escort, Cortina, Sierra and Mondeo into the history books – with the Focus soon to follow.

Since its first production in 1976, almost five million Fiestas have been sold and it was ranked as the bestseller on UK roads for 12 years in a row between 2009 and 2020.

Government data of registered vehicles shows there are still 1,521,680 Fiestas in the UK, with the Fiesta Zetec the most popular specification.

The Mk3 Ford Fiesta during the early 1990s (Supplied/Auto Trader)

Despite the popularity of the model, Ford confirmed production will finish at the brand’s factory in Cologne, Germany “by the end of June 2023”. Ford will also be stopping its S-Max and Galaxy people carriers in April.

In a statement, Ford said: “At Ford in Europe, we are accelerating our efforts to go all in on electrification with our passenger vehicles being fully electric by 2030 – and all vehicles across our Ford portfolio by 2035.

“As we get ready to transition to an electric future, we will discontinue production of S-Max and Galaxy in Valencia, Spain in April 2023 and discontinue Fiesta production in Cologne, Germany by end of June 2023.”

Ford currently only sells two electric vehicles in Europe – the Mustang Mach-E SUV and E-Transit van – but is set to introduce three new passenger vehicles and four commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024. The firm says it plans to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in Europe by 2026.

The discontinuation of the Fiesta follows similar news about long-running Ford models. Production of the Mondeo came to an end earlier in 2022.

The original Mk1 Ford Fiesta which first went on sale in the late 1970s (Supplied/Auto Trader)

The first Ford Fiesta was produced in Dagenham, Essex, in 1976 and at the time they sold for £1,856.

The model is still be most advertised car on the Auto Trader marketplace, with around 108,000 separate listings at an average price of £10, 956 on our marketplace.

Erin Baker, editorial director at Auto Trader said: “After 46 years and 4.8 million sales, it’s a shame to see that the end is in sight for the iconic Ford Fiesta.

“Our data shows that the Fiesta was the most advertised car on our marketplace this year with over 100,000 listings. In fact, since 2019 we’ve seen over half a million Fiestas advertised on our platform, which really does highlight just how beloved it is.”