FORD is to scrap the Fiesta — Britain’s most popular car.
It has no plans for an electric version of the £19,000 supermini, The Sun has learned.
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That means it is likely to be withdrawn from sale within a year.
Ford has sold 4.8million Fiestas in 46 years and it had 12 consecutive years as the No1 biggest seller from 2009 to 2020.
The next most popular was the Ford Cortina, with 4.3million sales from 1962 to 1982.
Ford could engineer a final petrol Fiesta before the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
But cost, shrinking sales owing to the rise of baby SUVs and what sources call a “reset of Ford’s portfolio DNA” means it will not.
Instead, bosses are focusing on an all-electric future and have promised four all-new, battery-powered cars and five vans by 2024.
They will be a Mustang mach-e, a Puma EV and two mid-size crossovers but nothing Fiesta-shaped.
Transit already has an electric version and a smaller E-Transit Custom follows soon.
An insider said: “This is a strategic decision to make way for a ‘new’ Ford.
“Fiesta has been a beloved icon and a faithful friend for millions of drivers but tastes are changing.
“People want high-riding crossovers — and we play to win.”
Fiesta was launched in the summer of 1976.
It cost £1,856, and was built at Dagenham, Essex, until 2002.
Today’s models are made in Cologne, Germany.
Ford axed its Mondeo earlier this year and Focus will stop in 2025.
A spokesman said: “Ford is changing and we are looking at all possibilities for our future portfolio of all-electric vehicles.”
EVEN 007 WAS A FAN
HERE are six facts you may not know about the Fiesta:
- A 2013 poll found the Fiesta was the most popular car to have sex in.
- IDRIS Elba worked the night shift at Dagenham in Essex — building Fiestas for two years.
- FIESTA appeared in 1976 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me with Roger Moore. Other famous drivers included Nell McAndrew and Jodie Kidd.
- THE car was originally developed under the name of “Project Bobcat”.
- THE base car in 1976 cost £1,856 and it had a top speed of 79mph.
- The most expensive Fiesta cost £675,000. It was built by M-Sport in Cumbria, and won the World Rally title in 2017 and 2018.
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