Well, this really is the end of an era: after rumors began circulating yesterday Ford has now confirmed that production of the Fiesta hatch will come to an end in June 2023, almost half a century after it started.
In that time the Fiesta has become an icon over in the UK, regularly topping the list of best-selling vehicles in those parts over the last decade and beyond.
It was only last year that the new Vauxhall Corsa knocked the Fiesta off its perch, with the little Ford falling out of the top 10 altogether as crossovers like the Puma took over the landscape.
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And it’s not just Fiesta (and with it the brilliant Fiesta ST) production that’s ending. A statement released by Ford read as follows: “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.”
So that’s the S-Max and Galaxy MPVs axed as well as the Fiesta in one fell swoop. Big news day or what?
And what of the future? Ford’s statement alluded to this too, stating: “We will introduce three new exciting electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024.
“We plan to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in the region by 2026, and the electric passenger vehicle production at the Cologne Electrification Centre will reach 1.2 million vehicles over a six-year timeframe.”
So there you go, after first appearing in 1976 the Ford Fiesta’s time is officially up. Let the mourning period begin…
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
