Automotive News Europe reported citing sources in German trade unions about the decision of Ford management to significantly reduce Ford Focus production at a plant in the city of Saarlouis in Germany. At the same time, the enterprise will be deprived of investment in development and will refuse to modernize it.
Ford is expected to make a final decision on the future of the Saarlouis plant shortly after the fourth-generation Ford Focus is completed. If the plant will be closed, it will mean the abandonment of the European version of the Focus in its usual form, that is, a family of C-class cars with internal combustion engines.
The Ford Motor Plant in Saarlouis has been producing cars since 1970. This is not the only car assembly plant of the company in Europe, however, other plants, on the contrary, expect modernization in the near future related to the expansion of the range of electrified models.
The fourth generation of Ford Focus debuted in 2018. The car was designed by the European division of Ford on a completely new platform C2, has three body styles: sedan, station wagon and 5-door hatchback. A similar Ford Focus is produced in China, but in the USA the model has already been completely abandoned.