The Ford Fiesta has only been in Malaysia officially for one generation, but it has been a staple for European buyers ever since it was introduced in 1976. The Fiesta is currently in its seventh generation and is still going strong but sadly, its time is reaching its end.

Ford has announced that the Fiesta will be discontinued in its entirety with no replacement by 2023 as the Blue Oval shifts its focus from traditional hatchbacks to more profitable SUVs and crossovers. With the Fiesta facing the abyss, the Ford Puma SUV would be the cheapest Ford model on sale in Europe.

News of the Fiesta’s death isn’t taken lightly by many fans considering how it's still popular among buyers. According to the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers, the Fiesta was the sixth best-selling car in the country in September 2022 with 4,570 units sold.

Despite the popularity of SUVs in the country with 7 out of the top 10 best-selling cars of 2022 so far being of the crossover variety, at the top is the Fiesta’s rival, the Vauxhall Corsa. Still, Ford’s two best-selling models of the year so far are the Puma which is placed third and the Kuga at seventh overall.

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The Fiesta is nowhere within the top 10 best-sellers in Britain unlike a few years ago and the same goes for the rest of Europe though it has experienced an 87% sales increase in the entire continent in September 2022 according to JATO Dynamics.

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Ford has also scrapped any plans of turning the Fiesta into an all-electric model but instead opted to simply kill off the model because it’s not feasible to invest in expensive technology to reduce the car’s carbon emissions further.

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Also, unlike the previous Fiesta which was built almost worldwide, the current final generation is only produced in one factory, Ford’s Cologne plant in Germany. Once the final Fiesta rolls off the line, the plant could be the hub for a future EV model that would be a collaboration between Ford and Volkswagen, likely a VW ID.4 with Ford styling.

After nearly 50 years and 22 million units sold, the Fiesta’s chapter is over. As Malaysians, we might only recognise them with the ST badge, both real and fake ones but in Europe, it is a popular mobility transport and for many, it might even be their first car. Can you imagine an electric Ford Puma emulating that?

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