Focus

SHANGHAI AUTO SHOW

Ford weighs compact for China

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
With an eye to growth in China's booming compact car market, Ford has revived an old nameplate for a new concept car. The Ford Escort Concept is an extended-wheelbase version of the Focus.... Read More »

 

Ford targets Chinese buyers with Focus-based concept

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 22, 2013
Ford Motor Co. was to have unveiled a Focus-based concept car last week at the Shanghai auto show that targets local tastes with a stretched wheelbase and larger rear doors.... Read More »

 

Focus or Corolla: Who's No. 1?

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 15, 2013
The "world's best-selling vehicle nameplate" has a nice ring to it, and last week Ford laid claim to that title in 2012, just as it had for 2011. But Toyota would have none of it, claiming that its Corolla was the real No. 1.... Read More »

 

SUPER SEGMENT

Ford counts on 5 cars and crossovers to make inroads against imports

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 25, 2013
Super Segment is Ford Motor Co.'s term for five Ford brand vehicles: the Fiesta subcompact, Focus compact, Escape compact crossover, C-Max Hybrid crossover and Fusion mid-sized sedan. The vehicles are Ford's import fighters.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

For new EVs, kudos amid the clobbering

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 28, 2013
In its review of the Ford Focus Electric and Mitsubishi i-MiEV released last week, Consumer Reports took issue with the Ford's cramped rear seat and frustrating MyFord Touch controls, and a large lithium ion battery pack that consumes much of the car's "modest cargo space." How did the smaller i-MiEV fare?... Read More »

 

Ford launches deals to spur Focus EV sales

3:25 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 25, 2013
Ford, responding to soft sales for the Ford Focus EV and recent moves by rivals, has launched a wave of discounts and special lease deals to spur demand for the alternative-powered compact car.... Read More »

 

Ford brand tops 2 million sales in U.S. for second straight year

12:34 am U.S. ET | Dec. 30, 2012
Ford Motor Co.'s namesake brand will top 2 million vehicles in U.S. sales this year and its Focus compact car was the top-selling model line worldwide through September, the automaker said. Ford will be the only auto brand to exceed the 2 million sales level in the U.S. this year. But the company has acknowledged losing market share as it struggled to keep up with consumer demand.... Read More »

 

Focus ST marketer: Not your typical car guy

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 19, 2012
In the not-too-distant past, a guy like Filipp Gorelik would have been a complete alien in the often-insular world of Detroit car marketers. That's because Gorelik, 29, has Europhile tastes. But Gorelik's tastes make him a http://edit.autonews.com/apps/pbcsedit.dll/red#perfect go-to guy as Ford tries to reach a new generation of small-car customers.... Read More »

 

Ford triples dealerships certified to sell EVs, plug-in hybrids

3:34 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 9, 2012
Ford has tripled the number of dealerships it has certified to sell its growing fleet of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, the company said today.... Read More »

 

Ford hires 5,200 while pushing factory use to 114% of capacity

10:56 am U.S. ET | Nov. 8, 2012
Ford has added about 5,200 jobs this year in its domestic factories, and its North American plants are operating at 114 percent of capacity, the highest in more than three decades, a top manufacturing executive said today.... Read More »

 

Ford joins the hot-hatch club with Focus ST

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012
The ST is the first Focus to get Ford's 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine. Tuned specifically for the Focus ST, this version of the engine cranks out 252 hp and 270 pounds-feet of torque.... Read More »

 

ANE EXECUTIVE EDITION

How Ford juggles product design in Europe and the U.S. to produce world cars

Oct. 21, 2012 06:01 CET
Ford's world car strategy is the key to the One Ford global organization that Alan Mulally put in place after he was named CEO in 2007. Barb Samardzich, vice president of product development at Ford of Europe, recently explained how the company's European product development team coordinates with the U.S. team.... Read More »

 

ANE EXECUTIVE EDITION

German suppliers should win big with Ford's small engine

Oct. 17, 2012 06:01 CET
Robert Bosch, Continental and other German suppliers are poised to benefit from Ford's big plans for its small engine. The automaker plans to sell vehicles equipped with the new 1.0-liter EcoBoost gasoline engine in Europe, Asia and North America, and the volumes should be significant.... Read More »

 

Going 'fork free,' 3D scans part of Ford's gold standard

12:01 am U.S. ET | Sept. 1, 2012
At its just-opened $450-million factory in Thailand, Ford prides itself on being "fork-free." Eliminating forklifts, which can have big blind spots, from the floor improves worker safety, the automaker says. Ford instead uses trolleys to bring parts to workers on the line here.... Read More »

 

European car sales fall 8 percent in July

Aug. 31, 2012 06:01 CET
European vehicle sales continued to fall last month as buyers stayed out of showrooms during the region's economic crisis. The Peugeot 208 joined the list of Europe's best-selling cars at No. 5.... Read More »

 

Ford, Toyota each claim world's best-selling car

Aug. 31, 2012 12:49 CET
Ford and Toyota are each claiming to produce the best-selling car in the world in the first half. The definitions are the key. The Focus was the world's top-selling "single-car nameplate," Ford said.... Read More »

 

Faurecia opens interior parts plant in Michigan

Aug. 15, 2012 06:01 CET
Faurecia has opened a plant in suburban Detroit to produce a variety of interior parts for the Cadillac ATS. The 160,000-square-foot facility also makes parts used in instrument panels and center consoles for the Ford Focus, plus other interior parts for General Motors and Chrysler Group.... Read More »

 

Ford starts production of four new models in Russia with more planned

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 1, 2012
Ford has begun production in Russia of the Kuga and Explorer SUVs, as well as the S-Max and Galaxy minivans, to sell within the country. According to the automaker, more models are planned as it works to expand sales in a market that Ford of Europe CEO Stephen Odell has said could become the largest in Europe.... Read More »

 

NICK GIBBS

Ford's downsized 1.0-liter engine wins fans

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 13, 2012
Ford's new three-cylinder gasoline engine is proving a hit with European buyers of the Focus compact car. Ford says a quarter of all Focus sales across Europe are for the model with the downsized engine.... Read More »

 

Ford plans two-pronged electrified strategy

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
When the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid goes on sale in September, all the roughly 3,200 Ford brand dealers nationwide will be able to sell the gasoline-electric hybrid. But in the first quarter of 2013, when the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid arrives, only a select number of Certified EV Dealers, as designated by Ford, will be allowed to sell it.... Read More »

 

Ford completes $14 million overhaul at its German design studio

July 5, 2012 10:50 CET
Ford opened an 11.6 million euro ($14.5 million) expansion of its design studios at Merkenich-Cologne, Germany.... Read More »

 

'We want to be No. 1,' Ford's new Europe quality boss says

July 3, 2012 09:50 CET
Ford of Europe's new head of quality, Gunnar Herrmann, said he wants the company to become the industry leader in that field. Ford has promoted Herrmann, 52, to vice president of quality for its European operations, effective September 1.... Read More »

 

Ford sales rise 7%; redesigned Escape shines

3:17 pm U.S. ET | July 3, 2012
Ford Motor Co.'s redesigned 2013 Escape crossover hit showrooms with a bang in June. Escape sales shot up 28 percent for the month with the 2013 model accounting for 40 percent of the mix, hitting an all-time Escape sales record for any month at 28,500 units, the automaker said today.... Read More »

 

COMMENTARY

Ford of Europe CEO says region is fundamental to company's global plans

June 25, 2012 12:00 CET
I read with interest Luca Ciferri's commentary suggesting that Ford and GM should consider pulling out of the European marketplace. Rather than retrenchment, our plan is to profitably grow in Europe in the coming years as a fundamental part of our global One Ford strategy.... Read More »

 

Honda says Fit EV gets 118 mpg equivalency rating from EPA

6:34 am U.S. ET | June 6, 2012
The Honda Fit EV has been given a 118-mile-per-gallon equivalency rating by the Environmental Protection Agency, the highest rating of any electric passenger car to date.... Read More »