Ford Focus Wagon (2012)
Ford Focus Wagon (2012)
With the debut of the 2012 Focus Wagon at the Geneva Motor Show, Ford has reached the halfway point in the roll-out of its new C-segment platform. The new station wagon is number five and we expect it to be joined by a three-door hatch and coupe-convertible in the coming months. Ford also revealed that a small SUV will join the C-segment lineup soon.
While the new wagon will likely be a popular configuration on the continent, there are currently no plans to make the estate available in North America. Frank Davis, executive director of North American product programs at Ford, told Autoblog that when a wagon was last offered as part of the U.S. Focus lineup, the market share never got over 14 percent and only hit four percent in the final year of availability.
Davis wouldn’t rule out offering a wagon in the U.S. at some point if it were justified by market demand. Since Ford will be using common manufacturing processes for the new Focus globally and the lines are flexible, it would not be difficult to add production at the Michigan Assembly Plant where the North American Focus will be built. Davis emphasized that over 80 percent of the parts on the new Focus are common globally, considerably more than the 60 percent commonality on the new Fiesta.
Design-wise the new Focus wagon differs little from the sedan and five-door hatch. It is identical back to the B-pillars with only the extended roof-line and cargo area setting it apart. Ford has integrated the cargo rails into the roof in order to maintain the sleek looks of the latest iteration of its Kinetic design.
Inside the wagon gets the same up-scale interior shown in the sedan and hatch including the first European availability of the new MyFord Touch system as part of the latest generation of Sync technology. Unlike here in the U.S. where we will initially get only one 2.0-liter engine, Europeans will get a range of updated gas and diesel engines to choose from. Production of the Focus starts simultaneously late this year in Europe and the U.S.
Production of the new Focus begins simultaneously in North America and Europe in late 2010, with sales starting in early 2011. Production in Asia, South America and Africa will follow.
The Focus wagon, the fifth vehicle to be introduced by Ford as part of its global C-segment family, is expected to account for up to a third of Focus sales in Europe. The company’s C-segment portfolio, which also includes the new C-Max and Grand C-Max crossovers, will account for 2 million units of production a year by 2012.
Unveiled at Frankfurt, the seven-passenger Grand C-Max is scheduled to arrive in North America in late 2011, as a 2012 model. The C-Max and Grand C-Max go on sale later this year in Europe.
Globally, the C-segment range will encompass six body styles, including a small SUV.
Category: Ford
