Ford Focus to be retired in November 2025

After November 2025, Ford will no longer produce the Focus, which had been the successor to the Escort. Launched in the late 1990s, it was part of the Ford 2000 plan that was intended to unify products globally although that idea didn’t really work well. It was only when Alan Mulally took over as CEO of the company and formulated the One Ford strategy that the Focus (in its third generation) and a few other models were truly commonised for all markets.

‘New Edge’ design language
Appropriately for a new century, the first generation of the Focus used new design language known as ‘New Edge’ which gave the appearance ‘surface tension’ and a more dynamic look. The Ka was the first to use this design language and besides the Focus, other models that used it were the Mondeo, Puma and Cougar till the end of the 1990s.

Elements of the New Edge design language were also used in models in other regions; the facelifted Mustang of 1994 in North America and the 1998 Falcon in Australia.

Not truly a ‘world car’
With its refreshing new looks, the Focus appealed to many and impressed the European Car of the Year judges enough to win it the title in 1999. It was also sold in North America but the model for that market was somewhat different in certain areas. The product teams on both sides of the Atlantic had strong ideas about what the car should have and as they could not agree, the American Focus became different.

From the start, the Focus was available as a hatchback, sedan and stationwagon.

Second generation
The second generation was introduced in 2005 and used the C1 platform was developed under the Global Sharing Technologies Program.

At that time, Volvo was in the Ford Group and Ford also had a substantial controlling share in Mazda. Thus models such as the Volvo C30, S40, V50 and C70 used the same platform, as did the second Mazda3. Engineers in each company did add some enhancements of their own and when introducing the products, they would stress that there was a difference which gave their car better driving dynamics.

Third generation
The third generation, launched in 2010, was a significant product. Developed when Alan Mulally was CEO and forced commonisation on the organisation with his One Ford strategy, the Focus Mk. III was a truly global product. Its engineering was common for the models sold in all markets, with variations mainly limited to powertrains and market-specific features.

The One Ford approach saved Ford money and with the savings, it was able to add more advanced features in the new car. Some of these included early driver assistance systems like self-parking and automatic emergency braking.

Bestselling car in the world
Being a global model – it was manufactured in Thailand for the first time to supply to the ASEAN markets – Focus volumes grew considerably. In 2012, it was the bestselling passenger car in the world with 1,020,410 units sold. An 8.1% increase in sales in 2013 (with 50% growth in China) saw total global volumes rise to 1,097,618 units, making it the world’s bestselling car again.

Fourth and final generation
The fourth generation arrived in 2018, by which time the Focus had been in the market for 20 years. However, with car-buyers shifting towards SUVs, Ford decided that its passenger car range needed to be slimmed down further. It would retire the Mondeo in 2021 and the Fiesta in 2023, as well as announced (in 2022) that the Focus would not go into a fifth generation. 2025 was set as the final year of production for the model.

The Focus in Malaysia
Ford returned to be directly involved in its Malaysian business in the late 1990s, believing  that it had to ‘be in control of its own destiny’. It established Ford Malaysia together with long-time partner Sime Darby Motors (now Sime Motors) and proceeded to build Ford sales. The Focus was an idea model to start off with, having just won the European Car of the Year title when it was launched.

Return of the European Ford
The Focus marked ‘the return of the European Ford’ to the Malaysian market after an absence of two decades. It was imported from Germany and with a 140% tax on CBU models, the price was RM131,410. Only the 5-door hatchback was offered and customers could add a RS Pack for extra sportiness.

That first generation came with a 1.8-litre ZETEC 4-cylinder engine. With dual overhead camshaft and 4 valves per cylinder, it produced115 ps/158 Nm which went to the front wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Turbodiesel with second generation
The second generation was launched in Malaysia in October 2005, starting with the sedan this time with the hatchback joining some months later. The powertrain was still 1.8 litres but for the hatchback, which was presented as a sporty model, there was a 2-litre engine.

Ford decided to assemble this generation of the Focus in the Philippines, where it was also assembling the Escape. This allowed the car to be imported with AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) privileges, ie no import duties, so the price of the top-spec Ghia version was RM120,000.

In 2011, the range was also joined by the Focus TDCi, which had a 2-litre DuraTorq turbodiesel which produced 134 bhp/320 Nm. It was mated with a dual-clutch Powershift 6-speed transmission. Being a diesel, fuel economy was a strong point and 17 kms/litre was claimed, making it possible to go over 900 kms with the 53-litre tank.

1,365 kms on a full tank
Auto ConneXion had organised an economy run in 2011 which challenged the media to get the best fuel consumption with the Focus TDCi. Their own testing had shown it to be capable of 1,200 kms on a full tank.

The route was from Petaling Jaya Selangor to Alor Setar, Kedah with a detour to Penang island, and back. YS Khong, with Anthony Lim, went the furthest distance of 1,365 kms, and with 67 kms range remaining, the potential distance would have been 1,432 kms or 27 kms/litre. The other cars also finished with more than 1,200 kms on the clock.

Ford leaves (again)
In 2007, Ford had again departed from the Malaysian market, ending the joint venture with Sime Darby. Fortunately, there was already an established network and Sime Darby quickly took over distribution again (it had been doing so before Ford had returned) and set up Auto ConneXion for the Ford business.

The change meant that Malaysia was no longer part of the Ford regional family since Ford no longer had direct involvement. It became part of the ‘emerging and growth markets’ segment for the automaker which was good and bad. As an ‘independent’ market, a wider range of models could be sold, albeit imported as CBU, whereas markets like the Philippines and Thailand were stuck with the regional plan which limited models mainly to those made at the two factories in Thailand.

Duty-free from Thailand
For the third generation of the Focus, which was to be a true ‘world car’, Ford built a new factory in Rayong, Thailand to make it. It would serve the regional market, thereby having competitive pricing as it could be exported from Thailand to other ASEAN countries without import duties imposed.

For this reason, although the new generation had been launched in Europe in 2010, it wasn’t till 2012 that it was launched in Malaysia as production only started at the new factory in April that year.

As before, sedan and hatchback bodystyles were available and all versions came with a 2-litre Ti-VCT GDi engine (170 ps/202 Nm) and 6-speed Powershift transmission. Prices at launch range from RM115,888 to RM128,888.

A very hot hatch
A surprise addition was the new Focus ST, a very hot hatch developed by Ford’s Global Performance Vehicles division. Malaysia could get this version from Europe because its model range was not restricted, unlike Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Priced at RM208.000, the Focus ST very quickly became a popular choice of driving enthusiasts. It had a 250 ps/360 Nm high-output turbocharged version of the 2.0-litre EcoBoost 4-cylinder engine, giving a 0 to 100 km/h capability of 6.5 second and a top speed of 248 km/h.

Ford stops selling passenger cars
With the third generation, along with the Fiesta, Ford seemed to win over many Malaysian customers. However, the view from the head office in Dearborn, USA, in 2016 was that the Asian markets outside China were not generating enough business to justify further involvement. Typical of American business thinking, ‘cutting losses’ was quickly decided and Ford would exit its East Asian markets.

No more passenger cars would be offered and only the Ranger, which was its bestselling product, would continue to be made in Thailand and exported globally. Thus, the fourth generation of the Focus launched in 2018 would not be offered in the region. As the trend was towards SUVs, Ford continued with the Everest which is also made in Thailand.

The iconic Ford Escort Mk1 RS reborn