Exclusive: Crucial Ford 'Focus' SUV due 2027 to lead Europe fightback

The new model is highly likely to be based on the same ‘C2’ platform that Ford uses for mid-sized C-segment models in Europe.

Having first been used for the outgoing fourth-generation Focus from 2018, this architecture underpins a range of saloons, crossovers and SUVs worldwide – testament to its flexibility – but has so far yet to accommodate a pure-electric powertrain.

But while Ford has abandoned its pledge to offer only electric passenger cars in Europe from 2026, it still needs to totally electrify its cars by 2035 in the UK and EU and significantly boost its EV sales mix in the years before that – so the new ‘multi-energy’ model is likely to be offered as a pure-EV, even if not initially.

In a recent interview with Autocar, executive chairman Bill Ford doubled down on the ongoing importance of a combustion offering in the firm’s European line-up, with EV uptake generally lagging behind the levels that had been forecast by law makers.

He said: “What went wrong is that the regulators got out ahead of the customers. That’s never a good situation. In the future, electrification will play a very important role in transportation, but it won’t be the only part. The ICE business will be gradually phased out, but it won’t disappear. What happens will vary according to region.

“At Ford, we’ve invested in all of these clean technologies, and I feel good about that. But it’s down to customers. They want what they want, and it’s our job to give it to them.”

The Kuga is currently offered with a choice of mild, full or plug-in hybrid powertrains – though Ford has not said which could be carried over into a new model. One potential addition to the ranks could be a range-extender (REx) system, following Ford’s confirmation last year that it was developing REx technology for SUVs and pick-ups in response to a global dip in demand for pure-EVs in those segments.

Regardless of powertrain, the new model will need to be substantially differentiated from not just the Kuga but also the electric-only Explorer and Capri crossovers.

A diverse powertrain offering will be one means of giving the new arrival a clearly defined position, but it is also likely that the new crossover will be significantly more affordable than those models.

Introducing more electrified cars at a far lower price point than the £40k Explorer will be pivotal in helping Ford to reduce its fleet emissions and growing market share. For reference, the new electric Puma Gen-E, priced at around £26k, drove a 324% year-on-year uptick in Ford’s UK electric vehicle sales in the first half of 2025 – demonstrating the importance of maintaining an affordable entry point into each segment. 

There is currently a circa-£14k gap between the electric Puma and Explorer, and it is in here that the new crossover is expected to be pitched, lining it up as a rival to the likes of the Volkswagen Tiguan, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson – some of Europe’s best-selling cars – with a starting price in the mid-£30,000s. 

A return to the glory days of the mid-1990s, when Ford dominated the European market with the wildly popular Escort, Fiesta and Mondeo – claiming a share of around 12% – is unrealistic. Today, the firm has around a third of that figure, has axed the Fiesta and Focus and must face off against a far greater number of rivals in all segments these days – but Renault’s 6.7% share would seem a viable target.

Distinctive designs and dynamics play a central role in Ford’s ploy to grow again in Europe, so the new Valencia-built SUV will be styled according to the company’s bold new American-flavoured design principles, and engineered to give driving characteristics that major on engaging handling and refinement – attributes that have long helped Ford’s cars claim an edge over rivals in Europe.

The company, like many other European marques, is looking to leverage its strong heritage in the region and the brand’s defining qualities – as part of a bid to keep new Chinese rivals at bay – and that extends to the redeployment of historic, familiar nameplates such as Capri and Explorer.

Ford has given no indication of what the new multi-energy car could be called, but has recently filed to trademark terms including Fuze, Mythic and Hive, which some reports have suggested could be used for upcoming new models.

However, given the firm’s strategy of retaining existing badges, it is more likely any new Europe-focused hatchback would bring back a previously used moniker – and given it will effectively fi ll the gap in the line-up left by the departing Focus, that name would seem a logical fit.

In the past few years, the company has also renewed the rights to names such as Zephyr, Orion, Granada and Cortina.

Ford's European problem

The Blue Oval’s eponymous executive chairman Bill Ford hinted at a forthcoming shift in strategy for the company’s European car business.

“Well, of course we’ll go on [in Europe]. On the passenger car side, we realise we’re not as robust as we need to be,” he admitted, but added: “We’re working on our future strategy right now. But I think you’ll be surprised – pleasantly surprised – by what’s coming.” 

He gave no indication of what changes would be made, but recent developments all point to the company reversing its EV-led shift upmarket in a bid to regrow its share of the local market.

Bill Ford suggested that his company’s original strategy of rapid total electrification in Europe was underpinned by the general consensus that market demand for EVs would rapidly accelerate throughout the 2020s on the way to a mandated shift to pure-EVs in the middle of the next decade – a trend that has ultimately been much slower than forecast.

Indeed, Ford’s then EV boss Marin Gjaja (now its chief strategy officer) told Autocar last year that the plan to totally electrify its European passenger cars by 2030 had proved “too ambitious”, and Ford – like many other manufacturers including Volvo, Renault and various Stellantis brands – had slowed its all-EV ambitions in light of sustained demand for combustion cars. 

Introducing a new ‘multi-energy’ offering with a mix of combustion and EV powertrains will allow Ford to cater to evolving market demands while it transitions to a pure-electric future. 

US experiment

Ford recently laid the groundwork for a global fightback with confirmation that it would launch a new family of affordable EVs in the US from 2027, all based on the new Universal EV Platform (UEVP) and built at its factory in Kentucky. A $30k (£22k) pick-up for the American market will be the first, but the company will leverage the platform’s modularity by also using it for hatchbacks, crossovers, small vans and large SUVs.

CEO Jim Farley said it will export these US-built EVs to other global markets – “from Louisville to the world” – but any Europe-focused smaller models are likely to be built locally on this side of the Atlantic, as with the Valencia-built SUV, given the need to minimise costs and the differing market demands here. The UEVP architecture has also been engineered to accommodate exclusively electric power, so will be wholly distinct from the C2 platform Ford uses here.

Nonetheless, headlines of Ford’s landmark US announcements could have international implications.

As part of the major strategy announcement in Kentucky recently – referred to as a ‘Model T moment’ – Ford gave details of the new factory model it will use to build its new-generation EVs: the Ford Universal EV Production System. This will essentially replace the traditional linear assembly line with three primary branches, giving an ‘assembly tree’ that will assemble the front, rear and central structures of a car simultaneously. These major components will be formed from large, single-piece aluminium unicastings, which Ford says replace “dozens of smaller parts”, and require 25% fewer fasteners.