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More yet to come on Focus platform, says Ford

By / 13 years ago / Latest News / No Comments

Insiders said there are a number of ideas for such a car in the design studios although they added that nothing is immediately in the pipeline.

Ford of Britain sales director Jon Wellsman said: 'We have dropped the three door model because it only accounted for a very small percentage of Focus sales. It had limited value as a lead-in for fleets and some private buyers, but the bulk of sales are five door.'

The UK will take the five-door hatchback and estate versions while saloon version of the Focus will be sold in other regions of the world.

Gunnar Herrmann, global line director for the Focus, said: 'This truly is a global car and 85% of components are common to every model we will sell around the world. The platform in which the car sits is also very important for Ford.

'We already have 10 top hats (body versions) defined so far and there are more to come. Our aim is to sell up to 2.5 million vehicles a year off this platform. That compares to between 1 million and 1.5 million annually off the previous platform.'

For the UK, the Focus will have a vast array of technologies available, including low-speed crash avoidance, lane departure warnings and driver assistance systems such as traffic sign recognition and blind spot warning systems.

Asked what the take-up of such technologies will be, Mr Wellsman said: 'We have moved away from trying to market these technologies individually, we have put together a number of packages so we think we will get a good take-up.

'This is also part of our strategy to reduce complexity with four trim specifications and a choice of three petrol and four diesel engines.'

The five-door Focus goes on sale in the UK in March with prices starting at £15,995. The estate will follow around one month later and high performance ST version, still in a five-door bodystyle, will join the range early next year.

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