Beloved Ford hot hatch officially goes off sale in the UK after 23 years and four generations as orders dry up
FORD has confirmed that one of their most popular cars has officially gone off the market in the UK.
The American car giant announced that its factories will no longer produce the Focus ST due to a lack of demand.
The Focus ST was first launched 23 years ago, but has since disappeared from dealer price lists.
But for those wanting to get their hands on some of the last remaining cars, the US firm said that 170 are still unsold in the UK.
Stock is still available to buy in dealerships, but customers will not be able to order new models.
Speaking to Autocar, Ford UK said: “There are no new factory orders available for the Focus ST at the moment.
“But there are around 170 built and unsold currently available within the UK dealer network.
“This includes 30 of the special ST Edition variant in Azura Blue.”
Ford introduced Focus ST to the world in 2002, with the initial ST170 version.
It was powered by a 2.0 litre engine, reaching 60mph in just under eight seconds.
In 2005, Ford introduced the second generation – the ST500 – with a meatier 2.5 litre engine.
Developed alongside Volvo and Mazda, it was powered by a Volvo five-cylinder engine, allowing it to hit 60mph in 6.8 seconds.
But the US manufacturer ditched Volvo in 2010 and introduced the Focus St Mk3 with its own engine.
It introduced a more powerful four-cylinder turbo and lowered the suspension – putting the 0-60mph time at 6.5 seconds.
And finally the Mk4, featuring a slightly larger 2.3 litre engine, which was the first version to offer automatic transmission.
It remains the fastest iteration of the Focus ST, reaching 60mph in 5.7 seconds.
Ford could well be responding to industry trends, with hot hatch cars generally being phased out across the board.
Other big manufacturers, including Hyundai, Peugeot and Toyota have started pulling cars off the market as a result of the low interest.
It comes as the Ford Focus is set to be phased out completely, with its production life cycle terminating in November this year.
The move was first announced in 2022, but Ford’s European chief Martin Sander doubled down on the decision in March.
He added: “In the long run, we are still deeply convinced that EVs will be the future and we will see a significant increase in volume.
“By the end of this year, we will have a full range of electric vehicles and we are quite flexible to adapt to market demand.
“For the next couple of years, we have a broad choice.
“Basically, our customers have the power of choice to pick what they want.”
The Ford Focus was first rolled out in 1998, off the back of their Escort model.
It was one of the last hatchbacks with a manual gearbox.
However, Ford is now putting more efforts into their Mustangs and Broncos to boost profits.
This comes after Ford sales in Europe fell 17 per cent in 2024, the first full year without the Fiesta which was axed in July 2023.