Ford is likely to drop the plans of new Focus RS

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite rolling back the Ford Focus in the local market due to tight emission regulations, the firm is still selling the hatchback in other countries. And it was about to launch a new high-performance RS trim, but now all the market speculations related to this have put to an end when a French magazine Caradisiac reported about the non-happening of the model. 

However, it is in contradiction with earlier reports which suggested the fourth-generation of hot hatchback would be arriving sometime soon, and likely to have a hybrid drivetrain generating 400 horsepower. 

Well, Caradisiac stated that the decision was pushed by the European Union’s fleet-wide average emissions standard of 95 grams of CO2 per km, which will be implemented from next year. As per the European Commission website, this works out to the fuel consumption of 4.1 liters per 100 km (57.3 mpg) of petrol and 3.6 liters per 100 km (65.3 mpg) of diesel. 

Apart from struggling with increasingly stringent laws, it happened due to the cost-cutting plan of the company in Europe. Last year in June, Ford Europe announced its intentions of trimming down the production units from existing 24 to 18 to reduce the manpower by approximately 20% in the country by the end of 2020. It mainly includes the drop of low-selling models like C-Max, Grand C-Max, and Ka+. Though, the Focus RS was not in the list earlier. But now it seems that the firm is likely to focus more on profitable models. 

Currently, the most powerful trim of the Focus is ST. It is offered in two body styles - hatchback and wagon. The drivetrain choices include a  2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed automatic transmission, producing 273 PS and a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel mated to a manual transmission, delivering 187 PS. 

The official words from Ford are still to come, so stay tuned with us.

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