The latest Ford Focus has rolled off the production line in Saarlouis
- The last Ford Focus rolled off the assembly line at the Saarlouis plant in Germany on November 17, 2025, after decades of production across several generations. This end of European production of the C-segment sedan from the second-largest American automaker effectively marks the end of assembly operations at the Saarlouis plant, which began 55 years ago (in 1970) with the production of the Ford Taunus. At the time, it complemented the carmaker's German industrial base, which at that time consisted of the Cologne plant that assembled the brand's larger models: the 17M, 20M/26M, Consul/Granada, and Scorpio.
- In addition to the Taunus, the Saarlouis factory also produced the Ford Escort, the Ford Capri, the Ford Fiesta and therefore the Ford Focus which succeeded the Escort in 1999. In total, more than 15 million vehicles were produced in this factory.
- The closure of the Ford plant in Saarlouis is in line with the American carmaker's strategy to gradually withdraw from the European market (like GM and Chrysler in the past) and to focus now on the Puma, Kuga, Capri, and Explorer SUVs produced in Europe and by outsourcing the production of future sedans to other carmakers, such as Renault. In the meantime, it's likely that Ford Focus customers won't automatically switch to Ford's SUVs. It's even possible that these customers will look elsewhere for a C-segment sedan, and the most probable scenario is that they'll choose a Volkswagen Golf, the model closest to the Ford Focus in every respect. The Golf could therefore partially benefit from the discontinuation of the Ford Focus.