Ford Fiesta three-door to be axed in Europe – report

Ford is set to drop the three-door Fiesta from production, owing to low sales of its cheap hatchback in this new SUV-obsessed era.

As reported by Automotive News Europe, Ford is reportedly ditching the Fiesta three-door, which is sold in Europe as both the entry-level variant to the range as well as one of the two body styles for its flagship ST grade – also available as a five-door.

However, the five-door looks to be the sole survivor once its three-door sibling departs the line-up, a decision which Ford's Australian division has already made after first deciding to only offer the latest generation as a five-door from 2018 onwards, followed by the range being slimmed down to the ST variant only for this year.

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Ford is looking to reduce the number of variants in the Fiesta range to keep its Cologne production line rolling after multiple parts issues have hampered deliveries worldwide.

Production of the hatchback was paused for a fortnight this month due to a supply chain disruption, with the Cologne plant resuming operations on April 25.

Over the first two months of the year, sales of the Fiesta and Europe dropped to 7608 units compared to 19,844 12 months prior, with a more significant decrease highlighting the lack of local deliveries, as just seven examples were recorded as sold to the end of March – down from 123 over the same period last year.