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The Ford Fiesta Is Poised for a Shock Electric Revival

After a brief but painful absence, Ford’s most famous supermini could be heading back to Europe—this time powered by electrons and a Franco-American alliance.

The return of the Ford Fiesta was never supposed to read like a resurrection story. And yet, just two years after Britain’s best-selling car of all time bowed out, the groundwork has been laid for a comeback that feels almost biblical in scale.

A newly announced electric-vehicle platform-sharing deal between Ford and Renault, confirmed in early December 2025, has opened the door for the Fiesta nameplate to return as soon as 2028—reimagined as a fully electric supermini aimed squarely at the heart of Europe’s B-segment.

A French Platform, an American Soul

At the core of the agreement is Renault’s AmpR Small architecture, a dedicated EV platform that already underpins the new Renault 5 and 4, the Alpine A290 hot hatch, the upcoming Nissan Micra EV and the reborn Renault Twingo due in 2026. Ford will gain access not only to this platform, but also to Renault’s battery and motor technology—crucial leverage in a segment where scale is everything and margins are tight.

Ford plans to launch two new electric models off the back of this deal. One will revive the Fiesta as a compact hatchback; the other will be a second small EV, likely with a more crossover-inspired silhouette. Crucially, these will not be rebadged Renaults. Both cars will be designed by Ford, wear unique bodywork and be engineered to feel distinctively Blue Oval in character.

If history is anything to go by, that distinction will matter.

Familiar Footprint, Sharper Edge

Sharing its underpinnings with the Renault 5 suggests the new Fiesta EV will sit in broadly the same dimensional ballpark, but expect a noticeably sharper and more dynamic design. That approach aligns neatly with Ford’s recent styling direction and with the outgoing Fiesta’s reputation as the driver’s choice among small cars.

Pricing is also likely to be competitive. The Renault 5 range spans roughly £22,000 to £30,000, placing a future Fiesta EV right in the thick of the emerging electric supermini battleground.

More important than price, however, is how it drives—and Ford is keen to underline that point.

Ford DNA, Carefully Engineered

Both the Fiesta EV and its small-SUV sibling will receive bespoke chassis tuning, with Ford taking the lead on ride, steering, handling and braking. It’s a strategy the company has already employed successfully with the Explorer and Capri EVs, which are built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform yet feel markedly different to their ID-branded cousins.

“We’re very confident that we can completely differentiate the offering,” said Jim Baumbick, president of Ford of Europe, speaking to Auto Express. “Ford will lead on the development of the design and things like the ride, steering, handling and braking to inject the uniquely Ford DNA.”

Baumbick also revealed that early designs have already been shared with dealers and key stakeholders, suggesting the project is well beyond the exploratory phase.

What Could Be Under the Skin?

Thanks to its shared architecture, the technical picture is already taking shape. The Renault 5 offers 40kWh and 52kWh battery options, with the larger pack delivering up to 252 miles of WLTP range. In its more powerful configuration, a 148bhp electric motor drives the front wheels, dispatching 0–62mph in under eight seconds.

Those figures would place a Fiesta EV firmly among the most capable electric superminis on sale—practical enough for daily use, but lively enough to honour the badge.

And then there’s the question enthusiasts are already asking.

Could the ST Badge Return?

Sharing DNA with the Alpine A290 raises an intriguing possibility: a Fiesta ST reborn for the electric age. The A290 pushes up to 217bhp through its front axle and features a heavily revised chassis, uprated brakes, tuned suspension and a wider track.

A high-performance Fiesta EV would align neatly with Ford’s renewed focus on enthusiast and halo products, from the extreme Mustang GTD to the Ranger Raptor.

“Ford is at its best when we connect with customers at an emotional level,” Baumbick said. “When we enable them to do things that they love to do.”

An electric Fiesta ST would do exactly that.

Built in France, Moving Fast

Production of both new small EVs will take place at Renault’s ElectriCity complex in northern France, underlining the deal’s focus on economies of scale and speed to market. Renault’s rapid development cycle—helped by a new R&D centre in China that enabled the next Twingo to be developed in under two years—has clearly caught Ford’s attention.

The first Ford vehicle born of this partnership is expected to arrive in 2028, a remarkably short timeline by industry standards.

Ford CEO Jim Farley described the agreement as “an important step” in building a leaner, future-proof European business, while Renault Group CEO François Provost hailed it as proof of the competitiveness and depth of the two companies’ partnership.

Where It Leaves the Rest of the Range

The Renault deal focuses squarely on B-segment cars, complementing Ford’s existing Puma Gen-E rather than replacing it. According to Baumbick, the new models will “augment” the Puma, not supplant it—suggesting Ford is aiming to cover more price points, potentially with a baby SUV or even a Ka-style city car based on the Twingo.

What it won’t do, however, is resurrect the Ford Focus as a Volkswagen ID.3 rival. Ford’s partnership with VW remains confined to larger C-segment EVs, and there are no plans to use Renault’s larger AmpR Medium platform for a Focus replacement.

Beyond passenger cars, the collaboration may yet expand further, with both companies having signed a letter of intent to explore joint work on light commercial vehicles—an area where Ford remains dominant.

A Small Car With Big Expectations

If it all comes together, the electric Fiesta won’t just be another EV—it will be a litmus test for Ford’s European future. Affordable, desirable small cars built at scale are notoriously difficult to make profitable, but they’re also essential to brand relevance.

For a nameplate as storied as Fiesta, a quiet fade-out was never going to feel right. An electric rebirth, shaped by French engineering and sharpened by Ford’s driving DNA, might just be the comeback story it deserves.

Source: Auto Express; Photo: AVARVARII

News

Ford Bronco Could Finally Make Its Australian Debut—With a Twist

Australia has long been a haven for off-road enthusiasts, with vehicles like the Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor commanding fierce loyalty from buyers. Yet one iconic 4×4 has conspicuously been missing from local showrooms: the Ford Bronco. That could soon change—but don’t expect it to look or drive quite like the Bronco you know from the US.

Ford appears poised to introduce a new Bronco variant designed specifically for markets outside North America, including Australia. Known in China as the Bronco Basecamp—or Bronco New Energy—this model emerges from Ford’s joint venture with Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC). Its styling feels like a cross between the rugged, full-size American Bronco and the compact Bronco Sport, but it’s actually larger than both.

A notable change for Australian buyers is that the Bronco Basecamp will be built in right-hand drive, with exports planned not just for Australia, but also for Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America, according to reports from Wheelsboy.

Under the skin, the differences continue. While the US Bronco sits on a traditional ladder-frame chassis, the Chinese model uses a unibody construction. That may limit its ability in extreme off-road conditions, but it should provide a more comfortable and composed ride on sealed roads—a potential selling point for buyers seeking rugged style without compromising daily usability.

The Bronco Basecamp is a large vehicle by any measure, stretching 5,025 mm (just over 197 inches) in length—101 mm longer than the Ford Everest currently sold in Australia. This combination of size and unibody construction suggests Ford is targeting a new segment: drivers who want the adventurous aesthetic of a 4×4, but with family-friendly dynamics and more forgiving handling.

Powertrain options are particularly compelling. The all-electric Bronco Basecamp packs a 105.4 kWh battery and dual electric motors producing a combined 445 hp and 424 lb-ft (575 Nm) of torque. That makes it more powerful than the ICE-powered Bronco Raptor in terms of horsepower and nearly matches its torque.

In China, Ford also offers a range-extender version featuring a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with two electric motors and a 43.7 kWh battery. This setup delivers 416 hp and 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) while offering up to 220 km (137 miles) of electric-only range.

Whether both powertrains will make it to Australia remains unclear. Even if Ford limits the lineup, the Bronco Basecamp presents a fresh alternative for local buyers—one that blends the Bronco’s iconic off-road DNA with modern electric technology and everyday usability. It’s not the American Bronco many have been dreaming of, but it could be the next best thing for those craving a large, adventurous SUV with a distinctly global twist.

Source: Ford

News

Ford and SK On Call Time on a $11.4 Billion Battery Bet as the EV Tide Recedes

Back in 2021, Ford’s future looked decidedly electric. Flush with optimism and buoyed by generous federal incentives, the Blue Oval teamed up with South Korean battery heavyweight SK On for an $11.4 billion joint venture to build a network of EV battery plants across the United States. It was a bold, expensive, and very public declaration that Ford intended to be a serious player in the EV arms race.

Fast-forward to late 2025, and that confidence has given way to retrenchment. Ford and SK On are dissolving their battery partnership entirely, a high-profile breakup that says less about either company’s competence and more about how quickly the EV landscape has shifted under Detroit’s feet.

The split didn’t come out of nowhere. Two major forces have been working against EV momentum in the U.S. First was the rollback of the federal EV tax credit, a move that immediately cooled consumer demand and took some of the financial sting out of sticking with internal combustion. Second came the U.S. administration’s decision to revise fuel economy standards, a policy change that effectively tilts the playing field back toward gasoline-powered vehicles. Together, those moves reshaped the market in a way few automakers had modeled just a few years ago.

Under the terms of the breakup, the assets will be divided rather than abandoned. SK On will take over the already-established joint venture facility in Tennessee, known as the BlueOval plant, while Ford will assume control of the two adjacent factories in Kentucky. The arrangement keeps both companies in the battery business, just no longer under the same corporate roof.

Notably, it was SK On that formally dissolved the partnership, though the company has been careful to emphasize that it still plans to work with Ford around the Tennessee facility. From SK On’s perspective, the separation is about agility. Ending the joint venture, the company says, will improve productivity, increase operational flexibility, and allow it to accelerate its North American energy storage system business—an area that’s quietly becoming just as important as EVs themselves.

The fallout extends beyond factory gates. One of the most immediate consequences is a reassessment of a massive government loan approved near the end of the Biden administration. Originally structured as up to $9.6 billion in financing for the joint venture, the loan is now set to be reduced under the Trump administration’s oversight. How much smaller it will become hasn’t been finalized, but Bloomberg reports that the loan will be reworked to “reduce exposure to taxpayers and ensure its prompt repayment.”

Ford, for its part, is cooperating with the Energy Department and has signaled it’s willing to repay the loan faster than originally planned—a move that suggests the company is eager to clean up its balance sheet and put some distance between itself and a bet that no longer looks like a sure thing.

That urgency is understandable. Ford’s EV business has been bleeding red ink, losing $5.1 billion before interest and taxes in 2024, with even steeper losses expected this year. Domestic EV sales are sliding, and CEO Jim Farley has been unusually blunt about what lies ahead. He recently warned that, under current policies, EV sales in the U.S. could fall by as much as 50 percent.

From that vantage point, the breakup looks less like a failure and more like triage. “We believe the writing was on the wall this partnership was not going to work moving forward,” Wedbush Securities managing director Dan Ives told the Detroit Free Press. “Ford has to make some difficult moves and this was a smart strategic one to rip the band-aid off. The EV market is dramatically scaled down for Ford now and they have to adjust accordingly.”

That adjustment doesn’t mean Ford is abandoning electrification altogether. Instead, it signals a recalibration—one that prioritizes flexibility over massive, long-term capital commitments made under very different political and economic assumptions. The automaker still needs batteries, still needs EVs, and still needs a credible electrified lineup to compete globally. What it no longer seems willing to do is bet tens of billions on a single vision of how fast America would go electric.

For SK On, the breakup may actually be an opportunity. With full control of the Tennessee plant and freedom to pursue energy storage more aggressively, the company can diversify beyond passenger EVs and chase steadier demand from grid-scale projects and industrial customers.

In the end, the Ford–SK On split is less about blame and more about timing. The EV boom that automakers planned for in the early 2020s hasn’t vanished, but it has slowed, fractured, and become far more politically contingent. In that environment, even the biggest players are learning that sometimes the smartest move isn’t to double down—but to step back, reassess, and live to fight the next round.

Source: Detroit Free Press