Next-generation Ford Focus compact car (C segment, lower medium category)

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2011 Ford Focus special feature (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5)
First of a global program for 10 new C-platform models
With latest powertrain and communication technologies

2011 Ford Focus, 5-dr hatchback: front-side view.

2011 Ford Focus 4-dr sedan.

3rd generation Ford Focus, 5-dr hatchback (top) and 4-dr sedan.

05 Feb. 2010 - One of the most important, if not the most important new model shown at the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit last month, was the new generation Ford Focus which will go into production simultaneously in Europe and North America in late 2010, with individual market launches starting early in 2011.

Indeed, the AutoWeek editorial staff has named Ford’s third-generation Focus the “Most Significant” vehicle of this year's auto show. In addition, the AutoWeek award was presented (14 Jan.) just three days after Ford received both the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Ford Transit Connect, respectively.

2011 Ford Focus

Focus - MyFord

Focus - Powertrain

Focus - Production

Focus - Milestones

Several factors explain the high significance of Ford's all-new Focus compact model.

1 - First, the market share of the C segment to which Focus belongs (lower medium, compact category), is growing in light of the high fuel prices, growing environmental awarness and the economic downturn. Hence, demand is shifting from larger categories to C or even B (Fiesta category, also known as small or supermini) segments, at least until the major world economies get better.

U.S. small car sales – combined B- and C-segments – grew from about 14 percent of the market in 2004 to more than 21 percent now. Within five years, the C-segment alone could reach 25 percent of the U.S. market, according to Ford forecasters.

2011 Ford Focus, 4-dr sedan: profile view.

2011 Ford Focus, 5-dr hatchback: profile view.

2011 Ford Focus 5-door hatchback (above) and sedan (top): four-door sedans have been the dominant body style in the U.S. market, but hatchbacks are growing in popularity as customers begin to appreciate their interior space efficiency and flexibility.

In Europe, C-cars are an even stronger force, representing 30 percent of sales in a highly diverse segment, and approximately 25 percent of passenger car sales across the Asia Pacific and Africa region. Ford says that C-segment cars represent one in four vehicles sold around the world, and forecasts that C- and B-segment cars combined will soon comprise more than 50 percent of global industry volume.

2 - Second, the current Focus has a global presence, especially in Europe, where the C segment is the most practical alternative to larger family models in the narrower streets of many cities and towns of the "old continent".

Global footprint

3 - Third, the all-new Focus will also mean up to 10 unique models to be built from Ford's new C-car platform, which the American carmaker expects to generate total sales in all regions of two million units annually by 2012.

2011 Ford Focus, 4-dr sedan: rear-side view.

2011 Ford Focus, 5-dr hatchback: rear-side view.

2011 Ford Focus 5-door hatchback (above) and sedan (top): Ford expects the 5-door hatchback body style (above) to grow from 25 to 40% of volume in North America with this Focus.

In fact, even the current C-platform (C1) was very prolific, as it is used (with various adaptations of course) in the current European Focus (the current American Focus is based on the previous C170 platform), the Ford C-Max minivan, the Ford Kuga (C1-Plus) compact crossover, the Mazda3 and Mazda5 / Premacy (Ford owns about 13 percent of Mazda), the Volvo (Ford is in the process of selling its Swedish Volvo to Chinese automaker Geely) S40, V50, C30, C60, XC60 (C1-Plus) and the Land Rover (Ford sold its British brands Land Rover and Jaguar to Tata Motors of India in 2008 for 2.3 billion US$) Freelander 2 / LR2 (C1-Plus).

The first of these new C-car platform models will be the new 5-passenger Ford C-MAX and 7-passenger Grand C-MAX - unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show - for launch in Europe in the second half of 2010 (a version of the seven-seat Grand C-MAX is also scheduled to launch in North America in late 2011).

2011 Focus: elegant and dynamic style with rich technical content in an attractive and familiar interface (like mobile phones), to suite technophile and technophobe tastes (MyFord).

Ford says that in Europe, larger-package MAVs (multi-activity vehicles such as the C-Max) have grown to more than 30 percent of the C-segment volume once dominated almost solely by five-door models. The same trend has occurred in North America with the growth of crossover utility vehicles alongside traditional cars and sport utility vehicles

Ford expects the five-door hatchback body style to grow from 25 to 40 percent of volume in North America with this Focus. Four-door sedans have been the dominant body style in the U.S. market, but hatchbacks are growing in popularity as customers begin to appreciate their interior space efficiency and flexibility.

Five-door models also are growing in popularity among C-car customers in China, traditionally another sedan stronghold.

Initial production of the new Focus will be concentrated at the Saarlouis (Germany), Michigan (United States) and Chongqing (China) assembly plants, bearing in mind that the new Focus will be nearly identical in all markets, with 80 per cent parts commonality around the world (the current American Focus is structurally different from the current European one).

2011 Ford Focus sedan: headlight.

2011 Ford Focus hatchback: headlight.

Bold kinetic design to capture a feeling of energy in motion.

"The new Ford Focus is a clear demonstration that our ONE Ford strategy is providing global consumers with great products that harness the best of Ford Motor Company," said Alan Mulally, Ford's president and CEO.

Torque vectoring

Ford says that its European specialists have also enhanced cornering stability and agility with the introduction of an advanced Dynamic Cornering Control system, which uses “torque vectoring” techniques to transfer power between the drive wheels to deliver reduced understeer, improved traction and better turn-in.

Identical chassis and suspension architecture is being used for all markets, except for minor regional tuning differences, such as local tyre specifications.

Global engineering

The new Focus has been developed by a global team, led from Ford's European small and medium vehicle centre of excellence in Merkenich, near Cologne, Germany, with powertrain development led by a similar team at Ford's technical centre in Dunton, England. The vehicle has been engineered to meet all customer and legislative requirements of the major worldwide markets.

In developing the vehicle for global markets, the product team in Europe was able to call on the experience acquired from recent programs like the new Ford Fiesta (B segment, small car, supermini category), and was supported by the expertise of vehicle and powertrain technology specialists located in Ford's engineering centre in Dearborn, Michigan.

2011 Ford Focus sedan: tail light.

2011 Ford Focus hatchback: tail light.

Sleek profile ending with fluid tail-light designs.

Engineers have updated the suspension concepts from prior models, developing optimised new designs for the "control blade" multilink rear suspension and the semi-isolated front and rear subframes. The chassis design is complemented by a completely new Electric Power Assist Steering system, which has been tuned for precise responses at high speed while remaining light and manoeuvrable for parking.

Safety

Ford says that the Focus platform provides a strong and stiff structure, which benefits vehicle dynamics, refinement and crash performance. High-strength steels are used extensively in the body shell, helping the structure meet the most stringent crash legislation across world markets, while minimising the vehicle's weight.

High-strength steels comprise 55 percent of the body shell, and more than 26 percent of the vehicle’s structure is formed from ultra-high-strength and Boron steels – significantly more than any other Ford product. These advanced materials help the structure meet the most stringent crash legislation across world markets, while minimizing the vehicle’s weight.

The structural integrity of the body shell is also reflected in its torsional rigidity, which is 25 percent greater than the current North American Focus.

Quality

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The new Focus should also reduce cabin noise, promising a quiet cabin environment. The American brand states that each component in the vehicle that the customer will touch, see, hear or even smell has been subjected to rigorous analysis to ensure that it will exceed an owner's expectations, adding that articular attention has been given to the quality of interior trim materials, and the colour matching, gaps, flushness and tolerances where one part meets another. Examples include the sound the door makes when it is closed, requiring special attention to the door structure and latch mechanism, and the design of a steering wheel, right down to the thickness of padding and size of stitching on the rim. See also: MyFord - Powertrain - Production - Milestones.

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