Back in April, Ford announced that it was phasing out all small cars except the Ford Mustang and the Ford Focus Active in North America. Except now it looks like the Mustang may be on its own, as The Blue Oval brand will not bring the Focus Active stateside due to new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
It’s time to say goodbye to the Ford Focus, which we thought was going to remain at least in lifted form. But alas, that’s no longer the case. Ford told Jalopnik over the phone why the China-built Focus Active would not come to the U.S.:
“We made a business decision to stop development of the Focus Active crossover because of the negative financial impact of the new tariffs on vehicles imported from China.”
Ford’s spokesperson would not say that the Mustang will be left as the sole non-SUV or truck in the lineup, instead he pointed out that the Fiesta is available through 2019 and that the Fusion will be around for “at least a few more years.”
The spokesperson also pointed out Ford’s product development chief Hau Thai-Tang’s announcement earlier this month that, in five years, Ford will have more nameplates than ever.
Will all but one be either trucks or SUVs? Unless Ford unveils another small car nameplate—which seems unlikely—it seems that the Mustang will indeed be all alone.