Ford cuts Fiesta production

An unimaginable decline in UK sales is partly to blame.

By: Dominik Wilde

Feb 17, 2020 at 5:00am ET

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In an almost unthinkable move, Ford has cut production of the Fiesta at it factory in Cologne, Germany. The UK's best selling car will now be produced on four days a week rather than five, with the plan set to stay in place until the end of the year, but will be reviewed in May according to Automotive News Europe.

The move has been brought about because of declining UK sales, among other reasons, with sales in the company's second-largest European market dropping by 7.3 percent in January as people held off from buying cars over Brexit fears. One third of Cologne's Fiesta output ends up in the UK.

The move will affect 2,200 workers at the Cologne plant which currently produces 1,150 each day.

"Southern Europe and the United Kingdom are seeing weaker demand [for the Fiesta], leading to the need to adjust production," a Ford spokesman told the outlet.