Ford is killing off its saloons in North America

Ford isn’t going to invest in the next generation of its ‘traditional’ saloon (sedan) line-up in the States. Which means that in the very near future, the only Ford ‘cars’ you’ll be able to buy there will be the Mustang and the incoming Focus Active.

In a statement announcing the company’s financial health, Ford confirmed that as a result of lower demand for its saloon-car range – things like the Fusion (Mondeo) – it’ll only concentrate on the iconic pony car, and a Focus crossover.

So no regular Focus. Nor Fiesta. Nor that Fusion. Which means outside of trucks, utility and commercial vehicles (which Ford reckons will take up 90 per cent of Ford’s North American portfolio by 2020), there’ll be just two actual cars in Ford USA's range.

It also reconfirmed its commitment to introducing hybrid-electric powertrains to the high-volume stuff, like the F-150, Explorer, Escape, Bronco, and of course, the Mustang. Yep, a hybrid Mustang. You knew it was coming. It’s still coming.

There’s also the small matter of a full EV performance SUV – the ‘Mach 1’, previewed earlier this year at Detroit – scheduled for 2020, and a total of 16 full EV cars by 2022.

Ford also said it is looking into new “’white space’ vehicle silhouettes that combine the best attributes of cars and utilities, such as higher ride height, space and versatility”.

Ford boss Jim Hackett said: “Where we can raise the returns of underperforming parts of our business by making them more fit, we will. If appropriate returns are not on the horizon, we will shift that capital to where we can play and win.”