Ford is Saying Goodbye to Fusion in 2020

Ford Motor Co. recently announced that it will be discontinuing the production of the Fusion midsize sedan in North America in 2020.

The company previously said that the car would be dropped within the next few years. But in 2018, it had also announced plans to halt production of all sedans, completely saying goodbye to the Fiesta, Focus, and Taurus.

Ford spokesman Jiyan Cadiz said the company will end Fusion production next year and will also discontinue the Sport trim for the 2020 model. It is still unclear, however, on whether the company will build any 2021 Fusions.

“Our goal in the final production year is to further simplify the offering and focus on maximizing the more popular SE, SEL, and Titanium models,” Cadiz said in a statement.

The end of Fusion production signifies the company’s failed attempt in trying to save the model.

Despite declining sales, Ford made the Fusion Sport the centerpiece of the brand’s 2016 Detroit auto show display. Celebrity Ryan Seacrest revealed the new trim as part of the Fusion’s “midcycle freshening” in an elaborate celebration in New York’s Times Square.

But it turns out that the Fusion Sport, despite boasting a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 engine for 325 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque, did not have enough draw to improve the model’s sales. Fusion Sport sales only accounted for 10 percent of total Fusion sales.

Overall Fusion sales in the United States exceeded 300,000 in 2014 and 2015, but the sedan could not completely overtake Toyota, Honda, and Nissan in the very competitive midsize sedan segment. In 2018, Fusion sales in the U.S. plummeted 17 percent to 173,600, although it went up by 8.8 percent to 77,578 in the first five months of 2019.

Despite the end of Fusion, consumers will still have plenty of sedan options in the market with General Motors recently announcing that it will stick with the Chevrolet Malibu.