Officially Dead: The Ford Sedan

Specifically, the Ford Fusion — the last domestic Blue Oval product with four doors and a trunk to remain in production. Until July 31st, that is. That’s the date Ford ceased manufacture of the sedan at a Mexican assembly plant.

The end of production was confirmed by Ford via Ford Authority. Next up for Hermosillo Assembly is the Bronco Sport — a retro-styled, decently modified Escape launched alongside the body-on-frame Bronco last month. Quite a looker in its final generation, the Fusion fell victim to consumer anti-car sentiment and strategic product planning.

Now, it’s just like the others — the Taurus, Fiesta, Focus. All gone. The only Ford with a trunk you’ll be able to get your hands on now is the Mustang, but a family vehicle it is not.

Offered as a hybrid and a plug-in (Energi) with a trunk-gobbling battery pack, the Fusion defined midsize domestic passenger car travel, and we can’t forget that it also spawned one of the previous decade’s best sleepers: the short-lived Fusion Sport, which stuffed the brand’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 under hood, making for a family sedan that hauled serious ass. Appealingly, it didn’t scream “look at me!” to the cops while doing it.

In an email to Ford Authority, Ford spokesperson Sam Schembari confirmed the ceasing of Fusion production while talking up the brand’s alternative products.

“As promised, Ford is reinventing the car to match consumers’ preferences and growing our business by significantly expanding our North America sport utility vehicle portfolio with the all-new Bronco and Bronco Sport, all-electric Mustang Mach-E, and all-new versions of Escape and Explorer, America’s all-time best-selling SUV. As part of this shift, we ended Fusion sedan production on July 31,” he said.

“Reinventing” the car by getting rid of all of the cars is an interesting strategy. SUVs are not cars, but customers don’t seem to care — otherwise the Fusion would still be rolling out of Hermosillo. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the Escape will step in to fill the gap felt by the now-dead Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi, so it’s not like the green crowd has lost one of its children. Mourning might still occur, however, among those who like sitting close to the ground.

Schembari’s words might hold more meaning if Ford follows through on what many expect to be a wagon-like return of the Fusion name. Prototypes of a lifted, Subaru Outback-esque vehicle apparently based on the Euro-market Ford Focus have been spotted, with unusual trademark filings pointing to such a creation.

The Fusion, which always maintained a heavy fleet presence, recorded upwards of 300,000 annual sales in the U.S. as recently as 2015, only to see that number almost halved by 2019.

[Image: Ford]