Ford Motor Company is apparently canceling pending orders for the new, 2016 Ford Focus RS hot hatch, rolling those orders into the 2017 model year, instead. The move is sure to cause frustration for many both in the US and abroad who’ve already been left waiting far longer for the new Focus RS than initial projections.
The reasons for the canceled orders are still uncertain. The Truth About Cars reported earlier today that it had acquired some emails between the automaker and a Los Angeles dealer. The emails blamed the cancellation of the dealer’s three pending Focus RS orders on “economic turmoil in Europe” forcing a shutdown at Ford’s Saarlouis, Germany plant.
But then, TTAC reached out to Ford representative Dan Jones, whose explanation sounded a lot less dire. According to him, orders for the 2016 Ford Focus RS were canceled for the simple reason that the Saarlouis plant couldn’t fill enough orders prior to a planned summer factory shutdown. “We frequently adjust daily production to be aligned with market demand,” he said. “Focus RS demand around the globe has exceeded expectations, so these 220 customer units that were scheduled for 16MY build, are now going to be rescheduled into 17MY.”
Jones also said that “as these orders will be prioritized, customers will experience almost no delay in delivery of their vehicle,” reporting August 15th as the end of the Saarlouis plant’s three-week downtime. Sounds good – if you believe it.
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