{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”Article”,”image”:”https://car-images.bauersecure.com/wp-images/263062/ready-set-ford-20.jpg”,”mainEntityOfPage”:{“@type”:”WebPage”,”@id”:”https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/ford/ready-set-ford/”},”url”:”https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/industry-news/ford/ready-set-ford/”,”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Jake Groves”,”description”:”Jake Groves is CARu2019s News Editor, and has been part of the CAR team since April 2017. As well as managing the news content thatu2019s published on CARu2019s website, Jake also helps to build the news-based content in the Agenda section of CARu2019s monthly print magazine u2013 planning how new cars, big industry stories and exclusive scoops can be crafted into the pages of CAR.nnnnJake has been a car enthusiast even before he could walk, pointing out car models on the street while still in a pushchair. Growing up, Jake has always been around cars, attending motor shows with family, amassing a vast collection of toy cars u2013 even managing to steer some his parentsu2019 cars and drive a Ferrari 355 (on private land!) before he was legally allowed to have a licence.nnnnHe knew from being a teenager that he wanted to write about cars and the automotive industry, so he went to Sunderland University (the same university CAR contributor Chris Chilton went to, among other members of the automotive media) to study journalism through an NCTJ-accredited course from 2011. During his final year in 2014, he even created his own car magazine from scratch u2013 which you can still read right here u2013 and achieved a 2:1 Batcheloru2019s Degree.nnnnJake then cut his teeth working for Dennis Publishingu2019s automotive titles Carbuyer and Auto Express for two years; time at the former taught him how to drive a website content system like he stole it, and the latter refined his news writing skills.nnnnAt CAR, itu2019s his job to know whatu2019s happening at all times in the automotive industry, react to breaking news stories and direct CARu2019s team as to how to approach news content both in print and online. He interviews industry executives to either get the scoop or help flesh out a story happening in the automotive world around us, attends press conferences and events to get the story from on the ground and investigates the latest technologies being developed for and by the car industry.nnnnJake writes mostly about new car reveals, wider industry stories and articles surrounding electric cars. On top of that, heu2019s written countless drive reviews for CAR u2013 both in print and online u2013 as well as on our companion site, Parkers. Heu2019s also the custodian of the CAR newsletter, keeping you up to date with everything thatu2019s happened in the world of CAR.nnnnWhen heu2019s not driving, Jake is a big gamer. As well as hammering racing games, Jake spends a lot of his time on role-playing games and gets his real geek on with simulation games like city builders on the PC. When heu2019s not in the digital universe, heu2019s usually seen building the latest Lego kit or buying a new pair of trainers u2013 even if his house is rapidly running out of space to fit any more of either.nnnnOn social media, Jakeu2019s Instagram profile is filled with all of the cars heu2019s been lucky enough to drive over the years, and you can follow him on X (nu00E9e Twitter). Read Jakeu2019s latest articles below.”,”image”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://car-assets.bauersecure.com/wp-images/14234/jg5.jpg”,”caption”:”Jake Groves”},”sameAs”:[“https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-groves-06181b40/”,”https://x.com/_jakegroves”,”https://www.instagram.com/_jakegroves/”],”url”:”https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/author/jake-groves/”,”alumniOf”:{“@type”:”EducationalOrganization”,”name”:”University of Sunderland”},”email”:”jake.groves@carmagazine.co.uk”,”jobTitle”:”News Editor”,”knowsAbout”:”Automotive,Car news,Car reviews,Car features,Car technology”},”dateModified”:”2026-05-18T11:00:00+01:00″,”datePublished”:”2026-05-18T11:00:00+01:00″,”headline”:”Five new u0027rally-bredu0027 Ford cars for Europe by 2029: two small EVs, new Bronco and crossovers confirmed”,”publisher”:{“@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”Bauer Media”,”brand”:{“@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”Car Magazine”},”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://car-assets.bauersecure.com/images/logos/car.200×88.png”}}}
Five new ‘rally-bred’ Ford cars for Europe by 2029: two small EVs, new Bronco and crossovers confirmed
Published: Today 11:00
► Ford announces five new European cars by 2029
► ‘Rally-bred’ small EVs and ‘multi-energy’ crossovers
► Plus: a new Bronco variant built and for Europe
Finally – after what has felt like years on the wane and some of its most respected models being discontinued, Ford has confirmed its product plan for Europe up to 2029.
As part of its new ‘Ready, Set, Ford’ programme, the brand has announced that it will launch five new cars in Europe between now and the end of the decade, including an electric supermini and a Bronco model manufactured in and for Europe. The news comes not long after Ford put out a statement confirming it was working with Renault Group to use its AmpR Small battery-electric architecture to create new small cars.
With this new Ready, Set, Ford initiative being launched, Ford has confirmed that two new battery-electric cars will be a B-segment hatchback and small crossover – likely an EV replacement for the Fiesta as well as a new-generation Puma. These will be derived from Ford’s work with Renault using the AmpR Small platform, with ‘race to road’ technology being applied – though how and in what capacity is so far unclear.
Jim Baumbick, Ford of Europe president, is quick to assure that these cars will feel like Fords, commenting that the likes of Ford’s partnerships with Volkswagen and the more recent Renault tie-up ‘aren’t just deals, they’re strategic levers. We partner with the best to move with speed and scale, and we obsess over the product to deliver passionate, unmistakably Ford vehicles.’
Baumbick then goes on to tell CAR: ‘One thing I want to make exceptionally clear. We are not farming out development of our vehicles to anybody. We’ve made choices with Renault because they have an incredibly competitive platform – not just because of cost but because of attributes and capability. We are co-developing and we will own it – we will hold the pen.’
Ford doesn’t provide a lot of other details on these cars at this stage, besides saying the new electric supermini ‘combines distinct design with Ford’s signature driving dynamics.’ The brand also leans heavily into its rally and motorsport heritage across the board with these new car announcements, saying that it will ‘inject race to road capabilities’ into its new passenger cars.
The term ‘rally-bred’ is thrown around, with Christian Weingärtner, head of passenger cars for Ford Europe, clarifying that that largely means Ford’s engineering teams focusing on handling dynamics – something Ford’s team can easily influence when developing its version of an AmpR Small-based car. ‘Dampers, suspension tuning, steering ratio… these are all things that we can control and this is all in our hands. That’s also besides being able to entirely do the design – interior and exterior – and the experience around the car.
‘Things that also speak to ‘rally’ are details like having easily accessible buttons in the car because, when you’re in a car, you can’t be playing around [with the interior],’ adds Weingärtner, hinting that the cabin will still have a reasonable amount of physical controls.
As for the Fiesta name returning, Weingärtner is quick to say that a name hasn’t been confirmed yet but says there are ‘pros and cons’ for using the name for its small electric hatch. ‘We will decide in the next couple of months.’
On top of those two small EVs, Ford has also announced. two ‘multi-energy’ crossovers that will also have this ‘rally-bred’ DNA in them. These two crossovers will likely launch in 2029 and are expected to come with ‘some kind of hybrid,’ according to Weingärtner, as well as a battery-electric powertrain. It’s unconfirmed as to whether these cars will be developed in partnership with another manufacturer or developed solely by Ford.
Ford is also keen to push against current zero-emission targets slated for Europe and the UK, with Baumbick saying: ‘we don’t build vehicles to meet regulatory mandates, we build them for people. The fastest route to zero emissions is the one customers will actually take.’
Baumbick also adds that this plan is designed to make sure Ford is ‘here to play to win, and move with speed. You can’t talk about racing and not move quickly, and that’s why you see this product offensive.’
console.debug(‘taboola container loaded..’)
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: ‘thumbs-feed-1×1’,
container: ‘taboola-below-article-thumbnails-v3’,
placement: ‘Below Article Thumbnails V3’,
target_type: ‘mix’
});
var disqus_shortname = ‘carmagazine’;
var disqus_developer = 0;
var disqus_identifier = ‘article-wp-263062’;
(function () {
var dsq = document.createElement(‘script’);
dsq.type = ‘text/javascript’;
dsq.async = true;
dsq.src = ‘http://’ + disqus_shortname + ‘.disqus.com/embed.js’;
(document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0] || document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(dsq);
var s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.type = ‘text/javascript’;
s.async = true;
s.src = ‘http://’ + disqus_shortname + ‘.disqus.com/count.js’;
(document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0] || document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(s);
})();Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.