Ford Confirms A New Sub-$40,000 Car For America

• Ford will launch five sub-$40,000 models in the U.S. this decade.
• The new car will be joined by a truck, an SUV, and a van.
• All will have fresh names and different types of powertrains.

New car prices have never been this high in the United States. Last December, the average transaction price hit a record $50,326. For much of 2025, the average MSRP exceeded $50,000, according to a Cox Automotive study. There’s clearly a need for more affordable vehicles, and Ford says it plans to kill two birds with one stone.

Not only is the automaker preparing five sub-$40,000 models, but it’s also filling a massive void in its lineup: a car. One of these vehicles, set to launch by the end of the decade, will be something other than the usual truck or SUV. The announcement was made this week in Las Vegas during Ford’s NADA Show meeting, where the company reaffirmed its commitment to more affordable models.

Automotive News cites Ford Blue and Model e president Andrew Frick, who said the new lineup will span “cars, trucks, SUVs, vans.” All of them will feature “multi-energy” powertrains, meaning a mix of combustion engines, hybrids, and EVs. Leading the charge will be a midsize electric pickup truck scheduled to arrive in 2027. All five vehicles will wear fresh nameplates and won’t be redesigns of existing models.

Ford didn’t share details about the new car, but it can’t arrive soon enough. The Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, and Taurus are long gone, leaving the Mustang as the brand’s only model that isn’t a truck, SUV, or van. The situation is similar globally, with a few exceptions, such as the Middle East and China, where a Mondeo/Taurus large sedan is still sold.

Last month, Ford CEO Jim Farley explained that sedans disappeared because the company couldn’t make them profitable. He previously said the Fiesta and Focus, models that were “loved by a lot of customers,” also had to be retired for financial reasons. In short, the Blue Oval wasn’t making enough money to keep them alive in a sustainable way.

While a new car is headed to the U.S., there’s also hope for Europe. Ford recently struck a deal with Renault to launch two models engineered and built by the French automaker. The first is due in early 2028, with both riding on Renault’s Ampere EV platform. It’s too early to know their exact body styles, but Renault’s electric lineup includes hatchbacks (Twingo, 4, 5) and crossovers (Megane, Scenic), some of which already have Nissan and Mitsubishi siblings.

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Motor1’s Take: Ford has been without a conventional car in the U.S. since the Fusion was discontinued in 2020, following the earlier demise of the Taurus, Focus, and Fiesta. While it’s unclear which segment the new model will target, it’s refreshing to see Ford committing to something beyond its usual slate of SUVs and trucks.

It’s unlikely to be Fiesta-sized given Ford’s promise of electrified powertrains. Packaging a hybrid system into a small car is challenging, so we’d expect the newcomer to be at least a compact, if not a midsize, model.

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