One Ford not working, says design chief

Ford's revolutionary policy to develop just one car for each market segment globally will be gradually watered down, says the US car-maker's global design chief, Moray Callum, because it "has peaked".

Launched by former Ford boss, Alan Mulally, the One Ford strategy is largely responsible for the current Mustang being developed in right-hand drive and for small cars like the Fiesta launched in the US.

Helping share the costs over all markets, One Ford helped the car-making giant recover from the 2008 financial crisis but now will be scaled back, reports Autocar, after an interview with Callum.

Refusing to confirm the policy will be abandoned completely, Callum says One Ford "was the right approach at the time", but told the Brit mag that now new models made by the car-maker must be "more tailored to each region".

Using the next-generation Focus as an example, Ford's design boss said: "It's an entry-level model in the US, but not in Europe".

In the future, Callum says both US and European versions of the Focus will look similar, but the versions sold in America would offer "less content".

Pushed further, the design boss admitted that the US Focus could be offered with a "less sophisticated suspension" -- something Callum claims is less vital in that market at that price point.

The Ford designer told Autocar the firm's current design language, what he calls "post-kinetic", will live on in future models. "We won't change it dramatically. It will just evolve".

Callum also confirmed to the British car magazine that the premium Vignale sub-brand will be expanded to the next Fiesta from launch, but will not spin-off a luxury standalone model for the foreseeable future.