Just before the big markets of Europe fell apart, the new Puma got off to a very strong start, particularly in Italy and Britain. Might that stand this new crossover in good stead once a regional recovery begins?
The plant which makes this small front-wheel drive crossover had been having a terrific run of success before COVID-19 hit Romania. In March, the country’s Association of Automobile Builders announced a six per cent rise in production during the first two months. Considering that Dacia sales had fallen drastically from 1 January and that Craiova’s only other model is the elderly and fading EcoSport, that year-on-year rise was down to the Puma.
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The Association says Ford’s factory manufactured almost 40,000 vehicles in January and February. That represented a 90% surge from the depressed levels of vehicle production in the same months of 2019. Not only that, but Craiova built more crossovers/SUVs than Dacia did at its Mioveni base near Pitesti. In total, 91,000 vehicles were made in the country from the start of the year until the end of February. All of this is old news, yet relevant as Romania’s industry begins a cautious restart.
Ford of Europe is being careful in the words it chooses, stating that what commenced a few days back at Craiova (the production pause had commenced on 19 March) would be a “gradual ramp-up over the next few months before full production is resumed”. There is as yet no statement on how many workers have been called back to the plant, this facility being one of the regional division’s best PR stories of last year with 1,700 people taken on and €200m spent ahead of Puma production.
What is officially known as Craiova Vehicle Assembly Operations came back online on Monday, with three plants in Germany and one in Spain – Saarlouis Vehicle Assembly Operations and Cologne Assembly Operations and Engine Plant, and Valencia Vehicle Assembly Operations – also restarted on 4 May. Valencia Engine Plant is due to open on May 18 but as at the time of writing (6 May), there is no news on when the Dagenham and Bridgend powertrain plants in East London and South Wales will re-open. JLR also relies on the latter for some engines.
If the Puma production story will now gradually begin to no longer be the story, what then of the vehicle itself? Before what people keep calling ‘Lockdown’ (N. Amer. the confining of prisoners to their cells, typically in order to regain control during a riot says the Oxford English Dictionary), I was free to drive where and when I wanted. So there were many miles put on the Puma back in March, just after the car was new to the UK. Back then it felt like this new model was going to greatly help Ford of Britain, which lost market leadership during the same month.
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By GlobalDataI can still see this little crossover having a big impact on Ford’s overall performance once the restriction of movements is lifted and people head out to buy new cars again – soon, possibly.
The Fiesta wasn’t even in the UK top ten last month. Has that happened during any other month since the 1970s? I doubt it. The little hatchback’s days as Britain’s favourite vehicle probably aren’t ending, April being a one-off month.
What a strange 30-day period it was when a Tesla became the number one model and a Jaguar was in second place. Yet even so, the Fiesta is overdue a facelift and I can see the Puma taking some sales away from Ford’s best seller. Not that that will be unwelcome, as Fiesta transaction prices are lower than those for the similarly sized crossover. Ford dealers won’t be too unhappy if many people decide that while they could never get excited about an EcoSport, trading in their Fiesta for a Puma is a strong possibility.
An ST is coming, a tweet from Ford says, but there isn’t anything official about its engine and gearbox. We can assume lowered and firmed-up suspension at least, and potentially, more power.
If even the standard variants are already up there with the T-Cross as the class’ best models for keen drivers, Ford of Europe’s signature outstanding driving dynamics are for the moment allied solely to high efficiency mild hybrid engines.
The petrol-electric system includes an 11.5 kW belt-driven integrated starter/generator (BISG). Replacing the standard alternator, the BISG enables recovery and storage of energy usually lost during braking and coasting to charge the 48-volt lithium-ion air-cooled battery pack.
It’s a shame there’s no diesel – one is promised later in 2020 – so for now it’s a choice of 125 PS and 155 PS versions of a 1.0-litre EcoBoost-branded three-cylinder turbo. The six-speed manual gearbox is slick in action and if you didn’t notice the 30 mm higher seating position, it would be hard not to think you were driving a Fiesta so enjoyable is this car.
Ford more than likely has a real winner on its hands with this new model. It also arrives at just the right time to supplement the smaller (by 20 cm) EcoSport which has been around for eight long years, although not that long in Europe.
The new Ford Puma costs from GBP 20,710, comes in Titanium, ST-Line and ST-Line X model grades, has Combined consumption as low as 51.4 mpg and CO2 of 126 g/km (125 PS engine).
