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Ford is dropping the Ghia badge from the heavily revised Focus when deliveries begin next January.
By abandoning the Ghia variant for the Focus, Ford is consolidating its policy of increasing the sales ratio of higher specification Zetec and Titanium models. As a result of the move the number of trim levels will fall from five to four while the variety of possible Focus permutations drops from 107 to 82.
Prices for the brand's fleet mainstay will range from £11,945 for an entry three-door 1.4 petrol Studio through the five-door Zetec1.6TDCi at £16,795 to the £20,645 Titanium 2.0 TDCi estate car fitted with a Powershift semi-automatic transmission.
Overall, prices for the Focus, which the company is claiming as a new model, have risen by an average of £250, but that is cancelled out by standard fitting of ESP, which was previously an option. Meanwhile, digital radios are part of a more sophisticated variety of options, many carried over from the Mondeo.
In the past, flagship and higher specification Ford models carried the red and blue Ghia logo, and its demise is likely to accelerate next year when it is deleted from the Fiesta replacement's portfolio. Equally, future range revisions for the Mondeo and Galaxy are likely to dispense with the former coachbuilder's motif.
One Ford retail source said: "To be honest the Ghia has echoes of vinyl roofs on Granadas, lots of chrome and velour upholstery. Ford is trying to meet the demand for higher tech interiors. In a fleet context Ghia did not represent a premium new or used product."
The Ghia is one of the most enduring badges in the industry and was first used by Ford in 1973. The Turin design house, bought by Ford in 1970, was shut in 2002 after being relegated to an electronic extension to Ford's global design network.
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