Ford has confirmed it will return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) from 2028 as a full works team; a decision which will help shape its refocused European “multi-energy” model strategy.
Last year, Ford announced that it will launch five new “rally-bred” electric-only and hybrid models by 2029 as it seeks to claw back ground in the lucrative European EV market. The Blue Oval promises that “the performance and technical skills required to compete in WRC will help shape Ford’s all-new passenger line-up” as it returns to a full Ford Racing-backed factory effort.
From 2019 to 2024, Ford’s sales slumped from over a million units to 426,459. The decline is in part due to axing its much-loved Focus and Fiesta models, as well as newer Chinese brands offering more equipment, plus better range and tech for less money. As part of its pivot, Ford’s first new rally-inspired model is expected to be an electric Fiesta or an electric Focus. Both models will be based on Renault’s class-leading electrical AMP architecture, which underpins the Fiesta-sized R5 and the Focus-sized Mégane.
The suggestion of an EV Fiesta or Focus aligns with a teaser image of Ford’s upcoming WRC challenger, which adopts a front-facing, hatchback silhouette and a pair of rally-inspired headlights. During 50 years of international rallying competition, Ford has tasted championship-winning success with both models.
However, the WRC’s next set of regulations mean an electric-only powertrain is out of the question for now, and Ford’s 2028 WRC effort will be an M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally2 fitted with a Rally1 bodykit, allowing it to compete with the sport’s top-tier Rally1 cars. An all-new competitor will arrive for the 2029 WRC season and is likely to adopt a Ford EV-based body powered by an internal combustion powertrain; a suggestion bolstered by Ford Racing’s statement that the car will take “inspiration from one of the upcoming all-new European passenger vehicles”.
During the announcement of Ford’s WRC comeback at the 2026 WRC season finale in Sardinia, Ford Europe president, Jim Baumbick, said: “Rallying is where Ford’s character faces its toughest test and where generations of fans come to share the thrill of seeing a car take on the impossible. We want our next generation of European vehicles to carry that same unapologetic spirit: Responsive, confidence-inspiring, and rewarding to drive on the roads people use every day.”
Baumbick wasn’t the only voice to show their excitement about where Ford’s return to the pinnacle of rallying and where the brand is headed. Double World Rally Champion, Marcus Grönholm, showed equal amounts of enthusiasm. The Finn scored 13 of his 30 WRC career while spearheading the Blue Oval’s WRC campaign in 2006 and 2007. Over both seasons, he scored 12 of his 30 WRC career wins behind the wheel of the Focus WRC.
“It’s great to see Ford back where it belongs, and a full, factory-backed effort shows the strong direction the WRC is going in,” added Grönholm. “As someone who started their rallying career in a Ford Escort about 100 years ago and ended it with a Ford Focus in 2007, I can’t wait to see the hybrid and electric road cars that come from the Blue Oval’s official return to the WRC.”
In addition to a likely Fiesta and a Focus, Ford’s European 2029 line-up will also comprise a Euro-spec Bronco, a replacement for the Puma Gen-E, and pick-up truck inspired by the Dakar-winning Raptor.
