Why did Ford stop making the Falcon?
What the Falcon was and its historic run
The Falcon was Ford Australia’s flagship family sedan for more than six decades, evolving through numerous generations to serve Australian buyers with a mix of practical daily cars and performance variants. It became a staple of Australian roads, fleets, and police use, built at Ford’s Australian plants until the country’s manufacturing phase wound down in 2016. The final generation, known as FG X, helped crown the end of the Falcon’s Australian production era.
Origins of the Falcon name and its evolution
Named as part of Ford’s global Falcon lineage, the Australian Falcon developed its own local character over many generations, offering a range of sedans, wagons, and high-performance variants (such as XR and GT models) tailored to Australian tastes and road conditions.
Why Ford stopped Falcon production
Here are the main factors that led Ford to end the Falcon's production in Australia.
- Declining demand for large sedans as buyers shifted toward SUVs, crossovers, and utility vehicles.
- Rising costs of building cars in Australia relative to importing, including labor and compliance expenses.
- Ford's global strategy to reduce domestic manufacturing in markets with shrinking volumes and to focus on high-volume platforms and SUVs/crossovers.
- Intense local competition and a lack of a viable next-generation platform to justify continued Falcon production.
- The need to reallocate investment toward more profitable models and new product lines.
Taken together, these factors made the Falcon’s continued local production economically untenable, prompting Ford to end manufacturing in Australia in 2016.
Timeline of events leading to the end of Falcon
Key milestones show how the decision unfolded and what followed for Ford Australia and its customers.
- 2013: Ford Australia announces plans to end local manufacturing by 2016, signaling the end of the Falcon’s era in Australia.
- 2014-2015: Ford continues to produce and sell Falcon variants up to the FG X generation while preparing the transition away from local assembly.
- October 2016: The final Falcon rolls off the production line as Ford completes its shift away from local car manufacturing.
- Post-2016: Ford focuses on imported models and SUVs/trucks, such as the Ranger and Everest, and later imports the Mustang as part of its Australian lineup.
The move closed a chapter on local manufacturing in Australia, with Ford shifting toward imported vehicles and a product mix centered on utilities and performance cars rather than a Falcon-branded sedan.
Was there a direct replacement for the Falcon?
There was no direct Falcon successor in Ford Australia’s lineup. The company reoriented its product strategy toward imported models and SUVs, rather than a Falcon-branded passenger car intended to rival the Commodore and its successors. The focus shifted to popular models such as the Ranger pickup, the Everest SUV, and the Ford Mustang (introduced as an import) rather than a direct Falcon replacement.
Further context on Ford’s Australian lineup after 2016
With local manufacturing ended, Ford Australia prioritized vehicles that could be sourced from overseas plants or other regional markets, aligning with a broader global trend that saw several automakers wind down domestic car production in Australia. The Mustang and Ranger became noticeable anchors of Ford’s Australian portfolio, while the Falcon’s legacy remains a marker of a bygone era in Australian automotive manufacturing.
Summary
Ford stopped making the Falcon in 2016 as part of ending local car manufacturing in Australia, driven by shrinking demand for traditional sedans, rising production costs, and a strategic pivot toward imported vehicles and SUVs. The Falcon ended without a direct successor, with Ford redirecting investment toward other models while Australia’s automotive landscape shifted toward imports and utility-focused vehicles.
