Ford Fusion Name to Move from Sedans to Sport Wagons

Ford Motor Co. plans to phase out its slow-selling Fusion sedan in 2021 and assign the name to a new sport wagon, sources tell Bloomberg News.

The new model will be a high-roofed hatchback crossover vehicle that rides on the current Fusion platform, sources tell Bloomberg. Such a vehicle would be similar to Subaru Corp.’s hot-selling Outback crossover vehicle.

Ford announced in April it was existing the sedan market. But it also said it intends to explore new types of “utility” body styles.

A Fusion wagon would mirror Ford’s plan to reposition its Focus compact car as crossover vehicle. The carmaker will begin making the Focus Active crossover next year in China.

Sales of the Fusion slumped to fewer than 210,000 units last year in the U.S. from a peak of about 307,000 in 2014. During that time U.S. sales of the Outback have jumped 36% to nearly 189,000 units.