It was created under Alexander Trotman 's Ford plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The decision to name the new car the "Ford Focus" was made in early , as Ford's senior management had been planning to keep the "Escort" nameplate for its new generation of small family cars.
A last-minute problem arose in July when a Cologne court, responding to a case brought by the publisher Burda , ordered Ford to avoid the name "Focus" for the cars in the German market since the name was already taken by one of its magazines.
Ford of Europe introduced the Focus in to the European market as a replacement for the Ford Escort. Ford of North America began marketing the Focus in September for the model year, with some changes from the European version.
The car was launched as a three-door hatchback , four-door sedan , and five-door wagon ; a five-door hatchback debuted in It came with a 2. Z Racing alloy wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport tyres and a host of other performance changes, combined with a much more aggressive appearance, and was available only in Ford's Imperial blue. Tickford Engineering won the engineering contract for the research, development and to oversee production of the Mk 1 Focus RS.
Despite the development being carried out in the United Kingdom, Ford produced the Focus RS in the Saarlouis plant in Germany between and making a limited run of cars only. For decades, in the U. The second generation Focus was launched at the Paris Motor Show on September 25, , as a three and five-door hatchback and an estate, although the new car was previewed, [ 8 ] in 4-door sedan form, as the "Focus Concept" developed by Ford Europe at the Beijing Motor Show in mid The basic suspension design, which contributed much to the Mk 1's success, was carried over largely unchanged from its predecessor.
