2011 Ford Focus To Debut At Detroit Motor Show

FORD IS SET to unveil the next generation Ford Focus at this week's Detroit Motor Show before launching the new model globally in 2011.

Unlike the current model, which features styling unique to the US market, the new Focus is expected to carry identical design and mechanical setups across all markets. Test mules have recently been spied in Europe.

While Ford has yet to reveal details for the new Focus, there is growing speculation that the Ford Iosis MAX concept, revealed at Geneva last year, represents the direction for the new model.

In Europe at least, the new Focus is expected to draw power from a selection of petrol engines including 1.0 litre, 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre capacities. Power will reportedly range from 80kW to 126kW.

By 2012, Ford plans to launch no less than ten new vehicles built on the Focus platform, with 850,000 global sales expected from the Focus alone. Overall, Ford anticipates around two million sales for vehicles using the Focus platform.

Martin Smith, Executive Director of Design at Ford of Europe said that Ford's plan to develop multiple models off the one platform has allowed his team to give the Focus more aggressive styling than before.

"When people see the car for the first time, they will immediately get the sense this car is lower and sleeker than the outgoing model," Mr Smith told the Detroit Free Press this week.

The new Focus is due to be revealed in the opening press conference of the Detroit Motor Show, set to open on Monday US time (early Tuesday, Australian time).