Ford to return to the World Rally Championship in 2028 with M‑Sport‑run works team
The Blue Oval will enter WRC as a full manufacturer in 2028, with M‑Sport running the works squad. Ford says the move underlines a wider push to graft off‑road competition DNA into its European road cars.
By CarNews247 Reporter ·
Ford will rejoin the World Rally Championship as a full manufacturer in 2028, handing its works operation to Cumbria‑based M‑Sport. The move brings a major name back to the top of rallying after a 14‑year absence.
Under the incoming WRC27 rules, the cars will use a set tubular chassis with 1.6‑litre turbo engines producing around 300 bhp. Reportedly, Toyota had been the only full manufacturer committed to the new regulations before Ford’s announcement, so Ford’s entry immediately broadens the manufacturer field.
Ford’s rally pedigree is long: models such as the Escort, Focus and Fiesta helped the brand climb to third in the all‑time manufacturers’ wins list. M‑Sport has history too — it ran Ford’s works squad previously and continued campaigning Ford cars as a privateer, scoring notable success including Sébastien Ogier’s back‑to‑back drivers’ titles in 2017 and 2018 and M‑Sport’s 2017 manufacturers’ crown.
The timing is neat for British fans: a British squad will run the works team just as Rally Scotland returns to the WRC calendar for the first time since 2019, with live coverage on the BBC.
Not just rallying: what Ford says it wants to achieve
Ford presents the WRC project as part of a wider strategy to lean into off‑road and enthusiast markets. The company points to recent US success driven by pickups and the Bronco — especially Raptor‑style models — and is expanding motorsport activity across numerous off‑road categories globally.
"We have a well-established pyramid for on-road motorsport, especially endurance racing, but there is no such thing in off-road – and off-road is really what pays all the bills now. That's why you're seeing Ford invest a lot in Dakar and Pikes Peak, and there's more to do," said Jim Farley, CEO, Ford.
Ford says it wants to take the engineering developed in competition back into its core models and make the brand more enthusiast‑focused in Europe. Its revamped European line‑up is set to include a regional Bronco and other 'rally‑inspired' models, drawing more directly on off‑road and rally experience than the company has for several years.
"It's extremely critical for our company strategy, which is to compete on the weekend, take the engineering back into the core company and improve the enthusiast products. The core of our retail business are the enthusiasts... And now we're kind of orienting the whole brand around the enthusiast," said Jim Farley, CEO, Ford.
The company frames the WRC as the top of a proposed pyramid of off‑road motorsport — a practical test bed for technologies and a way to burnish the brand’s sporting credentials. In short, Ford sees the move as validation for a rally‑infused European product plan rather than a one‑off publicity stunt.
Whether the WRC comeback will translate into more boutique off‑road‑flavoured road cars remains to be proven, but Ford’s commitment to M‑Sport and to the WRC ruleset gives the firm a clear route to do so. Plans for a US WRC event are also said to be firming up, which would further link Ford’s global off‑road ambitions with its competition activity.
