Ford Rules Out Low-Cost Brand, Keeps Door Open For Cheap Cars
Ford won’t be following in the footsteps of Renault and other auto makers that have introduced “low cost” brands like Dacia. But the company hasn’t ruled out a model line of cheaper vehicles either.
Speaking at Ford’s Amsterdam dealer meeting, CEO Alan Mulally told Automotive News that
“We are looking around the world at opportunities to offer a car priced below the Fiesta…We do not have a firm plan at the moment [for a global sub-B model], but clearly being competitive in every market segment is important,”
Model specifics or production sites were not discussed, but conventional wisdom dictates that cars like the A-segment Ford Ka aren’t suitable for a global low cost vehicle, since (relatively) larger cars are favored in other markets around the world. The Fiesta platform is a likely candidate for the future vehicle.
This wouldn’t be the first time Ford produced a vehicle for developing markets either; the Ford Ikon was previously sold in Mexico, China, South Africa and India, with underpinings derived from previous Fiestas.
More by Derek Kreindler
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“We are looking around the world at opportunities to offer a car priced below the Fiesta…We do not have a firm plan at the moment [for a global sub-B model], but clearly being competitive in every market segment is important,” One presumes that one of the opportunities being considered is the Figo hatch and Classic sedan already being built in India, based on the previous generation Fiesta?
As the article mentions, this isn't exactly new ground for Ford. Aside from the Ikon, a subcompact based on the 4th gen Fiesta, Ford does still build the Figo, a subcompact based on the 5th gen Fiesta. Both are/were bigger than the Ka and specifically designed to be sold cheaply in emerging markets. The Figo actually seems like a pretty decent car for the money, if about a decade out of date.
I propose they call the entry level brand either "Mercury"!
For a while now I've had a perverse desire to cross-shop a Ford Figo with the other subcompacts—it looks "young" and fresh-enough, and cleaner than the new Ford design language for that matter, and for $12 or $13k I think it'd pick off some used sales beneath the Fiesta. Of course, the dealers don't want it cannibalizing used sales, and Ford doesn't want it cannibalizing the Fiesta, which is why this kind of car is probably a non-starter from a marque with nothing to lose. From somebody like Mitsubishi or Suzuki though, desperate to build volume and with nothing to cannibalize, it seems like an emerging market subcompact or a refashioned kei car (like the US-market i with a tiny gas engine) would be a worthwhile gambit at this point.