Listening to Ford’s reaction to questions posed on the European Fiesta hatch‘s chances in India, one got the feeling that they are not considering it for the Indian market.
The stylish hatch caught the attention of many auto enthusiasts after we posted images and videos of it testing near Chennai.It was said that Ford was testing components to see how they cope in our hot and dusty conditions.
Ford India officials expressed that their interest was in selling the Figo and addressing the high demand for it. After the Fiesta Classic climbed down the price ladder, positioning of the Euro Fiesta hatch becomes tricky. There is a very tight gap between the Figo and Fiesta Classic for the Euro Fiesta hatch to occupy.
Ford believes that with the Fiesta Classic, it will move into the heart of the sedan market. Suppose the Fiesta hatch is brought to India, it will be sold in the same price range as the Classic. Customers could see more value in the sedan and choose it over the Fiesta hatch. The price overlap might not work out well for both models.
Ford, as a company, has changed its approach in the last one year. Its approach is very cautious and the sure-shot models with low risk factor are the only ones it is ready to sell. It has discontinued products like the Fusion and Fiesta 1.6S without any hesitation which were termed experimental or off-beat upon their introduction.
[...] based on the Ford Fiesta platform. Hopes were drowned after Ford expressed doubts over the odds of Fiesta hatch making it here. Perhaps Mazda can answer the prayers of all Fiesta hatch lovers with the Mazda [...]
[...] appreciates the kind of response the Fiesta hatch has generated among Ford enthusiasts in India. Facebook pages have been filled with questions on [...]
i support chetan,,,,, and my source was one of the engineers associated with the fiesta programme… and thats why i m hoping that he may be true.. but on other hand i know IAB like Team BHP rarely goes wrong… but i m hoping that u go wrong this time (:-)..
and please on 14th try to put this view also on board that they should also have internet in their mind as i have seen all over the web that people are waiting for the hatch mmore eagerly than the sedan
Now Mr. Shrawan, you and your website publish some really valuable automotive news ahead of appearing at any other site and that is something really commendable in this very fast world. Do keep it revving.
thanks doctor, I’d love to see you bring your friends here to our homepage everyday. I can promise you that we will do our best to entertain them with our updates
chalo now i’ll give u one confirmed news… ford is gonna launch Fiesta hatch in Q1- Q2 2012. it is part of the 8 models which ford plans to launch by 2015 in India.
I hope that is true Mahendra. I can tell you that the company didn’t say any such things at the press conference yesterday. When I meet them again on 14th in Delhi I will pitch the question again and post the reply here on the blog.
please…. noooo… m waiting for this car for past one year… have been postponing my car buying for this only…. please convey the ford people that majority of indians want hatch to be launched in India.. they can look at the success of I20 and if priced correctly, fiesta hatch can dethrone I20 easily……
I’m sorry Mahendra, the Euro Fiesta hatch is not going to come to India after what I heard at the press conference yesterday in Chennai announcing the Fiesta Classic.
this is such a hasty decision, instead they can launch the fiesta hatch as a super hatch with 1.6 litre 120 bhp, with both automatic as well as manual option, with price tag of 7 lakh ex showroom parallel to new fiesta sedan of a basic variant, so that it will be an option to choose the fully loaded one of hatch or an sedan of a basic variant , super hatch is for enthusiasts, and sedan for a family person, wrong decision by ford, y there is polo or fabia with 1.6 though the numbers are not that great, soon jazz 1.5 will be launched, i think ford is thinking narrowly , it should be broader to the enthusiasts as well! though it wont hurt figo or classic , but they are hurting the enthusiasts!