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Is there a chance the US won't get the next Fiesta?

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#1
I've read a few articles, this one in particular http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/02/even-valentines-day-ford-wont-commit-new-fiesta-america/ that made me really start thinking the US might not be getting the next gen Fiesta. It kind of makes sense if you think about it. Subcompacts sales are slow due to gas prices. The Fiesta like most small cars has a low profit margin and the Fiesta has dropped in sales quite significantly since 2013. Also, it has the appearance of poor reliability to the average consumer who reads CR or JD Powers.

I've had quite a few reliability kinks myself, some ongoing to work out with this car but I love it so far overall. I just find it kind of weird that Ford has updated all its 2018 product line on the US Ford website with the exception of the Fiesta. What do you all think? Will we see the next Fiesta? Or will our awesome little cars be that highly sought after little gem from across the pond that we only just got to know before leaving in the middle of the night without even leaving a note as to why?
 


Brura22

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#2
Hmmmm... I don't think Ford will drop it.
They've had wicked good success with the Ecoboost and ST lineup, I imagine it'll continue.



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me32

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#3
Sales seem to be doing well. So unless that changes dont see them dropping it.
 


Brura22

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#4
our next generation facelift might look a little different than that of the EU.
I mean look at ours now, different headlights, 5 door vs 3 door, even the engine is different with the map vs maf tuned.

Who knows what'll happen


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#5
I would imagine there are at least two major things at play in the decision whether to bring the new fiesta to the NA market or let the ecosport wring out as much potential out of whats left in the subcompact market - the new NCAP safety requirements coming in 2019 and the new administration that is currently stirring things up both geopolitically and economically.

Some would even suggest that the two are intertwined in some way? Check out this page that claims NHTSA pulled some sort of news about the new requirement shortly after posting the announcement in the first place in order to 'provide the new administration time to get up to speed regarding NHTSA?s activities'.

It seems like the US NCAP is generally tougher than the Euro NCAP in terms of high speed crash requirements. Even though the new fiesta will probably pass the existing NCAP right now, the big question is will it once 2019 comes around? Will Ford opt to suffer the expense of having to bring additional safety content into this car OR decide that pulling the Fiesta 1-2 years after its release may not be such a good idea?
 


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#6
Sales seem to be doing well. So unless that changes dont see them dropping it.
Sales of the Fiesta overall have been abysmal in the US, and margins are similarly awful. The article mentions that sales are down 31% from 2013 and that they were down 24 percent in 2016, when the broader category was only down 3 percent. That is an embarrassment for Ford, and probably a testament to both the low price of gas as well as the shitty reputation the Fiesta has due to the garbage DCT transmission and Sync issues. I've read elsewhere that ST sales in particular are relatively solid compared to other Fiesta models, but they are such a small proportion of the total that Ford is certainly not basing their decision about whether to keep the Fiesta alive in the US on the strength of FiST sales.

I would not be at all surprised if they discontinue it in the US market or just go with the EcoSport as TTAC suggested. Americans want crossovers, even if that just means jacking up a Fiesta, adding a little more cargo room, and slapping a different badge on it. In any case, if they do discontinue it, I think it could actually help the resale value of our cars, which is always nice.
 


me32

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#7
Sales of the Fiesta overall have been abysmal in the US, and margins are similarly awful. The article mentions that sales are down 31% from 2013 and that they were down 24 percent in 2016, when the broader category was only down 3 percent. That is an embarrassment for Ford, and probably a testament to both the low price of gas as well as the shitty reputation the Fiesta has due to the garbage DCT transmission and Sync issues. I've read elsewhere that ST sales in particular are relatively solid compared to other Fiesta models, but they are such a small proportion of the total that Ford is certainly not basing their decision about whether to keep the Fiesta alive in the US on the strength of FiST sales.

I would not be at all surprised if they discontinue it in the US market or just go with the EcoSport as TTAC suggested. Americans want crossovers, even if that just means jacking up a Fiesta, adding a little more cargo room, and slapping a different badge on it. In any case, if they do discontinue it, I think it could actually help the resale value of our cars, which is always nice.
You also forgot there made in Mexico. The cost of making it a fairly cheap. For the st they have to get there engine from the UK and transmission from spain. Now that may all change with a boarder tax. So i guess only time will tell.
 


Brura22

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#8
Maybe an all American made FiST would be cheaper [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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#10
Yup, given the amount of non-ST Fiestas I see on the road I have a hard time believing ford will simply stop competing with the Yaris, Fit, etc. Then again, I see a world where the EcoSport is best in class in the US, Americans are passionate about horrible crossovers.
 


OP
MrFord619
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Thread Starter #12
Sales of the Fiesta overall have been abysmal in the US, and margins are similarly awful. The article mentions that sales are down 31% from 2013 and that they were down 24 percent in 2016, when the broader category was only down 3 percent. That is an embarrassment for Ford, and probably a testament to both the low price of gas as well as the shitty reputation the Fiesta has due to the garbage DCT transmission and Sync issues. I've read elsewhere that ST sales in particular are relatively solid compared to other Fiesta models, but they are such a small proportion of the total that Ford is certainly not basing their decision about whether to keep the Fiesta alive in the US on the strength of FiST sales.

I would not be at all surprised if they discontinue it in the US market or just go with the EcoSport as TTAC suggested. Americans want crossovers, even if that just means jacking up a Fiesta, adding a little more cargo room, and slapping a different badge on it. In any case, if they do discontinue it, I think it could actually help the resale value of our cars, which is always nice.
Poor sales is what makes me a bit worried. I mean it's sales aren't even not even close to other Ford models aside from the C-Max. It could be that the current Fiesta design is a old one and a bit long in the tooth for some people by now, or people just don't want small cars. I really hate this whole mini crossover phase the industry seems to be in right now. What do people see in these things? There slow, boring to drive, not good off road, most have horrible cargo space for a SUV and the MPGs aren't even that good either. Ugh....I miss wagons. They could be fast, fun to drive and had more cargo space than most of these garbage CUVs. Props to Volvo for keeping them here in the US. Sorry, kinda went on a tangent there lol.
 


brbauer2

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#13
Chicago Auto Show has a Ford Ride & Drive and the Fiesta is left out. It's on the floor, but you can't drive one.

Come out and drive! We'll have a variety of Ford vehicles available for you to drive. We invite you to experience the power and capability of our latest line up.

Vehicle List

Ford Fusion
Ford Escape
Ford Explorer
Ford Mustang
Ford Focus
Ford Edge
Ford F-150
 


BoostBumps

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#14
I'd be very surprised if Ford decided to discontinue Fiesta sales here in the US and NA...

And just because Ford wouldn't "confirm" this to a blog site reporter doesn't imply that a refreshed / next gen Fiesta won't be introduced for sale in the US...
 


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#15
Poor sales is what makes me a bit worried. I mean it's sales aren't even not even close to other Ford models aside from the C-Max. It could be that the current Fiesta design is a old one and a bit long in the tooth for some people by now, or people just don't want small cars. I really hate this whole mini crossover phase the industry seems to be in right now. What do people see in these things? There slow, boring to drive, not good off road, most have horrible cargo space for a SUV and the MPGs aren't even that good either. Ugh....I miss wagons. They could be fast, fun to drive and had more cargo space than most of these garbage CUVs. Props to Volvo for keeping them here in the US. Sorry, kinda went on a tangent there lol.
To piggyback off this and add that automakers are also very keen about what the 'the voice of the customer' is these days. Feedback the OEMs and other independent groups collect from customer clinics all channels back into product planning and eventually the showroom floor. Yes the CAFE and safety standards are the rules of the game and play a large role in what products can be sold in any particular market, but ultimately, from a business standpoint, they are just the barriers to entry, that can be achieved with relatively low cost IF the technology is mature enough and the content is planned for well in advance...

Also if you recall it was the Obama Administration that helped shape and push through the CAFE standards as we know them today. And although I will admit that the CAFE initiative predates Obama being sworn into office, there's no denying that his team took the baton and ran with it. Which brings us to today and the following question: are the CAFE standards set in stone or can they be reversed? Would the Trump administration have any interest in doing so? I hear there are some people *ahem* big Oil who are advocating to repeal some of the legislature in favor of reducing the targets so they can sell more oil and as a way to inflict short term demise to electric vehicle technology that threaten their market share, in particular Tesla, but others as well. Its amazing how much the government / big oil influences consumer behavior and the auto industry, which sells one of the most expensive consumer products, is no exception to this. I know these are all gross generalizations about a very much loaded topic, but think they are relevant to OPs question.

But to come back to the original point.

Lets say its 2018 and you are a budget minded consumer in the market for a brand new car that you plan on using for mixed highway/city driving and have in your hand a 15k loan pre-approval. Maybe you have kids too. What would you buy? Amidst all the SUVs and full size pickup trucks that blast down the highway what would make you feel more secure - all else held pretty much equal - a new Fiesta or an EcoSport? Would the benefits of the taller ride height and improved visibility outweigh what you would give up in the handling department? I think for many IN THE US MARKET that is well worth the price. Nobody who buys a CUV buys it for its off-road capability. And if you live where there's occasional snowfall then the CUV may arguably fare better due to slightly improved ground clearance.

Cars are a mass commodity these days and are at the pinnacle of our capitalist economy. 4 bangers are built to last roughly 150k miles, anything above that is an exception. And once autonomous vehicles hit the mass market those designed specifically as people shuttles will be swapped out every couple of years.

I think automakers know very well the direction we are heading towards in the future. Ford is now in a large part a 'mobility' company structured around the premise of mass market transit. It will help us all get around and will make the company tons of money but it will also cause the car, in the traditional sense, to die out.

I'm personally going to hold onto my Fiesta ST for as long as I can because the more I think about it the more I realize it is a dying breed. I would of course love to be proven wrong
 


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#16
I think you're right on that CAFE is an important factor here, and it may have been keeping the Fiesta afloat to this point. However, I think if the Trump administration manages to ride out current and (likely) future scandals, I think repealing or significantly diminishing the burden of CAFE will be one of the first steps they take in their larger campaign to defang/dismantle the EPA. I actually wonder if part of the reason Ford has been tight-lipped about the fate of the Fiesta in the US market is that they are waiting for a clear signal from the administration that they won't have to worry about CAFE anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if they tell Trump they will bring back some jobs to the US in exchange for more lax fuel economy and emissions standards.
 


zanethan

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#17
I also doubt we won't get it here. I've already made the argument in other posts that 1) the ST brings almost nothing but good press to ford and 2) the development is already done on the fiesta for other regions so it doesn't make sense to not sell it here.

Honestly, I have not heard one bad review of the fiesta ST from an auto journal. It has set the bar extremely high for affordable fun cars and while people that hear about them or read about them aren't shopping the subcompact market they do hear Ford and fun in the same sentence. I had never in my wildest dream thought about owning a ford until I read reviews on the Focus ST that got me in the showroom and now Ford is my favorite auto manufacturer.

Fiscally, Ford has already done the engineering on the platform because it is so profitable in other regions and while it might not sell as well here it does sell. So why would you not sell it in the N/A market. They've already paid for it, it's not It's not like the fiesta is developed and sold only in the N/A market.

I would be very surprised if we don't get the next generation Fiesta. Now the one after that might be a different story but they're too close to launch to pull the plug now.
 


OP
MrFord619
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Thread Starter #18
I really hope you all are right because the new one has really grown on me, especially the interior. It just worries me that Ford has updated their entire 2018 US lineup with the exception of the Fiesta.
 


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#19
Agreed that the Fiesta ST brings good press to Ford but so does the Focus RS, the new GT350 Mustang, and Raptor. With, what 6?, more performance vehicles to debut by 2020 there is still plenty of automotive journalist drool to induce over the next couple of years. Remember the fiesta ST was among the first of the bunch in 2013 and has clearly succeeded in its purpose of showing that the company is able to offer light, nimble, fun to drive FWD vehicles for its customers (while the other bigger, badder, and more profitable brothers needed time to be developed). Going forward I wouldn't expect the new Fiesta ST to be necessarily shoehorned into carrying that mantle again since it already served that purpose. If the question comes down to media/publicity vs profit margins (in the N/A market) some executives may say the Fiesta already succeeded in its mission so 'lets let that warrior rest!' Ha. Of course time will tell... The engine specs for the new ST, once announced, should be a good indicator of all this as well.

I still have my doubts about the new Fiesta and the new US NCAP coming in 2019. There's a reason the Ford ranger wasn't offered in N/A for the last decade or so, and that is because the APA ranger couldn't - for one - pass the US safety regulations. What if the new Fiesta can pass the US NCAP today, but won't be able to once 2019 rolls around. What then? Pull the Fiesta off the showroom floor after suffering the expense of bringing the model to market for a years worth of sales? My point here is I'm sure Ford wants to know what the requirements will look like in order to make an educated decision about whether or not to commit the new generation Fiesta to the N/A market. Especially considering that the EcoSport has been confirmed.

I can't cite any sources but as far as I understand the profit margins on subcompact cars, even midsize cars like the Fusion, are pretty abysmal, if any. I've seen figures suggest that up to 80% of profit margins (in the US) are due to Truck sales alone. IMO the only reason to sell cars (like the fiesta) at little to no profit, and even some cases at a a loss, is to maintain market share.

If the Fiesta exists because there are profit margins in other markets then that explains why its going to Europe. However its a different story on our side of the pond??
 


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#20
Corporate Average Fuel Economy.

My 2?
Exactly what I was thinking. They need cars like the fiesta (especially with the 1.0L 3 cylinder) to get the average fuel economy up. They may opt to reduce the number of powertrain options and reduce complexity. But I doubt it will be eliminated. As for a future ST version, that remains to be seen. It is extremely popular with enthusiasts and internally at Ford (everyone who knows anything seems to like it more than the FoST), but that doesn't seem to help it much with the general public. It's smaller than the FoST and makes less power too, so I think a lot of people who are just looking without much research skip it for the FoST. Real shame. They don't know what they're missing.
 


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