I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. But c’mon; who came up with the idea of naming the “100 lucky people get to drive the Mexican-built U.S. market Fiesta before regular folks just like the MINI EV except perhaps not quite as exciting for the press or anyone else for that matter” website fiestamovement.com? Did one of the other Farley brothers take over for Jim down at The Blue Oval? Apparently not: “Getting serious about the small-car business is a big change for Ford,” Jimbo told Automotive News [sub.] Anyway, do YOU have what it takes to drive a stylish econobox free for six months? In other words, can you make a two to five-minute video that Ford can use for its nationwide campaign, saving themselves a million in advertising agency fees? [come on after the jump] Here’s something odd: Jim Farley says annual American sales for the Fiesta– on sale next year— could range from 30k to 70k units, depending on gas prices. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s nowhere near enough throughput to get Ford out of trouble.
“We’re looking for an elite crop of drivers to take the wheel: people with a strong presence on the web, an ability to craft a compelling story through video, and a hunger for adventure. As a driver, you’ll receive monthly secret assignments from Ford Mission Control that will take you to places you’ve never been, to meet people you’ve never met, and to experiences you’ll never forget. And you’ll bring your friends and followers along for the ride. Each car comes with free gas, free insurance, and full concierge service for the duration of the vehicle’s six month stay. Many will apply. Only 100 will be handed keys. Show us you’ve got what it takes to join the Fiesta Movement.”
The Fiesta was never, ever meant to get Ford out of trouble. What it was meant to do is draw people back into the Ford brand and get their reputation back, which will then spread to other models. It sounds stupid, but its a strategy.
Driod800
A. They don’t have time
B. Mexico and world-car or not, 30k p.a. NA can’t possibly be profitable. That’s deep into niche territory.
It will definitely be profitable, since the Fiesta is being built in Mexico. The amount of profit will be small though.
I’d wager a big part of it is to draw people into the showroom and up-sell them into a Focus or Fusion. I also think Ford is trying to lower expectations for the first year, just in case gas prices somehow manage to stay low.
Every little bit helps. Restoring their reputation by having quality vehicles in every genre is vital to the future, even if any particular model isn’t creating heaping helpings of profit.
the Fiesta– on sale next year
That would be 2010, I believe.
I have to agree with Toxicroach, I know a lot of people who own a Fit and love it. When they move up in their careers they will still stay in the Honda family. Since it is an affordable car all of my friends who own the Fit are all under 25. I figure that with over 40 years of driving left Honda will make a ton of money by hooking them while they are young.
Heck, I’d be willing to move DOWN from my 2006 Fusion SE to the Fiesta! Looks much more entertaining! Too bad what I really need is a good, fuel-efficient small truck (that nobody really builds anymore…).
Actually, I have to say that this sounds like a good idea for marketing. Ford should apply this to other models as well. It will be a cheaper way to generate some publicity and its definitely better than their Taurus X strategy of no marketing support whatsoever.
I also think bringing the Fiesta to the US is a smart move for Ford. It should be able to generate a small profit based on global volumes, assuming the US car is not significantly changed from variants sold in other markets. Its not going to save the company but does fill a desperately needed slot in their lineup. Besides, it looks great and should drive well, which are good attributes to introduce to younger drivers and those new to the brand.
Will it get Ford out of trouble by itself? No, of course not, nor was it meant to do that. Will it provide Ford with another decent car to add to an already solid new lineup of Mustang/Fusion/Taurus plus sort-of new Flex? Yes.
If people like Fiestas and Ford sells a good number of them (and why not – people certainly like Fit and Mini), then production numbers can be ramped up and facilities can be moved to the US.
The Fiesta is so much more agreeable looking than the Beat. I think even Clarkson kinda liked the UK spec one. I’d like to see it be a success for Ford.
I agree with the above posting, Ford is not hanging all of its future on the Fiesta, it is just a single part of the plan. Ford already builds the best pickup truck in the market, the Escape is second only to the Honda CRV in its segment, the 2010 Fusion is about to blow the doors off of the competition, the Panther triplets make up over 90% of the police/taxi/limo market, and despite what this site has reported the D3 platform has resulted in excellent sales for the Edge and MKX, ans the MKS is still outselling competing vehicles from Cadillac, Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti.
Ford is doing what needs to be done and overhauling the entire lineup to meet today’s market. Plus, the get people to drive it and spread via ads and word of mouth is the best thing going. You can get an actor to say anything in a commercial, and no one is going to believe it, get a real person in front of the camera spreading the gospel, and it is instant credibility.
@ RF
I agree with other posters here. I think Ford need to have credible responses across their range. It looks largely like they’re on the way. They have the “best” of the Bigish3 reputation, and are still pretty well respected in markets outside NA.
Mullay might also be able to ensure production is done for some profit.
Whether they have time is a difficult question. What they REALLY need is a NA competitor (or two) to disappear quietly, although the quietly bit looks unlikely.
More importantly, what will Wall Street think of the new cars Ford has coming out, like the Taurus and Fiesta?
maybe they should not have let the ranger rot on the vine. A decade ago it was the best selling small truck in the world. Speaking as a contractor, they would turn a profit especially at 100,000 units a year. Thats not an unreachable nunber. People want small trucks that dont cut into profits. My colorado isnt perfect but was bought in 05 at $3,000 off sticker in a truck frenzied market. Toyota wouldnt budge on price and the ranger I had I had outgrown. Not every small business owner wants an f-150 that needs steps just to get your equipment out of the 5 foot tall bed. Way to fumble the ball to toyota and nissan, Bill.
I’m excited to see Ford making credible efforts in a wide range of market segments and keeping the product fresh. Redoing the Taurus/500 is a big bet on the large passenger car market.
This Fiesta guerrilla marketing campaign is a lot better way to get some buzz with the target market than a similar amount of money spent on the Super Bowl or other conventional advertising would do.
The Fiesta doesn’t have to have huge US volumes to be profitable since it has been engineered and tooled up as a world car. Very little US specific engineering is involved, and the things will be built in Mexico. Pity Honda which is moving niche volumes of Fits and importing them from Japan.
They still have work to do, but the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Taurus car lineup seems positioned to be highly competitive with anything else out there over the next couple of years. The Escape has fallen behind and the Taurus-X/Edge/Flex trio needs to be just one good vehicle in that class. The F150 and up are all in pretty good shape. The Transit Connect shows promise for opening up new commercial markets to Ford. The big cash cow Ford doesn’t appear to have a good answer about is the Panther platform cop/commercial car market they currently dominate.
Ford is at least making more right moves than wrong ones.
I can’t believe I’m saying this – not because I hate to agree with RF, but because I often don’t – but I think I kind of agree with Robert. If 30,000 is all they’re shooting for in the U.S. whats the point? If you’re trying to make 30k profitable, the Fiesta is going to run closer to the price of a Mini than a Fit – and although slow, incremental increases in the MSRP of your vehicles is good to keep the value of the brand alive, the Ford brand is still not quite able to support a car priced higher than its competitors – even if it blows them away.
At a market of 14M (which is basically what I’m predicting for 2010) the Fiesta should be able to steal 60-70k. And to get there, you have to market, you have to work for it – it’s about branding, not rebates; building consumer interest, not driving out a few extra shoppers. The car is excellent. It will be a class-leader even though it won’t hit showrooms until Jan/Feb 2010 and will probably stay a class leader until mid-late 2011 or so (but the U.S. should get a refresh in 2012).
So, I agree totally that this car is not about bringing Ford around completely (ie – it’s not the ’86 Taurus)… but 30-70k/year? What a range. Why even mention it if it makes you look like you aren’t even going to fight for your brand – like this is just an additional car in your line-up as opposed to something you can hang your hat on. And frankly, they need to fight hard to save Ford. I hope they talk differently about the C-platform vehicles (Focus, C-Max, etc) that come out next year… because with 800k-900k units of capacity in North America, they need to sell a lot of them.
I guess it must be better looking than the little Chevy. So far no one has trashed the paint color, which is practically the same.
RobertSD,
At a market of 14M (which is basically what I’m predicting for 2010)
So what happens when sales are maybe 10MM?
I like the Fiesta. If they do it right, they might move 50K anyway. I hope they do.
@porchespeed:
10M isn’t even within my pessimistic range for 2010. There would have to be an economic event of massive proportions to keep the car market at 10M for a full-year after 2009. That would mean an economic decline of basically 30 months, and I just don’t believe that at all without some major external (and unpredictable) factor. My low range for 2010 is 12.7M.
As to your point, 70k represents a marketshare of 0.5%. That’s where I see the Fiesta sitting. At 10M, that’s 50k. But, 30k would require a market of 6M @ 0.5%, a marketshare of 0.3% @ 10M or a markeshare of 0.2% @ 14M. Those last two… if Ford can’t move enough to claim a half-percent of marketshare (which is really my point), then why bother with a car that will have slim if any profit and won’t be pulling in enough new buyers to warrant eating a loss on it for future growth.
NulloModo:
The Edge and MKX are built off of the Mazda designed CD platform.
10-11 million units for 2009 doesn’t look at all pessimistic to me. The US market has been oversold into for quite a few years now on the back of an easy credit binge. Real incomes have been declining in the US for several years now and the only thing which was holding up consumption was a rapid expansion of consumer debt, much of it backed by inflated housing values.
With easy credit gone and the job market continuing to erode there is little reason to look for a significant volume recovery any day soon. Yet another factor is that people are driving less. Recent reports put the miles traveled numbers down around 7%. Cars on average are better made than ever before and are being driven less. Many people are quite able to put off new car purchases they might have like to make. In flush times we might have been looking to replace my wife’s six year old 85k mile car this next year … but with income and wealth reduced dramatically there is no need to do that. We are clearly not the only ones! In fact, I can’t think of anyone I know who intends to be in the new car/truck market anytime soon. As a long time “car guy” I often get “whaddaya think about xyz vehicle” inquires from friends and family. Nobody, but nobody is asking that question.
“If 30,000 is all they’re shooting for in the U.S. whats the point?”
I can’t believe an automaker would make a conservative sales estimate while introducing a brand-new car in the midst of a deep crisis. I literally dropped my monocle as I read this.
Seriously, stop reading so much into the 30K figure. It’s a good, cautious tactic on Ford’s part. If it does well (60-70K and up), then it will most likely be made here in the states in larger numbers. If it doesn’t sell – no big loss, since they never set the bar very high anyway.
The market is volatile, nobody knows where car sales and gas prices will go. To make a Volt-like sales pitch of “Fiesta will SAVE this company!” would be retarded. Ford never did that – it never claimed Fiesta will “get it out of trouble”.
In other words, it’s a good play – if sales of Fiestas are strong and gas prices go up, Ford has a great small car in their lineup to counter falling truck and SUV sales. If sales aren’t that strong, they don’t suffer a huge loss and still get a competitor in the segment, as well as a good bid for the future. The likelihood of Fiesta tanking completely is very slim.
Doubt it. Foreign automakers are taking advantage of it now with their cars going on sale soon.
The Fit didn’t even sell 80k this year. Maybe Ford learned from the Flex predictions that it would be much better to underestimate their sales numbers.
The prior model Fiesta was sold everywhere south of the U.S., so that could be where some of the other production goes. Also since nearly every Fiesta sold is a car sale taken away from some other company, a growing market share would be a nice talking point if they do need to go beg for government monies.
f8: well said.
In the face of a wildly uncertain economic climate (what will gas cost in a year? what will the 2009 sales rate look like? who knows?), Ford is making a modest base projection for the Fiesta. That’s the kind of sane PR we rarely hear from one of the D2.8–hence the disbelief, perhaps.
And Ford never declared that the Fiesta was its savior. Even if it sells 100K, the profit level on a $14,000 Fiesta won’t be enough to make a big contribution to Ford’s bottom line.
What the Fiesta can do is generate good press and a little showroom traffic, bring in a new generation of Ford buyers, and bolster the prospects for the revamped Taurus, refreshed Fusion, new Focus, C-Max, B-Max, and other promising products rolling out over the next 18 months.
Well, I can definitely say, as someone who has shied away from any car that Detroit has made for my entire driving history…
…that the Fiesta is the first Big-3 product that has my attention. When it comes out, it’ll definitely be on my list of cars to test drive when it comes time for a new car.
(I tend to like small, sporty hatchbacks with good handling.)
It might be a “little, too late”. The Fiesta is a wonderful little POS that America (read FORD) has needed in their line up for quite awhile. The new car should not set the numbers on fire but will definately take it’s spot in the American auto buyers hearts.
My question though is “Why Mexico?”. The Euro Fiesta is a pretty good car. Why screw it up?