[MSC]

The discontinuation of 3 models is purely for business and to limit losses. It is pointless to keep manufacturing models which just increase the stockpile in inventory.
But one thing is for sure. Ford has to be credited with keeping safety in its product range. The titanium plus version of most products are having 6 airbags.

[VaidhiR]

I am glad that that the Ford Fiesta is being discontinued in India. The Fiesta is a legendary name associated with a car thats fun to drive, responsive, full of character and oozes confidence. The European Fiesta, thats shown below, was all of that. Add that to the 3cyl, 1.1L ecoboost engine, it was fun to drive. The steering was direct (probably from the Rallying experience), sat low and consumed fuel like a miser. After 3 days with a rental Fiesta, in Germany, I didnt feel like giving it back. It was probably the best super mini of all the cars that I have driven around. The one that was sold in India, was anything but all of that. If anything, Ford should have launched the Focus and Fiesta in place of the original Fiesta. 2008 was it? The Focus as a sedan and the Fiesta as a hatchback. Interesting to watch what Ford has to offer. And I hope Ford does not replace it with a car thats discontinued elsewhere (The Indian Fiesta is 2-generations old European Fiesta btw!)



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[kippu]

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[carwatcher]

I don't know why this noise is all about. Just the headlines show little sensationalism, we all start writing obituaries.

Last 3 months sales figures of Fiesta+Classic were : 46; 20; 14. I don't know who will miss those cars.

Secondly when the rivals are setting sales charts on fire with the compact Sedans, we have Aspire, all new Figo and EcoSport to do so.

Sales figure for Hyundai Verna is also in One Thousands from 5-6 Thousands not very long ago (before City-D and Ciaz) so even if Ford launches a proper Sedan, there is no Guarantee that it will make a big impact.

I personally feel its a smart move if and only if it results in reducing the waiting period of EcoSport and increase in sales volume of EcoSport considering the runaway success of Creta.

Had the headlines been, 'Ford stops production of Fiesta and Classic to free the production capacity to reduce the waiting period of EcoSport', the reactions had been less emotional.

All said and done, Ford badly needs a Maverick Product, why not relaunch Fusion as we have Xcent is already launched and Baleno being relaunched.

[govindremesh]

I agree with MSC and I would say that this is a good move by Ford. Rather than keeping duds in their product range, they might be focusing on the new launches. The Figo hatch is up next followed by Endeavor.

When the time is right, Ford might make a comeback with Fiesta with choice of a petrol and diesel engine coupled with an auto transmission (DCT?). For the time being, the Fiesta appeals only to the enthusiast, which are a minority of the car buying population.

Figo and Classic were long in the tooth and Ford has done the right thing by replacing them.

At the corporate level if they are making money on exports, they will definitely place priority on that. No business wants to lose money at the end of the day, even though it hurts the local consumer.

[Chillout]

We all knew this was coming, nothing lasts for ever, Classic and Figo have outlived their life, Classic in particular.

That being said, as I stated earlier domestic market is not a priority for Ford, they are not very keen for they don't get much out of the Domestic market. Exports are the priority.

Personally I plan to retain my Fiesta Classic for a couple of years atleast for i have done only 50k on it. Only Fiesta 1.6 petrol owners would know the addictive tone of the engine, trust me you will never get this feel in any other car in its range.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by jkdas

It did its job well and I guess it did help Ford rebuilt its image too a bit.
Time they take it down since there are far better models in market from them and others.

What far better models are you talking about? I think if space is not on top of your list,fiesta is an incredible car to buy. Best looking,decent interiors,solid build and acceptable diesel. Do remember that Fiesta is still the best selling car in UK,where they have many more options than us and that's for a good reason.

[Deep Blue]

But they dont seem interested in selling Aspire too. Everyday I see Audi ads in my newspaper and TV, but Ford Aspire, what's that?
I wish they would launch the Fiesta hatch to give Elite i20 and Jazz some company. I need something to graduate to from my Figo. I dont want a sedan.

[blurust]

I know it's a good business decision for ford to pull the plug on these cars.
It's sad for me, because I own the new Figo with changed headlamps that I bought in 2013 and honestly I have been looking for a replacement only because I want a bigger car as my family is growing, having said that after test driving all the cars I can afford, when I came back to Figo, I realised one thing. This car or rather these three cars had incredible soul. After this news I think I'll stick to my baby for a while. Cars are dime a dozen but cars with soul are rare.
I just hope the new Figo lives up to its expectations.

[theMAG]

Cutting deadwood is always appreciated. I do wish giants like Ford succeed in India - they certainly have the technical and financial depth - its a different matter that they have chosen not to use it much.

I would personally like to see the Ford Escape launched in India. The compact SUV will add nicely to their UV portfolio - its dimensions and market positioning give it a good chance of success in India as well.

[petrolhead_neel]

Originally Posted by kiku007

As usual slow and painful death.

Classic - Should have been stopped at least 4 years before

4 years! Could you be more specific and justify your answer?

The Classic IS a good sedan even today. For the price you paid for it, you got so much more than the Compact Sedans which seem to have caught the trend in recent times. It was much more dynamically accomplished, had a robust 1.6 Duratec engine, good ride, solid build, gem of a steering, and looked MUCH more proportionate than the sub-4m sedans.

I don't know why most of the times I see that the old batch of Fiesta owners sort of disrespect the Classic most of the time. Agreed, the plastic quality isn't that great and there are some places where there is too much part sharing with its sibling i.e Figo. But, it was still a great car in its own right. Since some time back, I have come across quite a number of people who did not buy the Classic hoping that the Aspire would have all/most of the qualities that the Fiesta Classic had and then regret their decision of not going for the Classic while it was still easily available. I agree, that is absurd. Times have changed. People have different priorities now.

The double digit numbers of the number of Classics sold is justified, because everyone had come to know that it was soon going to be replaced with a better car. Even if they knew that the 'better' car would be a compact sedan, they weren't willing to take a risk of going in for and old model that was soon going to be discontinued.

Do note, there are just a few cars you can find in the Indian market who have survived this long. About the Classic being discontinued in 2015, this is absolutely no surprise. This product had to die sometime, but the '4 years ago' statement made by was a little hard to digest.

Figo: As long as the new one retains all the good qualities of the older one and has enough bells and whistles to compete in today's world, I think there is nothing to complain here.

Fiesta: Shame on you Ford for not promoting this product properly. This one was a superb car, and had the potential to be right up there with cars like the Vento, City, Rapid etc.

I wish Ford becomes better at marketing and find success with their new products like the Figo Aspire. The Aspire too is a good product. If I were to choose from the current bunch of compact sedans, I would either choose the Ford Aspire or the Tata Zest. Sadly, both of these cars need much better marketing to sell in India.

Cheers,
Neel

[NiInJa]

Is it me or anyone else who is seeing a lot of 'rationalization' happening around in automobile industry ? Excluding the top two companies in India (Maruti and Hyundai), Most of them are not keen on increasing their product portfolio, in some cases like Ford, they are reducing it and focusing more on exports.
I think Indian automobile industry will soon become like IT industry, more focused on exporting to other countries than building business in India.

Not that I owned a Figo, but when I checked the car two years ago,I felt it was a very nice package for the cost conscious. The petrol Titanium variant was a steal for that price. While in the showroom, I also checked out the Classic and it wasn't a bad car either. I don't think there is anything wrong with the discontinuation of these two models, but they should have done something else with the new Fiesta. Her death came a little too sooner.

[geeash]

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[tharian]

That was 3 of the top few complete drivers car removed from the market.

Figo and Classic was not a surprise, but Fiesta was.
Hopefully we get good replacements for these cars. Aspire, from the test drive was a full notch below from the driving experience in the Figo or Classic.
But then again we cannot expect the same responsiveness or feel from a new car with all the latest technologies.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by jkdas

It did its job well and I guess it did help Ford rebuilt its image too a bit.
Time they take it down since there are far better models in market from them and others.

In a country like ours, its the 'brand' that holds value above everything else. Alto, Swift, Scorpio, Verna, City etc, they are the best sellers in their respective segments because of the name tag that they carry. Fiesta was one such name in that list and its shocking how a reputed manufacturer could let the brand name slip away! As it is, India is one of the toughest markets for the manufacturers and it takes years to build an image. Ford lost the 'Fiesta' in a fortnight.

Ford goofed up the pricing and the people went elsewhere. Ford realized their mistake and launched an improved version of an already good car with amazing pricing but the people never gave it a chance. But can't blame the people because Ford didn't want to give it a chance to sell in the first place!

I agree there are many other models in the market but barring rear space, the Fiesta was inferior to none. It was actually better in many respects than the others. For the non enthusiasts, it was frugal, efficient, tough, safe and with the new prices, VFM.

I agree Ford's international lineup is impressive. I am in Poland now and am driven to work by my colleague in his Ford Focus Estate. The car is stupendous to say the least and my Fiesta feels exactly like it. Last week another colleague agreed to drive me to work. He drives an Octavia Estate and this gave me an opportunity to reflect on both the cars. The Octavia was supremely comfortable (soft suspension) but with a noisy diesel. The shocker was the doors - felt very very light. The interiors looked premium but I just couldn't find the quality that Skoda is known for. In comparison, the Focus is set up much stiffer (handles beautifully), looks better and the build quality is definitely better. The interior looks exactly similar to my Fiesta in terms of the feel. No premium looks in here but built to take a lot of abuse for sure.

Ford has to up its game in India and has to do it soon. It cannot rely on the Ecosport and the Aspire alone. After the Fiesta, I've turned into a Ford fanboy and would definitely like to stay in the family as and when I upgrade. But if that time were now, I'd be highly disappointed. What do you upgrade to? An Endeavor, at 30L? No thanks. We need the Fiesta ST/ Focus/ Mondeo.

Ford, are you listening?