[sandeepmohan]

Should Ford launch the new Fiesta? Yes. Will you pay 12lacs for top trim? Hmm.

As someone who was a potential customer for the Ford Fiesta 5 years ago, my complaints were quality of interior appointments, lack of space at the back and a weak engine. I was willing to pay 11lac or so for the DCT variant but one look on the inside and that lousy 1.5l engine was enough to bin the Fiesta. All of these have been highlighted in the review as well. To its credit, I have to say it had the best drivers seat and I loved the dashboard layout. However; the plastics were cheap.

Ford as a brand is a bigger problem more than anything else. That age old cost of ownership & lack of excellent after sales support remain. Seasoned Ford owners won't have a problem. The challenge is getting new customers.

The new Figo twins are the cheapest and most value for money cars on sale but sell no more than cars made by TATA!

[A M]

I think Ford should bring in Fiesta. They should also bring in Fusion and Escape to rival the Accord and Compass respectively.

Suzuki and Hyundai have more products in their respective portfolios than all the other car companies in India put together. The key is variety.

Lets take an example of a buyer looking to buy a hatchback in the price range of Rs.8 Lakhs. He goes into a Fiat showroom to find only Punto. He doesn't like it and walks out. But if he goes into a Suzuki showroom, for his budget, he gets a wide choice to choose from. He doesn't like one, he can test drive the other.

In the Indian market, a car company cannot survive with just one or two models. Investment has to be made and risk ought to be taken. If Ford keeps on shying away from bringing variety to their showroom, they are sure to follow footsteps of Fiat or Chevy. Bring in variety to the customer with well built VFM products and people will buy it. Endeavour and Ecosport are a testimony.

Also, investment needs to go into opening more dealerships and service centres, thereby, increasing the visibility in the market and building a trust with the customer that Ford is here to stay. That is what Hyundai and Suzuki have done. In smaller towns, Suzuki and Hyundai rule because they have their dealerships and service centres nearby and such areas are a big market with people having more disposable incomes due to lesser cost of living.

[QuilonSpitfire]

The fiesta is a very good car. Drives as good as it looks too. I live in North America, and its a common sight here. People here buy it because it is good value for money here ($15000) and almost nobody cares about its driving mechanics. The Indian scenario is a little bit different. A good number of people who buy such cars have their personal chauffeur and except a very few, the others don't care about dynamics. so why buy a ford when you could get an easier to live with Hyundai or Honda? Enthusiasts like us will be rejoiced to see the fiesta in India, but it will be a sales disaster.

[ToothyPetrohead]

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/ford/focus-rs

If this ford Focus comes in hatchback or sedan form hell yes It should come to India.

I believe all cars India gets is the residue of all the beauties sold abroad .The cream of cars feature laden, safety, gadgets and engines I see only abroad .Only the dull Skeletons sold here.

[vigvr]

Originally Posted by GTO

.
3. Less investment. Ford has spare capacity in its Indian factories, and it's not like they're going to be designing a car from the ground up. It'll simply be localising a ready global product, just like the EcoSport.

5. Ford needs another volume generator in India. The EcoSport & Endeavour have stabilised, which means they have the management bandwidth too.

I agree with you, GTO. I was thinking about those same pointers when I saw this thread pop up. Current white space in the product portfolio is a regular sedan. Fiesta fits the bill, but Ford might want to just call it something else to avoid market judgement (and I hope it's not 'Classic').

I think Ford has turned pages from pricing vehicles ruthlessly ambitious, it has re-aligned prices multiple times since 2016 (EcoSport dropping 70K, Figo and Aspire Titaniums dropping by around 30K if I'm not wrong) and now, vehicles are priced quite competitively.

[streetfighter]

The Fiesta should certainly be back in the Ford lineup. The Ikon and Fiesta do have a certain fan following. The overwhelming poll results confirm my belief. The Fiesta has been an excellent fun-to-drive car, probably next only to Beemers in terms of the fun factor. The absurd pricing and overconfidence (that the Fiesta can take on Honda City head-on) misfired big time. Ford sales team needs to get their acts right, and read this team-bhp poll correctly

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

The overwhelming poll results confirm my belief.

Ford sales team needs to get their acts right, and read this team-bhp poll correctly

I would request them to go through below polls related to the earlier global Fiesta as well, and compare their stark contrast with reality.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...hatchback.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...-fiesta-6.html

Us, the car enthusiasts of India vote with our hearts.

But when it comes to spending hard earned money - let the mind win at worst / strike a compromise between the heart and the mind at best. Only a few people, many of them into their second or third cars, will let the heart win completely.

During polls you see many discussions about handling and feedback, build quality etc. But in 'What car?' threads, the interest will be on seat space, plastic quality, features, resale etc.

If enthusiasts are like that, imagine the mass market!

Still not convinced? Closing arguments then -

2016 Car of the year - TATA Tiago
2015 Car of the year - Renault Kwid
2014 Car of the year - TATA Zest

Which one is selling really well as compared to the segment standards? None.

[Self Driven]

Little but trying to prove the point that mass market and Ford is never gelling well and Enthusiasts never make the CFOs happy on Revenue / Margin

One of my cousin who has owned many cars, again set out for a new one. Shortlisted Ciaz, DZire, Ecosport and Aspire. The limit being budget and diesel option. Ciaz was budget stretch and Ecosport was due to Interior for dropping them he said

So he finally settled on a Dzire Lxi which is costlier than Aspire Titanium even though the top variant was available with a Bigger Engine and same/less cost. reason it is Maruti. Then I felt that he had shortlisted for comfort than comparison. So the GTs, Abarths, Figo Sports, Tjets, Fiestas are for car collectors and not revenue collectors

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Still not convinced? Closing arguments then -

2016 Car of the year - TATA Tiago
2015 Car of the year - Renault Kwid
2014 Car of the year - TATA Zest

Which one is selling really well as compared to the segment standards? None.

The segment, I suppose, is made by a much larger number of buyers than what we see on our forum and voting. Plus, all those who vote needn't buy cars every year So, definitely, the polling here need not reflect the mass market. But that itself, in another sense, makes the case for a good all rounder car. Will you produce only what plays to the mass market? Is it that impossible for marketing/advertising companies to change the trends in the mass market?

If not a market leader in the segment, the old Ford Fiesta (what became classic later) was still selling in reasonably good number. Correct pricing saw it outselling even its new sibling when launched in 2011. So, strategic pricing and better marketing will definitely earn decent number out there, if the new one arrives.

After all, Ford is not a leader in any segment really. Still, the Ecosport and Endeavour are making a reasonably good case for the brand.

[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Maruti dominates the hatchback space and Ford will not be able to unseat them, there is no use arguing about that. Creating a sub 10 lakh crossover isn't impossible, but Ford hasn't got much interest in our market to do it. The European market is very different, the cars are much more expensive, better put together and customers demand the same. Competing with the three models you mentioned is simply beyond Ford, I know people who bought these cars, brand Ford was the last thing they would consider.

A new Fiesta won't sell 1600, it'll barely crack the 100 mark as previous sales records show. The VW twins are updated on a quarterly basis, they are pretty much current in every perceptible way. Ford didn't have mind share, plant and dealership doesn't count when you are not a contender.

It is obvious that Ford will have to market the product well in order to get sales. I have not suggested that they will unseat Maruti - no chance of that. I used the Maruti models to show how big the hatch segment is. However, since the Hatch segment still dominates our market, it's where they need to play to get volumes. Sure, they can launch a Creta rivaling crossover, no issue. However, the Fiesta is a modern, well-built and tech loaded hatch. To suggest it won't crack 1600 units if positioned correctly is incorrect.

Ford managed volumes with the old Figo because it stood out, in some way, to the market - solid build and dynamics, with unfortunately weak engines. The i20 Elite sells 10-11k a month. I cannot believe in any situation that Ford would struggle to outsell the Polo and make at least 4-5k a month sales. That would be a grand success for a company that's not selling many cars! Remember, their goal post is to be relevant, not to be number 1 - that is too far away for now.

For the Fiesta to succeed (4-5 k units a month would be success)
1. Competitive pricing vis-a-vis Polo, Jazz & i20 - not necessarily undercutting Maruti, although they can be aggressive if they want to.
2. Marketing to people who buy alternates rather than Maruti - Hyundai, VW, Honda customers.
3. Unique options such as automatics across engines, latest touch screen functionalities, etc.

As I said in my previous post, Ford has all the tools at their disposal - but they need some vision and leadership to pull it off. Since the Fiesta is such a well regarded product in the EU market, any success in India would positively rub off on its brand.

[HVSC]

As a Global Fiesta owner I have voted yes! I don't think there is any car in the market south of 20 big ones to even rival this cars dynamics + build quality. And the next one could only take it further.

Our market is an ever maturing one and I think there is great opportunity for a well built car amidst the sea of Ciazes and Citys both of which don't feel well built(personal opinion through experience).

Even though I don't have any immediate plan to change or upgrade, whenever I do, my first choice would be the Ford family as nothing comes quite close to provide a perfect mixture of great build, reliability, excellent dynamics and grin inducing involvement.

If Ford is reading this thread, please bring Fiesta, Kuga and Mondeo and market them well. You don't have to appeal to Maruti or Hyundai loyalist because they ain't going nowhere. What you should concentrate on becoming the third front, an opportunity given on a platter to you by GMs exit, VWs lackluster attitude, Fiats generation old portfolio. You might, and that's a big might, taste success in one of the world's toughest car market.

[ashwin489]

1.5 Ecoboost + DCT in a Fiesta hatch would be THE most sensible hot hatch in every possible way. Period.

[sabby_4c]

Originally Posted by ashwin489

1.5 Ecoboost + DCT in a Fiesta hatch would be THE most sensible hot hatch in every possible way. Period.

Do you mean the 1.6 Ecoboost from the ST version ? That'd be very expensive I guess. The 1.5 NA is nothing impressive as per the Figo/Aspire owners.

[rohitnp]

I would love the fiesta but I don't know how many would. As a bad compromise they could perhaps put a bigger petrol engine in the figo and tweak the suspension so that it handles as far as it is possible for the figo to handle like a fiesta. Bad compromise, yes. But more practical and at this point in time Figo has better brand value than Fiesta in India.

And you can't really blame car companies for not giving us their best products. We don't really value cars for what they are. Each car is made for a particular target audience and those that appreciate it will buy it. But for us each car has to be as good as the neighbour's in every way. So you can't really compare a driving enthusiast's Fiesta to a Duster next door, but that's how it works here. The way around this would be to have enough number of cars imported and localized as there is demand for, the way it works in many countries. But with the tax rules here discouraging import in a big way we can't really hope for much.

[ashwin489]

I'm not sure which 1.6 Ecoboost you're talking about, but AFAIK the Fiesta ST uses the 1.5L Ecoboost engine in a lot of markets.

https://media.ford.com/content/fordm...litre-eco.html

Of course, something really dramatic has to happen for Ford India to launch this one here. Something like an affordable 1.4 TSi Polo from VW.

Originally Posted by sabby_4c

Do you mean the 1.6 Ecoboost from the ST version ? That'd be very expensive I guess. The 1.5 NA is nothing impressive as per the Figo/Aspire owners.