Team-BHP - Shouldn't Ford get the new 2017 Ford Fiesta to India?
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Was reading assorted first drive impressions of the 2017 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost by the Western motoring press.
All of them have heaped praises on the car's abilities.

Shouldn't Ford get this beautiful machine to India? please:
Will we be deprived again of a wonderfully sorted out vehicle and be relegated to our "daal-chawaal" tin boxes?

Link:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review...ta-2017-review

Quote:

Originally Posted by arjab (Post 4224938)
Shouldn't Ford get this beautiful machine to India? please:
Will we be deprived again of a wonderfully sorted out vehicle and be relegated to our "daal-chawaal" tin boxes?

Well, Ford India has failed twice in resurrecting the original Fiesta's blockbuster run so I see no reason why they'd get it back. Brand Fiesta, as per me is dead in India, just like brand Fusion and the Ikon. Ford India is very very very weird in the way it operates, it has ample resources to cater to every segment in India yet they've been lethargic in the past 4-5 years.

No, I do not see the Fiesta coming to India again. :deadhorse

Quote:

Originally Posted by arjab (Post 4224938)
Shouldn't Ford get this beautiful machine to India?

I guess the failure of the Global Fiesta that was launched by Ford was the nail in the coffin. It was a dynamically excellent car and the diesel though was not a stonker was a very good mile muncher. The doors were all boron as mentioned in the AutoCar UK review. It was a very safe car with airbags, ABS+EBD. It also had many features currently available like cruise control, auto head lamps if i remember right (I may be wrong on these features though). Overall in its segment it was the best option available. But the Indians perennial love for rear seat space and all things Japanese at this time ensured it was the end of a good car. Ford pricing also caused it to die prematurely though at the later stages it was priced very well and was a very good alternative to the City. All in all, Ford will forget about getting anything with the name Fiesta in it to India. In the UK the Fiesta hatch is actually a beautiful looking car. If the market was as matured as it was when Ford launched the Fiesta, even the hatch version would have probably sold well but it is too late now!

I very much doubt whether this will happen.

The 2017 Fiesta is a new generation model. So, it delivers more of the same as the current model. But in a better way. It is still very much a driver centric car - meaning super fun to drive and with big car manners on road. But the room at the rear and boot is still at a premium. And the interior quality has gone up by several notches - meaning there is an increase in price.

Ford hasn't messed with a formula which works. And why should they? The current model is still the #1 selling car in the UK year after year.

Now the question is, will our market pay for such a hatchback or sedan?? Maybe a small handful of enthusiasts will. But that volume will soon dry up after the initial months.

The mass market at large wants only SUVs - be is small (Kwid), compact (Brezza), mid-size (Creta) or big (Fortuner) and everything in between.

And the popular hatchback and sedans that sell month-on-month has to deliver big on practicality and also come from a trusted brand - say MSIL, Hyundai or Honda.

So, where does that leave the 2017 Fiesta? :) Sadly, it will be no surprise if we don't get it here.

The segment with the most activity these days is C2 with cars like Baleno and i20 ruling the roost with 5 figure sales. Ford could, instead of launching the Fiesta sedan, launch the hatchback instead. They can easily manage volumes better than EcoSport for such a car.

Each and every car launched in this B2 segment has enjoyed some basic success for at least a few months (barring Punto). Can they sustain the initial euphoria further depends upon if they don't have glaring issues anywhere. Ford has been known to be pro-active in the pricing game, so that should take care of that.

India is now warming up to turbo petrol engines too. Baleno is doing good numbers I suppose. The best selling Polo is the TSI. Ford could just as well introduce the Fiesta with the 1.0l EcoBoost in a lower state of tune (110bhp?) Alongwith the explosive 1.5 they already have and they would have a winner.

If this effort takes off, the side benefit would be more numbers on the EcoBoost motor would help increase localisation and the benefits would rub off on the EcoSport too which is stuck in the higher tax bracket (due to its 1.5l petrol engine) since launch, forced to compete with larer cars.

I think Ford will definitely bring the new Fiesta here.

1. The first Fiesta sold in India (Ikon) as well as the second sold reasonably well. The latest one flopped, but Ford knows it wasn't because of the product; it was due to the overpricing mistake.

2. The success of the EcoSport & Endeavour will have convinced Ford that there is a market for well-built, well-kitted all-rounded products in the market. Even if they're expensive. Today, Ford's cheaper cars (Figo, Aspire) are outsold by their more expensive siblings.

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.

4. The success of premium-priced cars in the 10 lakh segment wouldn't have been missed by Ford. Plus, the profit margins on these cars are a lot more than say, a Figo.

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

in my recent visit to China, I saw this new Fiesta, in both hatchback and sedan format and both these were absolutely wonderful lookers!

Or would that iteration in the Autocar link be the next gen Figo in India?

I think they will do it, it was only the last fiesta that bombed due to poor rear seat space I think. The previous versions were the few cars that Ford were able to sell successfully in India. Add to it that the EcoSport is based on that platform and there is plenty parts sharing, they can easily bring in the Fiesta. Just look at the interiors and how much is similar to the face-lift EcoSport.

I think Ford should bring in Fiesta. They must also consider launching Kuga and escape. Kuga/Escape would be received well given the scope in premium C-SUV segment. I think Creta desperately needs some competition and Kuga can certainly give it.

They can, but they wouldn't!

Ford in India is just too scared to try anything new, they really need a fresh eyes to look at the way the market is evolving and bring in those products. Some lesson they can learn from the way the Mustang is selling right now.

They need to play their strength, than to try the strength of the competition in the volume segment only to fail miserably. Yes, I am talking about the Figo twins. Someone who wants a Maruti, will anyway buy a Maruti and not a Ford! With Figo twins, those who wanted a Ford went ahead and got a Maruti. I don't if the marketing team realized that and decided to get the Figo in the S avatar. That should have been really the Figo from the day it was launched, but some learn their lessons too late.

And Ford's strength is in making driving oriented cars with excellent build, just look at the Global Fiesta. The build quality & driving dynamics is comparable to cars that costs more than 3 times its cost, there is a reason for it though :p

I don't think we will get the Fiesta here anytime soon!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4225297)
I think Ford will definitely bring the new Fiesta here.

Can we have a poll on this on the forum? :)

Just when I was writing the 100K km update for my gen-1 Figo, I have controlled the thought "what will be the real good replacement for it". Taking the fiesta off the sales was VOID for me.

Glued to this thread for next updates. Ford, I am waiting for it please:

The only way I see Ford coming up with Fiesta in India is if they went the Ecosport way, i.e. they make India the manufacturing hub and huge number of countries get Fiesta exported from here.

Should the Fiesta be launched it faces immense competition. In hatch form it will have to compete with Hyundai i20 and Maruti Suzuki Baleno. In sedan version, it will have to compete with Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.

Ford has seen their hatchbacks and sedan have not been well received in terms of sales numbers, even though they are competent products. Ford just doesn't have the brand power to compete with Maruti, Hyundai or even Honda (in sedans).

I see Ford concentrating on SUVs just like Renault is doing, unless its something revolutionary, which sadly the Fiesta is not.

I was quite sad to see the global Fiesta go. No other car in a similar price band made me smile as much as that car did. I guess the only other car that came close was the 1.6 Scross.

The Fiesta didn't do well here, mainly because Ford didn't market it. The majority of buyers wasn't even aware that such a car existed, then how could they buy one?

Lack of interior room was another problem too.
The combination of that chassis, that awesome steering and that beautifully tuned TDCi made a brilliant combo for us enthusiasts.

I believe that the reason why the EcoSport still sells is because it was the first properly well designed compact SUV. It had the winning looks, was packed with features and was launched at a good price point. The initial impressions of this baby SUV were good, and it remains in the mass market's good books. Brand 'Ecosport' is bigger than brand 'Ford' now.


While its true the market is moving towards more expensive and premium cars than before, I just don't think the masses are ready for what will be a much more expensive Fiesta. Something like the Edge at a good price point will do wonders to pull people into the showrooms though.

Ford shouldn't bother with the Fiesta, I say this even though we have the same at home. All the enthusiasts' talk doesn't translate to actual sales, the car doesn't have favourable reviews even here. The market has shifted to crossovers and it will be profitable for Ford to bring out a Creta rival. The demand exists for cheaper cars like the Ciaz, which Ford cannot take on and the City that enjoys a better appeal.

The 2011 version we have at home is still going strong, wonderful steering, great economy and a good build. It's just too bad that today you get cars which cost a lot more and come with exposed metal, inadequate cladding and cheap switchgear, a case of inferior products pushing out better ones.


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