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-   -   Ford to phase out Fusion. EDIT: Now Phased out (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/74521-ford-phase-out-fusion-edit-now-phased-out.html)

DNA - Money - Ford to phase out Fusion - Daily News & Analysis

Fusion lovers like 'gemithomas', 'gauravroy' (hope handle names are correct) and others might feel bad about decision.

Ford never promoted/positioned this vehicle correctly & me felt that salespersons never showed interest in selling this vehicle and pushed the customer towards Ikon/Fiesta.

Mods: Please merge if similar thread exists elsewhere.

This is bad news for Fusion lovers like me. However, as Ford is planning a new small car which looks more or less like the Fusion (Benny and John had clicked some pics), this was inevitable.

If Fusion (especially the diesel) did not sell it is because of their ridiculous pricing. When I was on the lookout for a diesel hatch, the Fusion was on top of the list. But @ 7.3 OTR BLR, it was crazy. Ended up with a Palio MJD which is almost 2 lacs cheaper. Fusion can be a great contender for many on the lookout for a hatch only if the price was around 6 Lacs.

Cant really blame the sales folks. Ford killed it by wrong pricing/positioning.

It was wrong pricing and undermarketting that did not allow this wonderful car to see the numbers it should have.

A case of a car which wasnt priced properly, and hence the poor sales. Even the TDCi couldnt save it.

Talking of Fusion lovers, even NIP has a tastefully done up Fusion TDCi.

The product was not flawed.
It had the power and good efficiency for its size. Nothing was terribly wrong with Fusion.
But the reason of its failure is because of Ford. Ford first of all did no market survey about the product. I can say this because they were wrong on pricing.
Then came in the marketing part. Though not as much worked on as lets say Fiesta, the wrong thing was marketing the car as one that can take on offroading. Upto some extent they showed the marketing like this " offroading " and this was the final blow.
Fusion belonged to segment where it has more utility than a sedan at approximately the same price. But in India people think of sedan as " prestige " car and so this product failed.
No amount of pricing could have helped beyond a very limited extent.
SX4 hatch also belongs to the same segment and Maruti had the brains not to come up with hatch, but rather a sedan ( they also need a replacement ).

This is bad news for those who love fusion. Fusion was functionality over form and this concept is not appreciated in India beyond the small car market ( even there only Santro and Wagon R are appreciated ).
Sad news.

EDIT:
@mods: A similar thread exists.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ut-fusion.html
Both this thread and the link mentioned above were started at approximately the same time.

From day one onwards I didn't like fusion at all. When I was looking out for an upgrade, Fusion was an option. But the design I never liked.
I always had the feeling that it will be faced out within 5yrs. I have a collegue who is very happy about his Fusion.

Well, no offense, all are my personal opinion.

I am sad to see it go away. That is the only small car with high GC in India. The only other one was Fiat Adventure, that too was discontinued.

With these two going away, the whole segment of rough road high GC hatches in India is going away.:Frustrati

Agree with you fully. Looks like this segment has not yet caught up in India. I was planning to take a look at Fusion TDCi in another month or so, but it looks like I should shelve this plan out. Somehow, I like cars like Fusion and Adventure. Even today, if Fiat brings out the Adventure with 1.3 JTD, I will prefer it over any other car, notwithstanding its interiors.

Case of what was essentially a good car failing because of wrong positioning and marketing. The value proposition simply wasnt communicated across - they sold it a premium hatch instead of creating a niche for it.

There you go. Prbably we could have time to catch up on some limited edition fusions that ford would roll out just before the "pack up". Ford has always done that with their models in india. Hope they come up with some real good accessories on the limited edition. I still feel that the petrol Fusion is a real good package. Sad that people never accept good cars. Same with Baleno, Same with Uno, same with fabia, same with Fusion, Same with good old Palios, same with sx4.

Guys, how has the Fusion fared in the other markets it was launched in?

It still is not too popular in the UK. If you read customer reviews here: Ford Fusion owners' reviews, problems and advice - Parker's

Most of those who own it, love it. It looks different and people prefer the versatility it provides. The rest find it funny. Calling it a "bus" or even a "a Ford Fiesta, in a hat". Top gear even supposedly awarded it The Most Pointless Car award.

Resale values are low there too and people advise picking it up used. But one point to consider that in the UK, Ford is a very common and popular brand and fairly economical to service. Spares are easy and cheap to find too.

Whatever the case, it is really sad that Ford India is doing this. They can still tumble prices by about a lakh or two (what the heck are they doing with the Diesel shorter than 4000 mm?) and it makes a practical, spacious and economical car for sure!

Fusions are popular in the UK by old people due to ease of getting in and out