US Fiesta ending production this year

[blazerdude20]

http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-says-fiesta-wont-return-for-the-2018-model-year-97094.html

 

 

 

When Ford introduced the updated Fiesta last fall, it made absolutely no mention of the U.S.-spec model. One of the company's top engineers has just revealed that's because the smallest member of the Blue Oval's American lineup will not return for the 2018 model year.

Read more: http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-says-fiesta-wont-return-for-the-2018-model-year-97094.html#ixzz4nbGRgSOJ

 

[ironhorse]

Sorry the car was/is a turd.

[02MustangGT]

Sorry I tend to disagree with the turd comment as an owner of a 2016 Fiesta ST. But I do understand the decision as small cars are low profit in the U.S. and not selling all that great. However, unless Ford follows thru with the electrification/hybrid plans for larger vehicles, small cars like the Fiesta will become popular at some point once again.

[snooter]

30million people want electrics..almost same number as those shopping for a new truck..i hope the furniture guy knows what he is doing...

[ice-capades]

It'll be interesting to see if there's any truth to this article considering that Ford has the 2018MY Fiesta Order Bank due to open on 09/11/2017 with scheduling slated to start on 10/12/2017 and a Job #1 Date set for 12/11/2017. It would be highly unusual for a model to be dropped so close to scheduled production.

[jpd80]

Sorry I tend to disagree with the turd comment as an owner of a 2016 Fiesta ST. But I do understand the decision as small cars are low profit in the U.S. and not selling all that great. However, unless Ford follows thru with the electrification/hybrid plans for larger vehicles, small cars like the Fiesta will become popular at some point once again.

No they won't.

The popularity of larger vehicles and in particular Trucks and Utilities almost guarantees that

subcompacts - either cars or utilities will only ever be bit players in North America.

 

In the event of fuel prices rising in the future, buyers will insist on more efficient versions

of their preferred vehicles, not downsizing to smaller vehicles like subcompact cars and utes.

Edited July 22, 2017 by jpd80

[jpd80]

It'll be interesting to see if there's any truth to this article considering that Ford has the 2018MY Fiesta Order Bank due to open on 09/11/2017 with scheduling slated to start on 10/12/2017 and a Job #1 Date set for 12/11/2017. It would be highly unusual for a model to be dropped so close to scheduled production.

Perhaps two stories are being mixed and merged here, it's possible that:

 

1. The North American centric Fiesta Sedan won't be returning,

2. The next gen Fiestas will all be hatchback based and,

3. Fiesta HB will be joined by Fiesta Active, the Utility version of Fiesta.

 

The third point above may be the reason for keeping Fiesta production in North America,

Fiesta Active sales may be a good way of locally supplementing Ecosport sales.

 

All of that supposes that Ford will build Fiesta Active at Cuautitlan, something not yet confirmed?

Edited July 22, 2017 by jpd80

[02MustangGT]

@jpd80. I disagree with your assessment and guarantee that subcompact vehicles will never make a return to the U.S. I trust this statement almost as much as I trust Ford to deliver electric vehicles that sell in numbers equivalent to the Fiesta. Good luck.

[Pioneer]

It'll be interesting to see if there's any truth to this article considering that Ford has the 2018MY Fiesta Order Bank due to open on 09/11/2017 with scheduling slated to start on 10/12/2017 and a Job #1 Date set for 12/11/2017. It would be highly unusual for a model to be dropped so close to scheduled production.

 

Ford ended Freestar production while there were still bodies being welded at OAC. It was like somebody just went into the body shop and just pulled the main disconnect. They remained abandoned on the line for years, if they aren't still there.

[snooter]

Perhaps two stories are being mixed and merged here, it's possible that:

 

1. The North American centric Fiesta Sedan won't be returning,

2. The next gen Fiestas will all be hatchback based and,

3. Fiesta HB will be joined by Fiesta Active, the Utility version of Fiesta.

 

The third point above may be the reason for keeping Fiesta production in North America,

Fiesta Active sales may be a good way of locally supplementing Ecosport sales.

 

All of that supposes that Ford will build Fiesta Active at Cuautitlan, something not yet confirmed?

I kinda agree with this

[jpd80]

 

Ford ended Freestar production while there were still bodies being welded at OAC. It was like somebody just went into the body shop and just pulled the main disconnect. They remained abandoned on the line for years, if they aren't still there.

Was that part of the great axing of products back in 2006 and 2007?

I remember Ford ended Taurus production at Atlanta when it was still

producing 200K/year, most to daily rentals..

 

The walkaway was preferable to continuing to produce vehicles that made

little or no money for the company. Closing plants and moving onto new

products in those days seemed to happen at such a rapid pace.

Edited July 23, 2017 by jpd80

[blazerdude20]

It'll be interesting to see if there's any truth to this article considering that Ford has the 2018MY Fiesta Order Bank due to open on 09/11/2017 with scheduling slated to start on 10/12/2017 and a Job #1 Date set for 12/11/2017. It would be highly unusual for a model to be dropped so close to scheduled production.

Wonder if this is a recent change in order to open up production for Ecosport / another model due to sudden change in product plans.

[MKII]

I read that the end of production for Fiesta B299N at Cuautitlan, Mexico (document dated October 2016) is slated for September 28,2018.

I am sure since January 2017, details for future and current product is changing everyday.

[MKX1960]

Wonder if this is a recent change in order to open up production for Ecosport / another model due to sudden change in product plans.

I wonder if it's the result of Mark Fields no longer there?

[sullynd]

Isn't there speculation that Ford is leaving India (or was it confirmed?)

 

Ecosport will be built in India.

Ford is pulling out of India.

Ford will stop selling the Fiesta in NA.

The Fiesta is built in Mexico.

The Ecosport is built in...

[mackinaw]

Isn't there speculation that Ford is leaving India (or was it confirmed?)

 

No, this hasn't been confirmed, but supposedly it's something the new management team is considering.

 

Also, pulling out of India only means they'll stop selling vehicles there. The assembly plant(s) will remain open.

[ice-capades]

Unfortunately, when Alan Mulally left the company, Mark Fields and a lot of the other corporate executives tossed out the Mullaly play book and everything that he’d taught them and went right back to their old modus operandi. They protect their turf and their careers and give less or any attention to making decisions based on what’s best for the company long term.

Over the past few months, as order guides have been released for the 2018MY vehicles, most of the content changes are minimal and the 2018MY vehicles are basically carryover. The best example is the recently unveiled 2018 Honda Accord’s new standard equipment compared to the carryover 2018MY Fusion. Has Ford still not learned that cutting the investment in future product development results in lower sales as the competition surpasses what Ford is selling?

In recent years, Ford’s corporate decisions have been dictated by doing what was best for the company bottom line. The company has been willing to lose customers and market share if it didn’t add to the corporate bottom line profits. And during Mark Fields’ tenure, the stock price dropped 40%. Does anyone really think that the old school management approach would work better now?

Ford’s product development is only a reaction to what the other manufacturers do and force Ford to act. Ford’s corporate management won’t do anything until the market is already established for a new vehicle segment. The new Ford EcoSport is finally going to be sold here to add another CUV model to address the growing demand for CUV’s & SUV’s but the order-to-delivery time is at least 5 months. Earlier this year, Ford announced that they would be producing a vastly expanded line-up of hybrid vehicles in the future (2020MY+) but I’d expect that timetable to slip by a year or two.

When the 2015MY Mustang was introduced I wondered at the time why they didn’t introduce a Mustang Hybrid or even a Mustang AWD. Ford didn’t see it as necessary because the Camaro doesn’t offer either option. Granted, the Mustang is a niche market but a Mustang AWD would substantially increase the potential sales volume. A lot of Mustang sales in the snow belt are restricted to customers that can afford to garage their Mustangs for the winter months.

Ford’s manufacturing division is a mess and can’t even accurately forecast how many vehicles they can schedule for a future production week. The commodity restrictions change on a daily basis and it often seems that the ordering system is rigged to schedule vehicles that Ford wants to build rather than what Dealers want and need to support market demands.

These are just my random thoughts based on my observations over the past few years along with dealing with the weekly nightmare of trying to get vehicles scheduled for the dealership’s needs and not what Ford wants to build!

Edited July 23, 2017 by ice-capades

[snooter]

I agree with ice....outside mustang what does ford have that stirs the emotional impulse to purchase..not much i would argue...bronco needs to be done right as it has thst emotional heritage as well...

[fuzzymoomoo]

You could have stopped at manufacturing division is a mess....

[jpd80]

Or, we only care about income from trucks.....

 

While Ford has done a good job of bolstering its own revenue by releasing class leading trucks,

it's falling by the wayside with most other products thanks to the reasons given by ice-capades.

 

I dunno if the new regime can change things quick enough to make a difference or whether those

changes are to do with more mid term objectives like electrification projects but most of Ford's

Utilities and Cars need major refreshes to bring them up to speed with the competition - even if

that was just another MCE right now, Ford could redress a lot of the gaps in equipment levels

on its vehicles....I don't holdout much hope of that happening though...

 

Get the sizing of Escape, Edge and Explorer to what buyers expect today and perhaps Ford

would be floored by the response of buyers, increasing wheelbase on all of them by 2" to 3"

would make a world of difference...

Edited July 23, 2017 by jpd80

[jpd80]

Isn't there speculation that Ford is leaving India (or was it confirmed?)

 

Ecosport will be built in India.

Ford is pulling out of India.

Ford will stop selling the Fiesta in NA.

The Fiesta is built in Mexico.

The Ecosport is built in...

It is possible to still manufacture in a location like India and export most of the products,

the local sales market then becomes secondary to the exports of those plants..

[Harley Lover]

 

In recent years, Ford’s corporate decisions have been dictated by doing what was best for the company bottom line. The company has been willing to lose customers and market share if it didn’t add to the corporate bottom line profits. And during Mark Fields’ tenure, the stock price dropped 40%. Does anyone really think that the old school management approach would work better now?

 

For quite a while, it was conventional wisdom on this forum that what you wrote above was exactly what was being done, and it was defended and applauded. It's interesting how much the worm has turned, and now this same approach is being criticized and derided.

[Trailhiker]

When electric cars start to get price competitive with ICEs, I don't see a need for subcompacts.

 

If most people purchasing sub-compacts do so for fuel mileage, they will be happy with a compact or even mid-sized electric, and not need to suffer the confinement for them and thier passangers.

 

Perfomance sub-compacts could still be imported for those who want a pocket rocket.

[akirby]

 

For quite a while, it was conventional wisdom on this forum that what you wrote above was exactly what was being done, and it was defended and applauded. It's interesting how much the worm has turned, and now this same approach is being criticized and derided.

 

What Fields was doing was not the same approach. He was delaying or stopping development of new products and updates on products that are already profitable (like Fusion and Explorer) and cutting back on production unnecessarily. He was also letting quality drop which resulted in recall and repair costs going up.

 

My guess is Fiesta and Focus are breaking even or making a tiny profit at best. Most I see are cheap sedans or lower trim levels. Better to use the capacity for things that sell better and at higher ATPs (aka crossovers).

[jasonj80]

 

What Fields was doing was not the same approach. He was delaying or stopping development of new products and updates on products that are already profitable (like Fusion and Explorer) and cutting back on production unnecessarily. He was also letting quality drop which resulted in recall and repair costs going up.

 

My guess is Fiesta and Focus are breaking even or making a tiny profit at best. Most I see are cheap sedans or lower trim levels. Better to use the capacity for things that sell better and at higher ATPs (aka crossovers).

Fields just wants the most profit now so he can look good and his ego can be filled and that he was a better CEO because the company made more money than when Mulally was there, future product be damned. What's happened is the typical thing when a finance person runs a company, and worse when one has a huge ego that needs to be filled. The fact Sync 3 isn't standard, or at least standard on the SE version and above shows they have no clue of what the market wants. Look at a Civic/Corolla and there is a big touch screen radio, LED headlights, Keyless touch entry/start etc. Kids/First time buyers get and are like this is nice! They also need to realize a parent is probably going to be cosigning and want a car that has the latest safety features and the Focus/Fiesta get immediately crossed off the list and that's before anyone even does an internet search about reliability and comes across the transmission from hell. Ford is back to thinking its only competition is Chevrolet and designs/prices its cars according.