For once, we don't have to stare at shots of an attractive compact Ford and wistfully complain that it won't be available here. The production Ford Fiesta hatch has been spotted in the wild, and with Ford's confirmation that we're getting the hatchback and sedan for 2010, the potential is there for this vehicle to be a common sight on U.S. roads. The Fiesta is a stylish domestic offering for a segment where the Fit beats all and the only domestic offering is the Aveo. A bigger choice of small cars is a good thing, and while the Fiesta's backlight looks a little pinched in a function-follows-form kind of way, it's still more handsome than the Yaris. Those hoping for a high performance SVT version should start making noise now. It wouldn't even have to be fast, just make it handle like the original Focus SVT and we'd be happy with that.
In a press release today officially announcing that the new Fiesta will be built at its Cuautitlán Assembly Plant in Mexico starting in 2010, Ford confirmed what we all expected: in addition to the Fiesta Sedan, it's going to build the Fiesta Hatchback for U.S. customers, as well. Previously, Ford has said it would only build the sedan version of the Fiesta for the U.S., perhaps believing that hatchbacks were still a hard sell in the U.S. Rising gas prices have erased most of the negative stigmas associated with hatchbacks, which are generally perceived to be both highly practical to own and fuel efficient to drive. Curiously enough, the Cuautitlán Assembly Plant that's being converted to build Fiestas used to build full-size F-150 trucks for the Mexican market. Now it will build small cars for all of North America.
Ford also announced that its Chihuahua Engine Plant in Mexico that currently makes four-cylinder engines will add diesel engines for light- and medium-duty trucks to its assembly lines, and that a brand new transmission plant will be built in Guanajuato in a joint-venture with Getrag. All told, Mexico will be getting a $3 billion investment from Ford and its suppliers, the largest ever automotive investment according to Ford, and around 4,500 new jobs will be created as a result.
Though Ford has stated that it will only sell the new Fiesta in the U.S. as a sedan, the debut of two hatchback versions at the Geneva Motor Show this week, a three-door and a five-door model, apparently has the Blue Oval boys and girls reconsidering. Ford's new marketing chief Jim Farley told Automotive News that a decision about whether to sell the hatchbacks in the U.S. as well will come in 12 months. The company will be watching consumer reaction to the Verve hatchback concepts at second-tier U.S. auto shows this year to see if they resonate with young buyers (It may also show the production Fiesta hatchbacks in the U.S., as well). Hatchbacks have traditionally been a tough sell in the U.S., which is what prompted Ford's initial decision not to sell them here, as well as, we presume, the decision cancel the Focus three- and five-door hatchback models when that car was redesigned this past year.
Of course, we think the new Fiesta looks like a winner based on what we've seen this week in Geneva of the production models. But whether or not the hatchbacks will sell in the heartland of America depends more on what they will cost than anything else. And there's the rub. Since the Fiesta was designed to satisfy European tastes that demand quality small cars, they will likely be more expensive than the economy car fare we're used to in the U.S. Would you pay a few bills more for a Fiesta hatchback knowing it was a direct port from Europe? Our answer is yes.
