Ford's marketing chief Chris Farley told Automotive News on Sunday at the 2009 North American International Auto Show that demand for the 2011 Ford Fiesta "will be largely dependent on external factors like fuel price. What we would have said in May and June is probably different than what I would have said today."
Farley said U.S. demand for the subcompact Fiesta could range from 30,000 to 70,000 units annually. Ford is finding it difficult to project exactly how many Fiestas it will be able to sell, as gas prices had a direct effect on consumers' car-buying decisions.
Earlier this year, the Honda Civic snatched the title of best-selling vehicle in America from the Ford F-series for a month during the summer, when gas prices rose to an average of almost $4 a gallon. By November, Ford was adding an extra shift to accommodate demand for its all-new 2009 Ford F-150 as gas prices tumbled to their lowest levels in years.
"Getting serious about the small-car business is a big change for Ford," Farley said.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally fast-tracked plans to wean the maker of the perennially best-selling vehicle in the United States-the Ford F-series-off its truck addiction, following the gas hike over the summer. Bringing over the European Ford Fiesta subcompact is part of that initiative. The U.S.-spec Fiesta will be assembled in Ford's Cuautitlan, Mexico plant. Sales are expected to commence early next year.
In the meantime, Ford is trying to generate demand for the vehicle. The automaker will choose 100 people who apply at fiestamovement.com to drive the car for six months, starting this fall. By the end of 2009, Ford hopes to have put 100,000 people nationwide in a Fiesta for test drives.
Source: Automotive News