New Ford Fiesta won’t come Down Under

Ford’s next-generation Fiesta will not be made available in Australia, except in Fiesta ST hot-hatch form – but not for another two years.

That’s the word from motoring.com.au sources, and it means the current Fiesta – released way back in January 2009 and last upgraded in July 2013 – will soldier on indefinitely.

The reason is the Thai factory from which Ford Australia has sourced our Fiesta since December 2010 will not be tooling up to produce the new model.

The decision means the only new Fiesta to come here will be the ST, because sourcing mainstream variants from Germany would make them too expensive, but we understand the next Fiesta ST will not arrive here until 2019.

It also means the existing Fiesta, which is already more than eight years old, will rapidly become uncompetitive in a segment that includes the new Holden Barina, Mazda2, Suzuki Swift and upcoming Volkswagen Polo.

There is no sign of an upgraded version of the Thailand-sourced model, and its eventual discontinuation would leave Ford without an entrant in the light-car segment, or any passenger car smaller than the Focus or EcoSport crossover.

Sales of the current Fiesta are already down more than 40 per cent this year, and with just 716 buyers it ranks a lowly 10th in its class.

In stark contrast, the Fiesta has been the most popular model in the UK for the past eight years, and became the country’s best-selling vehicle nameplate of all time in July 2014 with more than four million sold.

It also remains one of Europe’s top-sellers and Ford’s third most successful model globally, behind the F-Series and Escort, with more than 16 million sales over 40 years since 1976.

Meantime, Australian EcoSport sales are down 33 per cent in 2017, its paltry 552 sales putting it 11th in the small mainstream SUV segment.

An upgraded EcoSport, with spare wheel removed from the tailgate, is now not expected on sale here until next year.

Ford Australia would not comment on its Fiesta plans, but said it was focussed on the most popular sectors of the local market – SUVs and utes – and ruled out a return of the Blue Oval’s latest Ka micro.

“Sub-B isn’t a segment we are looking at right now in Australia as there isn’t a strong consumer demand to support it,” said Ford Australia communications chief Martin Gunsberg.

“In general, Australians continue to move out of passenger cars into vehicles like SUVs and dual-cab utilities, which offer more practicality and utility over traditional passenger cars.

“It’s these segments that are our focus with vehicles such as the Ford Escape, Everest and Ranger.

“The new global Fiesta is a very strong product -- especially the ST variant -- however, we have no details to share on these products at this time.”

Ford’s all-new, seventh-generation (eighth in the UK) Fiesta hatch was revealed in Cologne last November and is now on sale in Europe in Titanium, ST-Line and new Vignale luxury and Active crossover guises.

It was followed by the third-generation Fiesta ST at the Geneva motor show in March, available in three- and five-door forms powered by a new downsized but more powerful (147kW) 1.5-litre turbo-petrol triple.

That makes Ford’s latest rival for the VW Polo GTI, Renault Clio RS and Peugeot 208 GTi quicker than before (claimed 0-100km/h in 6.7sec), while the new Fiesta is bigger, roomier, safer, more efficient and more upmarket than ever.

New driver-assist and connectivity technologies include Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection, Active Park Assist with Perpendicular Parking, SYNC3 infotainment with floating, tablet-inspired touch-screens up to 8.0-inch in size and with pinch and swipe functionality.

The superseded Fiesta – the fourth generation sold in Australia, where it replaced the Festiva – was the first global version and the first to be sold in North America since the original was axed there in 1980.

While it was replaced by the all-new model this year in Europe, the old Fiesta continues to be built in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, China, India, South Africa and Thailand.