The price to get into a Ford may drop in the future, with the company saying it is considering a new budget model.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said yesterday the company would look at adding a cheaper subcompact car based on the Fiesta platform, according to a report in industry journal Automotive News Europe. "We are looking around the world at opportunities to offer a car priced below the Fiesta," Mulally is cited as saying in the report.
He added that the model -- with a working title of 'Value B' -- would not sacrifice any of the Fiesta's size, but would be declined to discuss where the car would be built and which particular markets it would target.
If offered in Australia it would create a lower entry point to the brand, which has opened here with the Fiesta for close to a decade since Ford dropped the Fiat 500-based Ka minicar -- which still sells in overseas markets.
The base model Fiesta currently sells for around $15,000 drive-away, but a cheaper version would probably look to swipe sales from the bargain heroes like the Holden Barina Spark (currently $13,800 drive-away), Hyundai i20 ($13,500 drive-away) and Nissan Micra ($13,000 drive-away) and -- depending on price point -- perhaps even the Suzuki Alto ($11,000 drive-away).
In a market segment where price is the main priority, offering a Blue Oval badge at a bargain price is bound to be attractive to buyers. Mulally reportedly pointed to a global platform and parts-sourcing as being key to keeping the cost of the proposed Value B model low -- and some Ford fans will be keen to speculate on whether that offers the possibility of the Model B being built here.
