Ford small car sales book full

The Fiesta RS and Focus RS are setting a new standard for compact performance in Europe but have yet to make the mark for Australia. Ford Australia says it is already beating its sales targets with the Fiesta and Focus and has no immediate plan to add the sporty go cars to the mix.

"You have to be smart about it, you can do niche models but you have to be really intentional about what you're going to do with it when you bring it," says Beth Donovan, vice-president for sales and marketing. "It's early days but we're pleased with the variety of buyers that we're getting, and we're certainly getting plenty of conquest, which is important in this market, it's about growth."

She says Ford's feedback shows the latest compacts are bring buyers who have not looking at Ford for "a long time." The sales of Fiesta mean anyone waiting for the on-again, off-again RS Fiesta must still wait, although Ford hasn't ruled it out.

"We have Zetec, we're looking at something above that - we're selling a high-end model mix at the moment, a lot of the customers want it to look sporty but don't necessarily need the powertrain," Donovan says.

There is already an XR5 turbo in the larger Focus and Donovan says there are plenty of people taking the car. "We still have XR5, which is a great little package - we do well with that car, the dealers have people lining up for them," she says.

European Ford buyers can upgrade to the Focus RS, which is propelled by an upgraded version of the XR5's 2.5-litre in-line five-cylinder which produces 224kW and 440Nm.