Ford has decided to strengthen its small car portfolio with a production facility for the new subcompact Fiesta at Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico. This plant earlier manufactured pickup trucks from Ford but now will need to re-equip itself with the production requirements of a small car. Ford is following the practices of most car manufacturers, who moving towards manufacturing small, fuel-efficient cars.
The Cuautitlan plant will add 4,500 jobs in the province with a total investment of $3 billion for the Fiesta project. Three and five-door hatchback versions will go for sale in 2010 in North America and it will be available by the end of this year in Europe and China. The four-door sedan will be released by 2009 throughout Asia. Ford has also planned a new diesel engine line at its Chihuahua Engine Plant for the same project. As of now there are no clear indications of a launch in India in the near future as only China has been mentioned as a destination in the Asian region. This new facility and the new Fiesta on the whole will play a massive role in dictating the future of Ford with the $15 billion loss that it had incurred within the last two years. A lot seems to be riding on the small shoulders of this Fiesta subcompact.
