Ford Ka unlikely to be replaced
12/23/12, 10:18 AM
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Ford Ka unlikely to be replaced
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/ne...ly-be-replaced
The Ford Ka is highly unlikely to see a third generation. According to Ford of Europe design boss Martin Smith, the city car “produces absolutely no profit” and doesn’t fit in with the firm’s global ‘One Ford’ ambitions.
“It won’t pass a US crash test, it was designed too narrowly to suit European tastes and it’s only built in one place. It’ll get a light mid-life refresh but, as things stand, I can’t see a life for the car much beyond that,” he said.
However, Smith did hint that there was a great deal of interest internally in a more diverse range of superminis that could be used to return Ford of Europe to profitability.
“[Ford president and CEO] Alan Mulally’s favourite kinds of car of the moment are small cars with global reach that we can create a high yield from,” Smith said. “The Ecosport is the perfect example: it’s simple, cheap to make and could sell the world over.”
The Ford Ka is highly unlikely to see a third generation. According to Ford of Europe design boss Martin Smith, the city car “produces absolutely no profit” and doesn’t fit in with the firm’s global ‘One Ford’ ambitions.
“It won’t pass a US crash test, it was designed too narrowly to suit European tastes and it’s only built in one place. It’ll get a light mid-life refresh but, as things stand, I can’t see a life for the car much beyond that,” he said.
However, Smith did hint that there was a great deal of interest internally in a more diverse range of superminis that could be used to return Ford of Europe to profitability.
“[Ford president and CEO] Alan Mulally’s favourite kinds of car of the moment are small cars with global reach that we can create a high yield from,” Smith said. “The Ecosport is the perfect example: it’s simple, cheap to make and could sell the world over.”
12/23/12, 01:22 PM
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That seems a bit shortsighted. Sure, the current Ka is limited in that it's shared with the Fiat 500, but the Fiat has proved a hit, in the UK at least.
With Vauxhall having just launched the Adam (good looking car, silly name) and plenty of other brands producing similar small cars, it seems strange Ford would want to get out of the game.
Ka Mk3 should be based off the next Fiesta platfom......just make that platform flexible enough for a new Ka, Fiesta and a few other spin-offs like the B-Max...........and a new Puma.
With Vauxhall having just launched the Adam (good looking car, silly name) and plenty of other brands producing similar small cars, it seems strange Ford would want to get out of the game.
Ka Mk3 should be based off the next Fiesta platfom......just make that platform flexible enough for a new Ka, Fiesta and a few other spin-offs like the B-Max...........and a new Puma.
12/24/12, 07:56 AM
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