Ford Thais up Fiesta

FORD Australia’s small-car range stands to benefit from the shift in production of the Fiesta light car from Germany to Thailand in 2009.

Ford Australia president Tom Gorman confirmed last week that the Fiesta would be sourced from Thailand when the next-generation model comes on stream in less than two years.

“We could do a lot more Fiestas if we could get availability and a lower cost base coming out of Thailand, so there has to be growth in the light-car segment – and that’s in our future,” Mr Gorman said.

Ford Australia will be able to take full advantage of the free-trade agreement between Australia and Thailand, and should also benefit from the two countries being under the same Ford regional umbrella. Mr Gorman’s comments came after the Ford Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp announced a joint venture that will see more than $A560 million invested in a new production facility in Thailand.

It will be built at the existing AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT) site, with construction expenses to be split evenly between Mazda and Ford.



According to a Mazda statement, the facility “will incorporate Mazda’s production methods into each stage of the production process,” which should ensure Japanese standards of quality.

It also mentions the assembly of passenger cars rising up to the midsize CD-segment, opening speculation that small car-based vehicles such as the new Ford Kuga SUV or its derivatives may also be built at AAT in Thailand. Production capacity is projected to be 100,000 units per year, adding to the 175,000 light trucks – chiefly the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 – the AAT plant currently assembles.

Mazda Australia is also now expected to switch its production source of the newly released DE-series Mazda2 from Japan to the new Thai site from 2009, a move made possible because the light car was co-developed (in Japan and Germany) with the next-generation Fiesta. The current Fiesta has been sourced from Germany since its introduction in May 2004.

Mr Gorman said he had absolutely no concerns at all with quality, as there have been no issues with any Thai-sourced vehicles to date. “(The next Fiesta) is still going to be European designed and developed. And that’s very consistent with our brand,” he said.

In addition to the plethora of Japanese one-tonne utes built in Thailand for Australian consumption, Honda Australia uses it as the production source for most of its volume-selling passenger cars, including the Jazz – a key Fiesta and Mazda2 rival.

New Zealand, South Africa and other ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) destinations are also set to receive the next Fiesta from Thailand, while plants in Germany and Spain are expected to continue supplying Europe.

The Ford Verve concept car shown at the Frankfurt motor show last month is a stylised preview of what the next Fiesta will look like.

Read more:

First look: Ford previews next Fiesta with Verve