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CNN Business
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The Ford Fiesta, a massive one popular small hatchback in much of the world, will soon no longer appear in European Ford dealerships.
Introduced in 1976 as a fuel-efficient subcompact “global car,” the Fiesta was only sold in the United States for about 10 years total, appearing here from 1978 to 1980 and again from 2011 to 2018. It was a real hit. in Europe, though, and especially in the UK where it’s been the best-selling car for years.
The fiestas are made, one time or another, in 15 different factories in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In total, 22 million Fiestas were produced worldwide putting it close to the historic Volkswagen Beetle in sheer numbers. Today, Ford’s plant in Cologne, Germany, which began producing the car in 2017, is the last. That factory will be fully switched back to producing electric cars when the last Fiesta rolls off the assembly line, which is expected to happen in June 2023.
Ford says it will sell only electric passenger cars in Europe by 2030 and in the next two years it will introduce three new electric passenger cars there.
Ford hasn’t announced whether any of those new electric passenger cars might take on the Fiesta moniker or at least take over its market segment. The FIesta has a starting price of around £19,000 in the United Kingdom, equivalent to around $22,000.
Development of the first generation Fiesta began in 1972 under the direction of then-CEO Henry Ford II. at the time, it is known as Project Bobcat and teams in Europe and the United States are collaborating on the program. The following year, an embargo by Arab oil-producing countries caused a sharp increase in gasoline prices, further increasing the demand for a small, efficient car.
It wasn’t until 1976 that the first Fiestas were built in Saarlouis, Germany, and in a new factory in Valencia, Spain. The name Fiesta was chosen for the car, in part, to commemorate the new Spanish factory, according to Ford. The following year, the Fiesta was named Spain’s Car of the Year.
It also quickly became popular in the United Kingdom when right-hand-drive versions, suitable for driving on the left side of the road, became available a few months after the car’s introduction. In 2014, Ford announced that it had become the best-selling car there, surpassing Ford’s own Escort. It was the best-selling small car in Europe every year from 2011 to 2015, according to Ford. The small, affordable Fiesta is a popular first car for many in the UK.
“Bravo Ford and good night Fiesta. Most of us have had one or have a story of one,” racing driver and TV commentator Paul O’Neil wrote on Twitter. “My first car and what a car it was.”
Apart from the fuel-efficient base model, the Fiesta is offered in performance variants such as the Fiesta ST and Fiesta XR2. The fiestas also became popular among the enthusiast and racer to upgrade to performance parts.
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