Fiesta Forever: Ford's New-Generation Global Small Car Previewed At 2008 Geneva Motor Show

• Fiesta stays compact but is lighter and stronger. Ultra high-strength steels and a comprehensive safety package that includes a driver's knee airbag
• 115 PS Duratec 1.6-litre Ti-VCT petrol engine joins Fiesta range; one of five fuel efficient and clean engines
• Fiesta will expand Ford ECOnetic ultra-low CO2 range, delivering less than 100g/km emissions

Ford of Europe is reinventing its small car range  starting with the Fiesta.

Designed and developed in Europe for sale in Europe , Asia, South Africa, Australia and the Americas between 2008 and 2010, the Fiesta was the first major product of Ford’s new global product development process. Its stylish and dynamic flair combines with all the traditional Ford small car strengths to create a confident, contemporary introduction to the next chapter of the Fiesta success story.

Unlike key competitors in the European small-car segment which have grown in size and weight, the Fiesta stands on virtually the same footprint as before. The new-generation Fiesta is actually lighter than its predecessor.

“Staying small and resisting weight gains were key objectives of the Fiesta development process,” said Joerg Beyer, Fiesta Chief Carline Engineer. “We’ve been absolutely committed to keeping Fiesta a compact car and having a razor-sharp focus on cutting weight. That really pays off when it comes to fuel economy and CO2 emissions.”

Component by component, the Ford development team scrutinised for weight but refused to compromise on key areas that are important to customers. One of the biggest is safety, where Fiesta makes a bold step forward with an extremely robust safety structure and the Intelligent Protection System of safety technologies that brings a driver's knee airbag to Fiesta for the first time.



The Fiesta makes extensive use of ultra high-strength steels in its body structure. A remarkable amount of these specialist steels, including boron steel and dual-phase steel, is the secret to Fiesta’s quantum leap in structural stiffness for its light weight. These steels are used particularly in safety critical areas, such as the A-pillar and B-pillar, part of the ultra-rigid 'door ring' structure of the Fiesta bodyside.


The Ford Fiesta brings the radical Verve Concept exterior and interior styling to production reality and incorporates features and technologies normally found in larger, more expensive vehicles. It rejects the notion that an affordable small car has to be basic or boring.

The highlight of the Verve Concept interior – the futuristic, mobile phone-inspired, human-machine interface technology of the instrument panel centre stack – will be a core feature of the Ford Fiesta when it hits the road.

Gone is the flat, upright centre stack of the instrument panel, a feature typical of many small cars driven by the need to package a large radio head unit behind the fascia panel. New technology allows Fiesta to separate the key elements of audio system – the control buttons, display and underlying electronics – in a distributed architecture that gives designers more freedom to create aesthetically pleasing, functional shapes.


“Fiesta has its heart in Europe but its eyes on the world,” said Marin Burela, Ford's Global Executive Director for small-car development. “We’re building on Ford’s hertitage of excellence in small car development to give the Fiesta truly global reach and identity. In 2010, this small-car family will be manufactured in Europe, Asia and North America and be marketed as Fiesta in all of the world’s key automotive markets.”

Source: Ford Motor Company news release, March 2008