Ford confirms subcompact car for North American market

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. today confirmed plans to bring the next-generation Ford Fiesta subcompact car to North America as part of a plan to move toward greater communization of products on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ford of Europe Chairman Lewis Booth confirmed the plan while addressing analysts at the Merrill Lynch Global Automotive Conference being held in conjunction with the Geneva auto show.

Booth also dismissed reports that an agreement to sell Ford's Aston Martin brand had been reached, but said he is confident the brand will be sold by the end of the year.

Reuters reported Monday that a sale could be announced as early as this week, citing unnamed sources who told the wire service that the price had been fixed at more than $865 million. Reuters said the most likely buyer was Formula One team Prodrive in partnership with Egypt's Naeem investment bank.

"We've had a lot of interest," Booth said. "(But) this process is ongoing and, contrary to the papers, we've not reached a conclusion."

He said Jaguar is "not for sale at the present," but stopped short of the definitive "no" he gave to questions about whether Ford plans to sell Volvo.

Booth said Volvo is playing a central role in the development of new technologies and new platforms for Ford globally, and he said that is the sort of work that will help all of the company's brands.

Platform communization is central tenet of the strategy outlined by Ford CEO Alan Mulally, and Booth said Ford of Europe expects to contribute plenty to that process -- beginning with the new Fiesta.

As The Detroit News first reported in November, the company will base the new B-car on the new Mazda2, which will be unveiled at the Geneva auto show tomorrow.

The News reported last week that Ford of Europe has been given primary responsibility for developing the Blue Oval version of the vehicle.

Booth said the company is also looking for other opportunities to communize products.

"It could, potentially, range up to Mondeo size," Booth said, referring to Ford of Europe's new midsize sedan, which will be introduced at the Geneva show.

But he said Americans will not see a Mondeo in showrooms anytime soon. The Ford Fusion, which fills the same niche, is only in its second model year and the new Mondeo is just getting ready to begin its first, so Booth said it will take a full product cycle before Ford has an opportunity to converge those two vehicles.

Ford of Europe posted a pretax profit of $455 million last year, before accounting for one-time charges, and Booth said it will remain profitable in 2007. Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which includes Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, lost $344 million last year. Booth called those results "disappointing," but said he expects the group to be profitable this year.

Booth acknowledged that Ford of Europe "saw over the cliff" before launching its own restructuring plan, and he said valuable lessons have been learned that could be applied in the United States.

"I think we are a little bit ahead of North America," Booth said. "A lot of what we're doing will translate very well into helping Ford North America