With new Fiesta, Ford wants to triple sales premium

With the goal of up to triple its sales in the increasingly disputed premium segment of compact car market, Ford celebrated over the past two days the start of production of the Fiesta model at the factory in São Bernardo do Campo, in the ABC paulista.
After upgrade, on Sunday, a show open to the public by singer Claudia Leitte, the automaker met yesterday the Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) and the Mayor of São Bernardo, Luiz Marinho (PT), at a ceremony in front of the Assembly line to present the car to the press. In both events, however, prevailed the mystery of mark on strategic information, such as the price and the estimated production and sales of the model.
Nevertheless, Rogelio Golfarb, Vice-President of Ford in South America, said that the brand has as its ambition to double or even triple its position in the Brazilian market of premium compacts. Last year, when Mexico's car care, the automaker sold 21.3 thousand units of the hatch version of the new Fiesta in Brazil. Putting in the sedan segment, sales reached 31.6 thousand cars.
The dispute is with Ford's top-line versions of Chevrolet, Onix, and HB20, Hyundai-two models which, after the release in the last quarter of last year, quickly reached the bestseller lists in the country. In its premium version, the price of these cars is above $ 46 mil. The most popular line, Ford will continue fighting with the older version of the Fiesta, known as Rocam, that continues being assembled in Camaçari, Bahia.
The brand has invested R $ 800 million to produce on ABC the New Fiesta-as was baptized the car to differentiate itself from its predecessor made in Bahia. The industrial complex in Sao Bernardo if modernized and is ready to receive other cars Ford global, in line with the automaker's plan to align the globalization strategy of Brazil production platforms until 2015.
Following the Ecosport also produced in Camaçari-, the new Fiesta is the second global brand car produced in the country. The model fitted to the ABC hits stores, already in 2014, until the end of April.
In São Bernardo, Ford has the capacity to produce 100 thousand cars per year, but part of this capacity is used in the production of Ka, the input of the car brand that shares the same line of the Fiesta. The automaker's directors reported yesterday that there was no change in the production capacity of the unit, as well as in the number of employees. But the recent investments attacked the factory productivity from greater automation of the line.
About two thousand workers-almost half of the workforce of the complex-were highlighted for the production of the Fiesta. Part of them accompanied yesterday the ceremony that marked the start of car production.
As part of the project, Ford invested $ 500 million in the factory of Taubaté (SP), which produces the Fiesta motors. In total, the company's investment program in Brazil provides $ 4.5 billion in the period from 2011 to 2015.