Ford Fiesta production to start next year in Thailand

ford fiesta

The Ford Fiesta, which made its ASEAN debut at the recent Thailand International Motor Expo, will go into production next year at the AutoAlliance Thailand plant, which recently started producing the Mazda 2. The USD 500 million facility is a joint venture between Mazda and Ford, while the Fiesta and Mazda 2 share the same platform, so this news isn’t too much of a surprise.

Ford says that its Thai factory will supply Fiestas to the ASEAN region, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – basically all the major right-hand drive markets in the southern hemisphere. This sporty looking five-door hatchback and a sedan will be available. A big favourite in the UK market, the B-segment Fiesta is often praised for its dynamics.

It was reported by The Edge that Sime Darby Auto ConneXion will be bringing in the Fiesta in July 2010. If so, the supermini class should be quite exciting next year as Mazda is also expected to launch the 2.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • so cute!

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  • blaze on Dec 19, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    good move.. more options for buyers in this segment. personally i really hope they will bring in the diesel version as well..

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  • redline on Dec 19, 2009 at 6:55 pm

    woo…if they price it correctly, it will be a hit. But I think the Jazz is better in terms of interior space and residual values.

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  • Charger on Dec 19, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    Mazda2 gonna have a tough contender in the looks department.

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  • littlefire on Dec 19, 2009 at 7:04 pm

    That why Ford pull out from Malaysia and go to Thailand… To built more cars for them, while over here we have more tax…

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  • Looks like a soccermom car….the Mazada 2 is way cooler.

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  • succeed or fail, this will be Ford Thailand plant is the last hope to turn things around for Ford group.

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  • Redwings on Dec 19, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    Fiesta looks more sportier than Focus, thumb up. Any more photos and interiors?

    Looking forward for this babe…

    Mazda2 is coming to our shore March 2010, price will be very attractive..and Ford mentioned Fiesta will be coming July 2010..

    Those looking for b-segment cars, hold your horses 1st, plenty of choices next year,

    H and T card just getting bored, everywhere and too common, remind me of proton wira…

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  • MyCarMyLife on Dec 19, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Good move by Ford now showing results making Ford range more affordable and competitive . Give the Jap cars a run for the money or Yen !

    Bring on the rest of the exciting models as we are bored to death with the cars availlable in MY especially P2 cars. ( rebadge here and there )

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  • will they move the Phillipine plant to Thailand as well?

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  • jeeBooM on Dec 19, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    THIS car looks nice. great info anyway.

    thanks for the article

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  • richard on Dec 19, 2009 at 9:23 pm

    interested! how much do you think it will be, Paul?

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  • TURBOfans on Dec 19, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    FORD FIESTA should be seen on the road here! so nice looking~ way better than Honda Jazz. Also Mazda 2 should join us!!

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  • biggiebro on Dec 19, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    Let see if they can set the price to be lower then Savvy.

    The current Savvy is the lowest under the current Thai tax structure, although is is not a downgraded T&H car.

    Proton also make 10% more per car for every one sold in Thailand compare to Malaysia.

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  • skiborne on Dec 19, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    luv the interior! so funky!

    finally there will be more choices fo malaysians!

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  • skiborne on Dec 19, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    tan sri muhyiddin said that day, proton just cant just rely on the G's "wall", do u guys think that sooner cars in malaysia would be cheaper?

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  • carlover on Dec 19, 2009 at 11:46 pm

    Skiborne,

    No way please don't hope that G going to make car cheaper for Malaysian even one day when they decided not to protect Proton they will still keep the tax from the foreign brand car for other purpose. Please try to buy Japanese car for 1st car then drive it for 15 years don't change car often don't loose all our hard earn money for nothing

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  • Mufasa on Dec 19, 2009 at 11:47 pm

    skiborne said,

    December 19, 2009 @ 3:08 pm

    tan sri muhyiddin said that day, proton just cant just rely on the G’s “wall”, do u guys think that sooner cars in malaysia would be cheaper?

    —————————————————-

    no,,

    i respect the leader,,but i dont believe them

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  • tokmoh on Dec 19, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    skiborne : perhaps, muhyiddin wants proton to push overseas market. It has begun with Thailand and Indonesia. They should enter Phillippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and if possible, Myanmar.

    Things may not change here in Malaysia. biz as asual. The thing is, if car price reduce, current car owners bising their second hand value drop like back in 2006.

    Tak faham ak… nak keter murah… terima je la the fact that it will cause their 2nd hand value drop… bangang org msia ni…

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  • i really they put up the RS version of this fiesta!

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  • Mazda 3 MPS + PERODU on Dec 20, 2009 at 12:25 am

    paultan, will it be the sedan or hatchback, cause i remember reading in some thai website (i am searching for it now) that the mazda in thailand is the hatchback while the fiesta would be the sedan

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  • lunaticg on Dec 20, 2009 at 12:25 am

    Hi.

    Let just hope and pray that this car is affordable in Malaysia.

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  • mirror-mirror on Dec 20, 2009 at 1:01 am

    yes, the thais buy their vious and city like we buy the myvi and …i can no longer remember the names of malaysian cars. Anyway, the thais without petroleum and other natural resources are getting their japanese cars about RM20,000 cheaper on the average than we do.

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  • shawal on Dec 20, 2009 at 1:14 am

    it can sell on looks alone , though, i wonder whut the dash will look like once they take out all the 'european standard' gizmos…

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  • every time when talk about foreign brand car, people talk about wanting the car at cheap price. i dont this will change in near future. gov budget in deficits. oil is depleting. whatever baris or pakat that become gov, i dont think they can easily let go whatever they currently earn from each car purchased. instead, cutting out subsidies on food items or oil, thats what more believable to happen.

    anyway, good to push for it anyway. might be in 2040 we will have cheap cars.

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  • kepala hotak on Dec 20, 2009 at 2:45 am

    siapa cakap kereto thai lebih mahal dari kereto malaysia.

    U pegi check la!

    Walaupun ada jenis yang lebih kurang sama harga, tapi mereka boleh pilih. Nak beli boleh pilih. Kat malaysia, kalau miskin, apo nak pilih, belilah ploton atau pelodua.

    Hotak.

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  • mystvearn on Dec 20, 2009 at 3:25 am

    This car in maroon is very nice. I have seen in real in that colour.

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  • Tiadaid on Dec 20, 2009 at 4:20 am

    kepala hotak said,

    December 19, 2009 @ 6:45 pm

    siapa cakap kereto thai lebih mahal dari kereto malaysia.

    U pegi check la!

    Walaupun ada jenis yang lebih kurang sama harga, tapi mereka boleh pilih. Nak beli boleh pilih. Kat malaysia, kalau miskin, apo nak pilih, belilah ploton atau pelodua.

    Hotak.

    ——————–

    Dah miskin ade hati nak pakai kete Continental! Orang Thailand yang miskin pun tak mampu beli kereta.Memang kepala hotak ko la…bising2 pasal harga kereta, tapi atas jalan banyak je kete, sampai sabtu ahad pun jam!

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  • carlocaraddict on Dec 20, 2009 at 5:12 am

    the mazda 2 has landed in the philippines. most likely we will be seeing the fiesta in the 1st qtr of 2010

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  • I think, one of the wants of the modern man, is a car. Not just any car, but a new and desirable car(RM100k above & non-national). For a middle class income person, that is quite difficult to own, especially in M'sia. From a family man to a single guy living on a meagre income, it depresses them. That's why they vented out their angst and dissatisfaction on this matter. It's quite tragic that a person have to face a big decision(financially) and have to think over it 10 times before committed to buy their present ride. It's more tragic that they maybe stuck with a "lemon" and continue to be financially and emotionally burdened by it. They can't experiment in having many cars, in order to choose which one is best suited for their needs, safety, etc.

    I guess they are stuck with this situation for the time being. Reality bites, but they have to live with it. Look at the brightside and count the blessings. And distract themselves from continuously thinking at their rides.

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  • My very reliable source tells me that the Fiesta will come with the 1.6 litre lump and will be priced at a shade under RM79k :) Yes, an unbelievable price so let's hope SDAC does not disappoint.

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  • USD500 mill of FDI going to our neighbour, direct (the plant) jobs and indirect (suppliers & vendors) jobs are secured for years to come.

    I do feel jealous what our neighbour can and have acheived, and sad that our gov have abandon our automotive industry but instead adopted a P1 industry.

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  • Anticipating this car…and with price tag as stated…from 79k…it's worth good monnies to have Nissan Latio H/B, Toyota Yaris and Honda's expensive Jazz to rethink their strategy….but..I not too optimistic about 79k+. Mazda likes to price between Toyota and Honda in our local market…Anyway, i guess we just need to see.

    Mazda 2 and 6G Ford Fiesta is going to give them some run for the money….

    I like it.

    I'm thinking it might be the 1.4…but if it's the 1.6 then we are certainly very very lucky to inherit the Twin independent Variable Camshaft Timing (T-VCT) engine that puts out the 118hp, instead of the 96hp from the 1.4.

    I like the car looks, simply appealing.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fiesta

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  • It hasn't been noted here yet, so I'll put my bit in :)

    The Thai version of the Fiesta will have a dual-clutch DSG gearbox mated to it's 1.6L engine – now that, to me, is a pretty exciting feature!

    Fingers crossed they keep the cool electronics (present in the Euro and Australian variants) in the Thai built version too – i.e. bluetooth, iPod compat etc. According to the Bangkok Post, the Thai built Fiesta will be exported to Australia (replacing it's current German source), so at least that tells us that *some* of the models coming out of the Auto Alliance facility will have the full feature set..

    Overall, the Fiesta is the most modern package out there when you consider what it's got going on inside, outside and under the hood – I'll be first in line to buy one (for the wife) when they're released!

    DSG gearbox reference:
    http://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/autopreview/16190…

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  • Mazda 3 MPS + PERODU on Dec 20, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    yea ford better give us proper ford's before they end up like general motors. fucking saab up.

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  • ashraf on Dec 20, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    i've seen the mazda 2, the rear legroom area is so cramped….why waste time building a car like this? Yaris is a better buy anyday.

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  • klguy on Dec 20, 2009 at 9:15 pm

    yay, lets kill city and vios

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  • azrai on Dec 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Another failure for NAP in attracting FDI. What a shame.

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  • ericfoong81exe on Dec 21, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Hope can get a cheaper Ford Fiesta in future, it is a good car indeed.

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  • Mazda 3 MPS + PERODU on Dec 21, 2009 at 7:39 pm

    im sick of the vios and city

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  • intermilan on Dec 21, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    vee said,

    December 20, 2009 @ 12:20 am

    My very reliable source tells me that the Fiesta will come with the 1.6 litre lump and will be priced at a shade under RM79k :) Yes, an unbelievable price so let’s hope SDAC does not disappoint.

    —————————————

    Soory vee,

    But I, as some other forummer here, don't shared your almost-begging-thankyou-Ford-so-cheap sentiments towards you self-announced price tag for the Fiesta.

    RM79K for an B-segment CBU sourced from ASEAN country in 2010 is still expensive.

    Very nice car, hope it arrive, but not at RM79K. Over price lah Sime Auto.

    Must must go for sub-RM75K OTR if you want this car to have decent sale volume.

    Beside Ford has lost almost all its pedigree as car maker/seller in M'sia.

    Here, Ford image is by and large.. a pick-up / truck company.

    What a shame and a big big hindrance. j

    Just look at the nice Focus. @ ~RM112k.. nobody really buying.. kan?

    Earlier, many enthusiasts thought it can fight the 308 almost on par..

    But what happens? Why? Think lah… dare to tell us ah?

    SIME Auto wake up! Dont kill another potential gold-egg laying goose.

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  • intermilan said,

    Soory vee,

    But I, as some other forummer here, don’t shared your almost-begging-thankyou-Ford-so-cheap sentiments towards you self-announced price tag for the Fiesta.

    RM79K for an B-segment CBU sourced from ASEAN country in 2010 is still expensive.

    Very nice car, hope it arrive, but not at RM79K. Over price lah Sime Auto.

    Must must go for sub-RM75K OTR if you want this car to have decent sale volume.

    Beside Ford has lost almost all its pedigree as car maker/seller in M’sia.

    Here, Ford image is by and large.. a pick-up / truck company.

    What a shame and a big big hindrance. j

    Just look at the nice Focus. @ ~RM112k.. nobody really buying.. kan?

    Earlier, many enthusiasts thought it can fight the 308 almost on par..

    But what happens? Why? Think lah… dare to tell us ah?

    SIME Auto wake up! Dont kill another potential gold-egg laying goose.

    ————

    Hey man. I am entitled to my own opinions, am I not? RM79k with decent kit and the 1.6 litre engine will do for me. If it doesn't for you, then so be it.

    My source is a very reliable source. Whether you accept it or otherwise, that is up to you :)

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  • Neutral on Dec 22, 2009 at 4:06 am

    nice car!hope the price also good

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  • Kevin on Dec 22, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Looking at the number of prizes that Ford Fiesta has won worldwide, is pretty damn impressive. Check this out:
    http://media.ford.com/news/fordfiestaayearofgloba…

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  • Hah!!!..rm79k,…confirm x laku…at that price, msian will go for city/vios,……… re-sale value mah! or maybe 'forte" for value for money (big size)

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