Ford won't be taking the KA to the States
Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said that Ford won’t be taking the KA to the USA as he doesn’t think American buyers would accept a car smaller than the Fiesta.
With the American car buyer starting to ‘Get’ smaller, more efficient and more enjoyable to drive cars, it seemed likely that Ford would end up making its world cars available in the US. They’ve made a good start – and kicked up a reasonable viral rush – with the Fiesta which is due to launch in the US at the Los Angeles Motor Show next month.
When we reported back in June that Fiat were taking the 500 to the US – and probably building it in Mexico – we speculated that this would provide an ideal opportunity for Ford to introduce the KA in to the States. After all, the Ford KA is a Fiat 500 in Ford clothes and could be built in the same Mexican plant destined to churn out the 500. But it would seem not.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said over the weekend that although he’s a fan of the KA he considers it too small for the US. He reckons that the smallest car American car buyers will accept is the Fiesta. And in some ways he may be right. We can’t see anyone blatting down a deserted road in Nevada in a diesel KA, but we can see the KA being a hit in cities like New York or San Francisco. It is a great little town runaround and handles like a go-kart in comparison to most things on US roads.
It’s true that Fiat are hedging their bets on the 500 and are initially taking only the Abarth 500 to the US. So perhaps a better route for Ford in the US to go would be to push for a performance KA – the Ford KA RS? The platform can obviously take it – just look at the Abarth 500 EsseEsse or the Tributo Ferrari. Why nor do the same with the KA.
Or maybe Ford are just waiting to see how things pan out with the Fiat 500.
