[focusse]

I ask this because I think the all new Fiesta is going to sell like crazy, especially when it first goes on sale. I wonder if Ford will supply the market with enough of Fiesta's? I also hope Ford doesn't underestimate the demand for the 5 door hatchback and only make a small quantity. I believe the 5 door hatchback may outsell the sedan.

How many Fiesta's do you think Ford will sell in the first model year here in the U.S.?

50,000 ?
60,000 ?
75,000 ?
85,000 ?

When the all new 2011 MKIII Focus goes on sale next year it may steal some of the Fiesta's thunder so this could also affect sales of the Fiesta.

 

[Mark Kleis]

The plant has ENORMOUS capacity... it will be able to adjust to market demand with a 2-month lag time in a worst-case scenario. I have confidence that Ford will do the research to gauge demand and make sure they don't short change themselves here.

They did one of the best jobs for the cash for clunkers program - mostly because they were prepared. I expect the same for the Fiesta launch.

 

[PowerShift]

The news reports say the plant will produce 180,000 Fiestas in the first year for North and South America combined.

If even half of that made it to the United States that would be 90,000, which would be more than Yaris and Fit. So I think, once things get ramped up, meeting demand won't be much of a problem. But with a slow ramp up there could definitely be availability problems early on.

From what I've seen on the internet forums interest in the hatchback vastly outstrips interest in the sedan, but the internet may not be a representative sample. Yaris, Accent and Rio sell far better as sedans than hatchbacks.

Ford usually posts an order guide that tells dealers what mix of models to order. That should be available by mid-December.