Ford Fiesta Hits a Milestone and Adds a Model

The new Fiesta reaches a production milestone in Germany and augments its UK lineup with a real fuel sipper.

Fiesta news

Here at LotPro.com, we want you to be aware of a number of vehicles currently being sold in Europe that are on their way over to the U.S. Among those cars, the Ford Fiesta stands out because it will be one of the first to reach our shores and it is currently being sold in many overseas markets.

A best seller

This week marked a milestone for Ford of Europe’s newest vehicle, the Ford Fiesta, as April 23rd marked the day the 250,000 example rolled off the assembly line in Cologne, Germany. Even more remarkable is the fact that it has been just nine months since the car first went on sale. According to manufacturing data, no previous Fiesta model has reached this milestone in so short a time.

According to the consulting firm JATO Dynamics, European sales in March totaled 52,800, making it Europe’s best-selling car and marking the best sales performance for the nameplate since August of 1996.

Currently being built at Ford’s Cologne facility as well as the company’s assembly facility in Valencia, Spain, March also marks the fifth consecutive month the Fiesta has been the best-selling model in the U.K.

New U.K. model

Speaking of the U.K., one version of the Fiesta that we probably won’t see over here is the Fiesta Van. Designed as a (very) small commercial vehicle for the towns of Europe, it is probably too small for most businesses over here and, in any case, Ford plans on marketing the larger Transit Connect to these customers.

Those arguments aside, though, a particularly intriguing version of the Fiesta Van was recently launched in the U.K. Called the Fiesta Van ECOnetic, it will go on sale in Britain in August of this year and it joins ECOnetic versions of the Mondeo, Focus, Fiesta (the non-van standard version pictured) and Transit in Ford’s green car lineup.

It features a 1.6 liter turbocharged direct-injected diesel that produces 88.8 horsepower and 147.5 lb.-ft. of torque at 1750 rpm. Using aerodynamic tricks such as a lowered ride height, low-drag wheel deflectors and low rolling resistance 175/65 R14 tires as well as a longer final drive gear ratio, the Fiesta Van ECOnetic manages to score 51mpg in city driving, 73mpg in highway driving and a combined 63mpg on the European driving cycle.

Tags: econetic, fiesta van, fiesta van econetic, focus, Ford, ford fiesta, ford of europe, jato dynamics, mondeo, transit