Ford Fiesta reaches million milestone in Europe

Cologne, Germany – The one millionth Ford Fiesta rolled off the assembly line at Ford’s Cologne Assembly Plant on Friday, marking a milestone for the latest generation of this small car.

Production of the latest generation Fiesta began in Cologne in November 2001, and was subsequently introduced to the Valencia Assembly Plant in Spain in April 2002. In June 2002, the Ford Fusion was added to Cologne, sharing the same assembly line. In 2002, the Fiesta was rated as the car with the fewest breakdowns in its segment by the German ADAC motoring organization.

After a complete redevelopment, the German plant became a template for modern, flexible car manufacturing in Europe. The system was expanded to Valencia, which is now capable of building the Ka, Fiesta, Focus and Mazda2.

In 2004, Ford sold 321,500 Fiestas in Europe, keeping its overall market share stable at 2.1 per cent. Fiesta sales in January 2005 were 27,700, compared with 26,200 in January 2004. The first-generation Fiesta was launched in summer 1976; more than 11 million Fiestas have been built and sold around the world. The current Fiesta and Fusion are exported to 36 countries, including New Zealand, Tahiti, Hong Kong and Singapore.