Ford Fiesta Q & A

Interested customers have placed more than 6,000 reservations for the new 2011 Ford Fiesta, despite the fact that the car will not arrive in our showroom until this summer.  Sam De La Garza, Fiesta Brand Manager, spoke to @Ford Online about other interesting data gleaned from potential Fiesta customers through the company’s Fiesta Reservations program.

Question: There is nearly a 50/50 split of reservations made by people younger than 45 and older than 45.  Did you expect that?

Answer: Yes.  There are two big population groups of people who buy small cars in the United States.  One is young people and the other group consists of Baby Boomers who have been downsizing certain aspects of their lives.  Those are the largest customer groups that we see for Fiesta.

Question: How does the United States Fiesta customer data compare to that for Europe?

Answer: The B-car segment in Europe is different than in the United States.  The European B-car segment is very mature and represents about 24 to 25 percent of the industry.  Because B-cars are sold in such high volume in Europe, they must have a broader consumer appeal.

That helps us in the United States because it allows us to bring in a lot of premium, high-quality content in an affordable, fuel-efficient vehicle that resonates with many customers here.  Younger and older consumers will appreciate Fiesta’s premium content, such as push-button start, heated seats and SYNC.  Customers will not have to compromise with the Ford Fiesta.  We’ve learned a lot from our European colleagues about that.

Question: How does Ford intend to maintain interest in Fiesta until the car hits dealer showrooms this summer?

Answer: As announced earlier, we will be launching Fiesta Movement Chapter Two near the end of February.  This involves giving a European Fiesta to 20 teams of two people each.  The teams will perform some unique missions.  Eventually, they will drive the North American Fiesta, too.

In addition, we continue to listen to consumers on various social media like Twitter and Facebook.  We are always trying to engage them without generating the conversation.

Another interesting thing is the question section at Experience Fiesta.  Here, customers submit a question that will be answered by one of nine Fiesta Movement agents from Chapter One, who still have their cars.  You get this amazing conversation going on such topics as fuel economy, reasons to buy Fiesta and competitive vehicle questions.  It is constant engagement.

Related articles

• 2011 Ford Fiesta Pre-Launch Guide (beechmontfordblog.com)
• Ford Fiesta Movement in the Blogosphere this week (beechmontfordblog.com)

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