Despite a report to the contrary by Ford’s CEO, Alan Mulally, Ford is now taking another look at bringing the a-segment Ford Ka to U.S. soil. Mulally says the Ka is being considered due to the need for fuel efficient vehicles.
Back in November Mulally addressed the curiosity over whether or not the U.S. would be getting the Ka after Chrysler announced that it would be bringing the Fiat 500 to the U.S. Ford and Fiat share an assembly plant in Poland for the two small cars, and many believed Ford would make a similar move to take advantage of the economies of scale with Chrysler. But Mulally clarified that Ford saw little chance of success at the time for the Ka.
“Our view is that Fiesta is about the smallest vehicle that we think will be a real success in the United States,” Mulally said in an interview with Automotive News back in November.
The Ka is actually slightly longer than the 500 – although it measures about 25 inches shorter than the Fiesta overall.
Fast forward a couple months to today, and a different tone is coming from the Detroit automaker, “As we pay more for fuel, I think Americans would like a Ka-size (vehicle). We believe we’ll be paying more (for fuel), so the most important thing for Ford is to be there in every segment,” said Mulally.
Should Ford decide to move forward with the Ka on U.S. soil, Ford would have a fresh line-up of small cars ranging from its freshly announced 2012 Ford Focus, to the 2011 Ford Fiesta and finally what would likely be a 2013 Ford Ka.
