In June 2014 when Ford India launched new fiesta they dropped petrol engine and automatic gearbox from its range which disappointed many enthusiasts and Fiesta fans. Ford Fiesta is one of the best driver’s cars in the segment and probably best looking mid sedan in the country, but unfortunately its sales couldn’t pick up as expected.
Now in order to push the sales of Fiesta, Ford is now looking to introduce an automatic variant of the car to its line-up. The current model of Fiesta is available only with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The automatic variant has been spied near Ford Service station at Gurgaon and reports revealed that the car was being for testing.
At present, Ford Fiesta competitors such as Honda City, Volkswagen Vento, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz are offered with automatic transmissions. So Ford’s decision of adding automatic gearbox might be the game changer for the American car maker.
New automatic Fiesta will revive its presence with 1.5L Ti-VCT engine that churns out 112PS power and 140Nm torque mated with a 6-speed dual clutch transmission with Dry sump technology. The power shift gearbox the terms used for a 6 speed DCT offers 10 years maintenance free operation.
The facelifted model was aerodynamic and with AT gearbox expects it to deliver better fuel efficiency than previous model.
Meanwhile, this 1.5L petrol engine along with automatic gearbox will feature in Ford’s upcoming compact sedan Figo Aspire which might be launched in May or June 2015.
Ford Fiesta is not doing well as expected because Ford has taken the strong point away from Fiesta i.e. AT gearbox, competition in the segment like City, Ciaz, Vento has automatic gearboxes.
One can only blame Ford for Fiesta’s downfall though introducing automatic gearbox with petrol engine might not give boost to Fiesta’s sales by a huge margin but it will surely catch the attention of enthusiasts to look at the driver’s car again.
