Fiesta: Ford suffers first-car buyer blow
The government's first-car buyer scheme has brought a halt to the sales momentum of the Ford Fiesta subcompact.
Sales of the Fiesta fell by 20 per cent in September from the previous month, giving the subcompact car its lowest monthly sales since February. Last month’s sales totalled 1,301 units.
More than 600 Thai customers cancelled orders for the class-leading Ford Fiesta 1,600cc as the first-car buyer policy came into effect in the middle of the month, Ford Thailand said.
The Fiesta 1,600cc models account for more than 70 per cent of total Fiesta sales in Thailand.
“These cancelled orders clearly demonstrate an unintended consequence of the first-car buyer policy,” said Ford Asean president Peter Fleet.
The cancelled Fiesta 1,600cc orders drove Ford Thailand's overall sales down by nearly 13 per cent last month to 2,332 units – Ford Thailand's lowest monthly performance since February.
Eligibility for the first-car buyer policy, which grants a refund on excise tax as high as Bt100,000, includes a 1,500cc limit on engine size.
