The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the Focus).

Ford has sold over 22 million Fiestas since 1976,[2][3][4][5] making it one of the best-selling Ford marques behind the Escort and the F-Series. It has been manufactured in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Taiwan, China, India, Thailand, and South Africa.

The Fiesta is planned to be discontinued in June 2023, after 20 million have been made; it had been largely displaced by newer models. The hybrid Ford Puma became the more affordable option with the approach of bans on internal-combustion-engined cars.[6]


The Fiesta was originally designed by the project "Bobcat" team headed by Trevor Erskine (not to be confused with the badge-engineered Mercury variant of the Ford Pinto) and approved for development by Henry Ford II in September 1972, just after the launch of two comparable cars – the Fiat 127 and Renault 5. More than a decade earlier, Ford had decided against producing a new small car to rival BMC's Mini, as the production cost was deemed too high, but the 1973 oil crisis caused a rise in the already growing demand for smaller cars.

The Fiesta was an all new car in the supermini segment, and was the smallest car yet made by Ford. Development targets indicated a production cost US$100 less than the current Escort. The car was to have a wheelbase longer than that of the Fiat 127, but with overall length shorter than that of Ford's Escort. The final proposal was developed by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia, overseen by Ford of Europe's then chief stylist Uwe Bahnsen. The project was approved for production in late 1973, with Ford's engineering centres in Cologne and Dunton (Essex) collaborating.

Ford estimated that 500,000 Fiestas a year would be produced, and built a new factory near Valencia, Spain; a transaxle factory near Bordeaux, France; factory extensions for the assembly plants in Dagenham, UK. Final assembly also took place in Valencia.[7]

After years of speculation by the motoring press about Ford's new car, it was subject to a succession of carefully crafted press leaks from the end of 1975. A Fiesta was on display at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in June 1976, and the car went on sale in France and Germany in September 1976; to the frustration of UK dealerships, right-hand drive versions only began to appear in January 1977. Its initial competitors in Europe, apart from the Fiat 127 and Renault 5, included the Volkswagen Polo and Vauxhall Chevette. Chrysler UK were also about to launch the Sunbeam by this stage, and British Leyland was working on a new supermini, which was launched as the Austin Metro in 1980.[8]

The name "Fiesta" (meaning "party" in Spanish) belonged to General Motors when the car was designed, used as a trim level on Oldsmobile station wagons, and was freely given for Ford to use on their new B-class car. Ford's marketing team had preferred the name "Bravo", but Henry Ford II chose "Fiesta".[9]