South Africa is a tough market for automotive brands that offer small hatchbacks as there are a raft of offerings in this segment, and buyers really are spoiled for choice. In the local context, of all the models available buyers did not flock to the first-generation Ford Ka in the way the Blue Oval would have liked.
The first Ka model faced stiff competition from the likes of Volkswagen’s CitiGolf and other local favourites that weren’t necessarily new products. Like it or not, Ford has to offer a product in this hard-fought segment as it presents the largest opportunity for growth.
Ford debuted a Concept version of the new, third-generation model (the current one was never offered in SA) at a recent event in Europe. The new model looks far more grown up, and frankly, far better than the awkward predecessor. The dimensions are seem larger and this time around it seems as if the base offering will be a five-door variant.
Production of the new model is likely to start in 2015. Unlike the current model which shared underpinnings with the Fiat 500, the new Ka is likely to be based on the versatile Ford Fiesta platform, which the EcoSport also rides on. With models like the Figo and VW’s Vivo still strong sellers in the local context it is not a certainty that the new Ka will come to SA, but one never knows. Ford SA did once claim that the new Mondeo is unlikely to sell in SA but that, too, has changed as you can read here.