Ford aims to strengthen the bottom of its Japanese model line by importing the latest European Fiesta into Japan in 2004, according to Automotive News.

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Chris Theodore, vice president for advanced product creation, told the motor industry newspaper the move will give Ford “a B (compact) car in a B-car market.”

Katsuhiko Satoh, president of Ford Japan, told Automotive News the plan is a switch from using rebadged Mazdas in the low end of the lineup. “This is a real European Fiesta and not sold by Mazda,” Satoh reportedly said.

The Fiesta is manufactured at Ford’s Cologne, Germany, small-car assembly plant and in another plant in Valencia, Spain, the paper noted.

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