Ford is developing what it calls ‘bandwidths’ for every aspect of new cars – from the way they drive to the quality of the interior trim – so they can be quickly and easily adapted for sale anywhere in the world.

A good example is the Fiesta-based EcoSport compact SUV taking centre stage at the Geneva Show. This was originally developed purely for South America, India and China but is now also on its way to Europe by popular demand.

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“Four to five years ago we started to set up platforms to work anywhere around the world so that we could develop products for any region in any region,” said Barb Samardzich, Ford’s head of product development.

“Then we began to develop what we called bandwidths for things like handling and steering that each region is able to be comfortable with if they decide to take the product. We started with the European dynamics and then did a lot of work to make sure we maintained the global Ford DNA for any market.”

Much of the work is influenced by market research and local preferences, said Samardzich. “A good example would be tyres. In China they want summer tyres while in the United States the market demands tyres for the whole year round.

“The EcoSport for Europe has unique tyres which meant we had to retune the damping, and we also put a lot of work into the craftsmanship of the interior and obviously had to ensure it meets local emissions regulations. But the structural integrity was there already because of the Fiesta.”

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The EcoSport is based on a stretched Fiesta platform and will initially be built for Europe in India though, depending on demand, it could later be switched to Valencia.

It will be available with the one-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost petrol turbo engine and a 1.5-litre four-cylinder TDCi turbodiesel. But there will also be a new addition to the Ecoboost family – a 108bhp 1.5-litre unit about which Ford is saying very little at the moment.

The second-generation EcoSport is due to go on sale in Europe at the end of the year and will be available with all Ford’s connectivity features, including Applink – the voice activation of apps – announced at the Consumer Electronics Show a couple of months ago.