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Ford tries to persuade US buyers of three-door merits

Ford wants to get Americans into three-door hatchbacks – the OEM has displayed a small car concept, Verve, at the Detroit Auto Show. A four-door version of the Focus-sized car will go on sale first in the US in 2010, but the three-door concept shown at Frankfurt last year was also on the stand to gauge reactions to the bodystyle.

Small-car sales are growing faster than other parts of the market. By 2012, small cars will account for 45 per cent of the estimated 85 million cars that will sell worldwide. In the US, Ford expects sales of small cars to increase by 800,000 or 25 per cent to a 3.4 million units by 2012.

Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president, Global Product Development, said: “We’re known in Europe for well-executed small cars. It’s time to bring this expertise to buyers in North America. Small cars and crossovers are the only vehicles with projected near-term growth in the US.”

The car will be the first time that Ford has managed to synchronise product cycles between the US and Europe.