Cologne, Germany - Volume production of the all-new Ford Fiesta has begun at the Cologne plant in Germany after the vehicle celebrated its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year, the car maker has announced.

The new Fiesta, which features the kinetic design of the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy, will go on sale in Germany in October. Ford said it had invested around 455 million euros (670 million dollars) in modernizing the Cologne plant that will at full capacity produce 1,900 Fiesta per day in three shifts.

"The Fiesta factory in Cologne tops the rankings in terms of lean and efficient production among 52 factories analysed in Europe," Ford's CEO in Germany Bernhard Mattes said.

Later this year, Fiesta production will be extended to the Chinese plant in Nanjing, Rayong in Thailand. Production for the U. S. market will start in 2010 at the Mexican Cuautitlan factory.

Ford, which has been hit by poor sales on its home domestic market of F-150 pick-up trucks and SUVs, has high hopes for smaller cars such as the Fiesta and the Fusion. Apart from the Fiesta, five other small or sub-compact cars are to be launched on the U. S. market.

New to the range is the Duratec 1.6-litre Ti-VCT engine. With an output of 115 hp the engine comes with variable intake cam timing that improves performance and fuel efficiency.

The ECOnetic version is listed with a carbon dioxide emission figure of under 100 g/km. The TDCi common-rail diesel engines, the 1.4-litre (68 hp) and the 1.6-litre (90 hp) - have been improved with revised injection technology. (dpa)