Ford Ka to live again!

FIAT and the Ford Motor Company signed a definitive agreement last week to co-operate on the joint development of small cars in the sub-B segment, which will provide Ford with a replacement for the Ka and, for Fiat, an all-new 500 model.

The two manufacturers have already been working jointly on the development of the new cars, both of which will be based on the current Fiat Panda platform using Fiat powertrains built in Poland and Italy.

Both vehicles will be manufactured at Fiat’s Tychy assembly plant in Poland from late 2007.

While the born-again version of Fiat's famous 500 was never sold, the next-generation Fiat ultra-light may eventually surface as part of a relaunched Fiat range in Australia. Ford's unloved three-door Ka was sold here between November 1999 and December 2003.