Earlier this year at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, we were excited to watch the announcement made by Ford Performance of the newly designed 2018 Ford Fiesta ST. The third-generation Fiesta ST debuted as Ford’s first performance model to be powered by a smaller 1.5-liter, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, and it had many of us wondering if this smaller-displacement engine would be the new benchmark for the hot hatch market here in the US.

Well according to B-segment vehicle program manager Robert Stiller, it appears that Ford will not be sending the newly designed Fiesta our way anytime soon.

Apparently, because of the rise in popularity and demand increase for subcompact sport utility vehicles here in North America, there simply is not a large enough market for a smaller subcompact car like the newly redesigned Fiesta. Before we became aware of the actual numbers, this came as quite a shock to many of us as well.

Since 2013, sales of the sales of the Fiesta have taken a 31 percent nosedive here in America. In an interview with Robert Stiller to Romanian auto publication 0-100 magazine, Robert had some interesting thoughts on the subject.

“The previous model was a global Ford product, and with the new generation, we are targeting only Europe, the Middle East, and Africa,” he said. “In North America, especially the U.S., China, and Latin America, the demand for such vehicles is declining, and we are reacting accordingly.”

This got us thinking. Will Ford Performance make an exception for the ST version? The demand for the Focus ST and RS here stateside is still vibrant, and we would jump at the chance to put in a review request for the 1.5-liter turbocharged Fiesta variant.

With the new Fiesta ST featuring the popular selectable drive modes and the combination of port and direct fuel injection, we are a little bummed by the fact that tuners here in North America may never get the chance to see what this little EcoBoost engine is really capable of. What are your thoughts?