Kia · 1986–2002
Kia Avella
The Ford Festiva is a four passenger front-drive subcompact car originally manufactured in South Korea by Kia, under license from Mazda and marketed by Ford from 1986 until 2002 over three generations in Japan as the Festiva. The first generation was also sold as a Festiva in North America, while the first two generations were Festivas in Australasia. The third generation was a badge engineered Mazda Demio and was generally not available with Ford badging outside of Japan. Designed and engineered by Mazda using the DA platform and B series straight-four engines, the Festiva was manufactured in South Korea by Kia, under license. Sales of the first generation Festiva reached 350,000 in America. Kia began marketing the first generation in South Korea under license — as the Kia Pride. Australasia and Europe received the first version between 1987 and 1991 as the "Mazda 121". After 1991, Australasian sales began under the "Ford Festiva" name, while European sales continued as the "Kia Pride". Kia ended production of the Pride in 2000. Ongoing production of the first generation overlapped its second generation, introduced in 1993 and marketed as the Ford Aspire in North America and as the Kia Avella in South Korea and other markets. The second generation was marketed for model years 1993–2000, and a third generation was sold between 1996 and 2002 in Japan as a badge-engineered version of the Mazda Demio. The "Festiva" nameplate derived from the Spanish word for "festive".
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Successor: Kia Rio
All Kia Avella data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Specifications
- name
- Ford Festiva
- Manufacturer
- Kia, Mazda, SAIPA
- Production
- 1986–2002
- Class
- Subcompact car
- Layout
- Front-engine, front-wheel drive
- Predecessor
- Ford Fiesta
- Successor
- Ford Fiesta
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4038887CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_FestivaCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1372491153 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MHV_Kia_Avella_01.jpgPublic domain · Photo: MartinHansV · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.