The last Mark 2 Fiestas to be manufactured
The 'G plate' myth
The last Mk2 Fiesta rolled off the production line at some point in 1989, and production of the Mk3 model was started in April 1989, so the last Mk2 models must have been made in March or early April at the absolute latest.
Every now and again a UK Fiesta registered on a G plate pops up for sale, and inevitably a few people get excited thinking it's the last Fiesta ever made. The truth behind it is a bit more mundane.
Any Fiesta registered on a G plate (or later) was a Fiesta that didnt sell before the cut off date of July 31st 1989. Any Fiesta first registered by the dealership after that date was then given a G reg. This doesnt have any bearing on when it came off the production line. Yes, they are likely to be later built cars, but it just indicates that they sat around unsold on a dealers forecourt or in their warehouse for longer than their F reg counterparts. The reasons for this are varied, it could have just been luck, the car could have been ordered in an unpopular colour or spec that was harder to sell, a cancelled customer order, or it may even have been damaged and been held back from sale whilst repairs took place. There were even cases where owners asked the dealer to hold off on registering the car for a few days so that it would be issued with the newer G plate, purely for vanity reasons.
Known late registered cars
The following cars are pulled from our Fiesta register and are all UK vehicles registered on a G plate or later.