It could help boost sales of what's already there Europe-wise. But sure, it's not going to make sales double overnight.
Ford hasn't seemed to do well at leveraging their global platforms with regional models.
Could be hard to prove without GPS data, but VW's diesel scam was ultimately discovered, so perhaps this case will get solved as well. I would think that Hinton should have questioned his odometer readings after only a week or so of ownership; the milage was off by over half. Maybe he was ecstatic over getting 700 miles between charges?
Third world is defined as... " one that is economically underdeveloped, often characterized by high poverty rates, economic instability, and limited access to basic necessities like healthcare and education"
I would say that's much more than moderately successful. $500k/year is a very large sum of money, and something even most very successful self-employed business owners don't touch.