[Eshan Joshi]

After Ford ended production of the US-spec Fusion last year, its European sibling will suffer the same fate at the end of March 2022. The Blue Oval has announced plans to terminate assembly of the midsize sedan/liftback and wagon at its Valencia plant in Spain due to "growing change in customer preference." Long story short, the rise of crossovers and SUVs has gradually diminished the demand for sedans and wagons.

Launched in 1993 as a Sierra replacement, the Mondeo has racked up approximately five million sales in Europe. While it's undoubtedly sad to see it go, the writing was on the wall for a long time. According to a Ford spokesperson cited by Automotive News Europe, "the market segment in which the Mondeo competes has been dwindling for years and is down about 80 percent since 2000."

Once a star of Ford's Euro lineup, the Mondeo could be followed by main rival Volkswagen Passat as the sedan version of the once hugely successful German model will allegedly be discontinued as well. The VW Group has confirmed a next-generation model, but reports say it will be sold exclusively as a wagon. A next-gen Skoda Superb has been announced, so people not into SUVs will still have a traditional model in the midsize segment. The Peugeot 508 and Opel/Vauxhall Insignia are also available, along with several premium sedans, so not all is lost in this segment.

Bear in mind the Mondeo is not going away entirely as Ford is still selling the car in China where it was updated last year with a massive 12.8-inch vertical screen.

For More:
https://www.motor1.com/news/496717/f...-announcement/

[TrackDay]

Sad indeed. Each time a sedan goes to death, an iconic model nameplate is laid to rest. It feels like Lightning McQueen in cars 3 (2017) wondering which would be the last sedan to be sold. Back to the Mondeo, the car was sold in the second Generation MK3 avatar in India for a while if I remember. Any owners here ?

Ford Mondeo 1993-2022


This is what Mr. Bond drove in the Bahamas before getting those Aston Martins (Casino Royale 2006)

[Eshan Joshi]

I just remembered The Grand Tour's send of to the Mondeo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckwHQL3eSRM

And the sentence:

When mick Jagger dies that will be sad . But when your mate dies ..... that is heart breaking .

And the Mondeo ST , the only car Jezza , May and the Hamster all like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jepdcLdk4vs

[Jeroen]

I had a Ford Mondeo. It was my third company car, must have been around mid 1990s or thereabouts. Very nice car, made for a great family saloon and it went like stink!!

I remember taking the whole family to Legoland in Denmark, from our then home in the south of the Netherlands. We left Sunday morning early, within an hour we made it to the German border and onto the unrestricted Autobahn. With two adults, three kids and packed to the gills I put the hammer down. Wife and kids were still sleeping. I had 240 km/h on the speedometer for almost two hours before I had to lift because of the Danish border. Never again did I manage such a long high speed run. Wife and the kids woke up as I was braking for the Danish border.

Not all, but several of the Mondeo variant had great chassis and outstanding performance in terms of road holding. For many people here in Europe it was the ultimate sales rep mobile home. But it was a really good car.

I had a Ford Sierra before the Mondeo, but the Mondeo was much, much better. Lots of Fords offer great chassis, great handling for ordinary saloon money. That is one of the reasons we still have a Fiesta and a Focus.

Jeroen

[shancz]

This car will remain in my teenage dreams list, 2nd gen Duratec HE to be precise. Fan of the understated elegance which masked what the car was capable of.

I would've wished they revive it all new but Ford know the feasibility better than me.

Bidding goodbye and a standing ovation.

[DicKy]

With the long running sedanocalypse, Queens' "Another one bites the dust" comes to mind.

While for us in India it was a short lived niche luxury car, in Europe it had the image and sales of a proper family car. If I am right, Jeremy Clarkson in his columns would regularly put the Mondeo alongwith the Fiesta, Golf, 320D, S class and Range Rover as cars that kind of make their competition meaningless in their respective segments (in the UK market)

Slowly, it makes the Asian manufacturers as the last bastion of mainstream sedans. (German Big3 are in another sphere). But with even Toyota stopping the venerable Crown, nothing is holy anymore.

Customer is king.

[Venkatesh]

Ford Mondeo reborn as sleek five-door fastback for China.

While European sales of the new Mondeo have been ruled out by Ford, suggestions are it could be sold in the US as a replacement for the Fusion, although details on where North American models would be sourced is yet to be confirmed by Ford.

Chinese market models are planned to offer a choice between turbocharged 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines, the latter offering up to 238bhp.

Set to begin deliveries in China during the second quarter of 2022, the new four-door saloon will be produced in a joint venture between Ford and Chinese firm Changan in Chongqing.

Source