Ford has announced that production of the Mondeo at its Spanish plant is set to end in March 2022 as buyers continue to migrate towards crossovers.
In a statement detailing its plans for the Valencia plant, the Blue Oval brand confirmed the impending end of the line for the Mondeo, which is offered in saloon, fastback and estate form in Europe.
“As a result of this growing change in customer preference, Ford will phase out the Mondeo, its large car, at the end of March next year [2022]. Ford’s other large crossover and multi-purpose vehicles – the seven-seat Ford Galaxy and Ford S-Max – will continue in production, with full hybrid versions of both recently launched,” the statement read.
Launched back in 1993, the Mondeo was the first Ford vehicle to be billed as a “global car”. Since its launch in Europe, where it replaced the Sierra, Mondeo sales have reached “around five million”, according to the company.
Separately, a Ford spokesperson suggested to Automotive News Europe the Mondeo had been fighting for a slice of what had fast become a tiny (midsize car) pie.
“The market segment in which the Mondeo competes has been dwindling for years and is down about 80 percent since 2000,” the spokesperson pointed out.
Of course, the Mondeo nameplate is one not unfamiliar to South Africans, even if the final generation to be offered locally wore the Fusion badge instead. That latter model was discontinued here towards the end of 2017, with production eventually ending for North America in 2020, too.
Before its demise in South Africa, the Fusion was available locally with either a 1,5-litre EcoBoost engine, a 2,0-litre EcoBoost unit or a 2,0-litre TDCi powerplant.
