Released in 1992, the first-generation Ford Mondeo was on of Ford’s most important models during the 1990s
In October 2020 Ford Motor shared in a press release their intention to switch to 100 percent full hybrid powertrains which included its Mondeo range.
Then, yesterday the, 25th of March, Ford announced the full retirement of the Mondeo range from the Ford Europe lineup after 29 years in production. Ford announced the end of Mondeo production date at their Valencia plant, in Spain which will be at the end of March 2022. There is still a year of Mondeo production before the factory will change it direction.
Mondeo History
Released in 1992, the first-generation Ford Mondeo was on of Ford’s most important models during the 1990s and it was Ford’s ‘world car’.
It was particularly popular in England, where it helped Ford earn a significant slice of the local sedan market share, where some 118,040 units were sold in 1995, a number which put the Mondeo in third place on the United Kingdom’s sales chart, behind the Ford Escort (137,760 sales) and the Ford Fiesta (129,574 sales).
Ford produced a total of 5 million units of the Mondeo in its lifetime. However, with changing consumer tastes, in 2020, 39 percent of Ford’s passenger car sales were SUVs and crossovers, eight percent more than in 2019. Last year, Ford sold just 2,400 units of the Mondeo.
Kuga Revival
The automaker will therefore highlight more its SUVs in coming years to cater to changing consumer taste. In 2020, it revived the Ford Kuga SUV nameplate and launched the big Explorer SUV. In addition, by 2021 the Mustang Mach-E, another SUV and Ford’s first electric model, will finally reach dealerships. Then there is the revival of the Bronco, which is rumored to arrive in Malaysia and ASEAN.
Ford will however still continue to produce and market the S-Max and Galaxy MPV’s, which are also assembled in Valence. To boost sales of these MPV’s, Ford will electrify them like with their SUVs, starting with a simple hybrid version.
Duratec Expansion
The powertrain will probably be the Ford 2.5 Duratec hybrid engine and it will also be assembled in Valencia from the end of 2022 (it is currently produced in Mexico). So, the Kuga PHEV, plus the regular hybrid Kuga and hybrid versions of the Galaxy and S-Max multi people carriers, will continue being produced for the foreseeable future.
When the Mondeo retires, Ford’s European range will be sedan-free for the first time in decades. Hatchback models will be reduced to just two, the Fiesta and the Focus, while the only wagon left in the lineup will be the Focus.
Valencia Expansion
From late 2022, the Valencia factory will expand with increased battery manufacturing capacity with an investment of 5.2 million euros. Battery assembly for the brand’s growing line-up of electrified vehicles has been taking place at the site since last September with new increased investment of 24 million euros.
EV Platform Sharing
Ford recently announced plans to repurpose its Cologne manufacturing plant into a build site for its next generation of electric vehicles. Currently this is where England’s most popular new car, the Ford Fiesta is being made, however from 2023 onwards it will see all-electric Fords using the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform rolling off their production line.
