Ford Mondeo story finishes here as final cars mark the end of Mondeo production, although the nameplate will live on in China.
The Ford Mondeo as we know it is no more, as Ford has confirmed that the model has now ceased production in Europe. The Ford Mondeo left the Australian market in 2020.
A body engineer at Ford’s Valencia plant has shared an image of the last two Mondeos produced for the European market on networking site LinkedIn, with a caption reading (translated from Spanish): “Yesterday we had the farewell to the #Ford #Mondeo. The truth is that it is very sad to think that these have been the last two vehicles produced and that I will no longer see them at the plant.”
Following Ford Australia axing the Mondeo locally in 2020, it was confirmed that the Ford Mondeo sedan would be phased out of production in all markets by March 2022, with Ford citing changing customer demand as the reason for calling time on its previously big selling family car.
Ford had been hotly tipped to reinvent the Mondeo as a sleek crossover in 2022, but a statement from Ford reads: “While we do not comment on speculation concerning our product plans, we can state that we have no plans for a future Mondeo in Europe.”
The nameplate has at least returned, but not for a vehicle we’ll get in Europe. The new fifth-generation Mondeo is designed at Ford’s China Design Centre in Shanghai specifically for the Chinese market, where cars of its type are still in high demand. It’s expected to be built by Changan Ford alongside the Evos SUV.
It reflects a wider industry trend as family car buyers are turning to SUVs over traditional big hatchbacks and sedans. In 2020, 39 per cent of Ford’s sales were SUVs and crossovers. That’s an eight per cent increase from 2019 alone despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now Mondeo production has stopped in Valencia, and the company will use the extra production capacity to manufacture the 2.5-litre hybrid engine used in models such as the Ford Escape PHEV, and hybrid versions of the Galaxy and S-Max people carriers sold in Europe.
Also, from late 2022, Valencia will expand with increased battery manufacturing capacity. Battery assembly for the brand’s growing line-up of electrified vehicles has been taking place at the site since last September. Ford recently announced plans to repurpose its Cologne manufacturing plant into a build site for its next generation of electric vehicles.
Matt Robinson