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Ford Mondeo production in Europe will end next year, spelling the closure of yet another chapter for the marque in Europe-but perhaps not in China.
- Ford Mondeo production in Europe will end next March, after 29 years and five generations in production.
- Sedans have seen a sharp retreat in customer demand in several key markets, with the exception of China where Ford currently offers four sedans.
- Ford of Europe has seen a rough 10 years, cutting several models and signaling that it would focus on SUVs and crossovers.
After almost three decades, Ford will cease production of the Mondeo next March in yet another retreat from the passenger car segment in Europe. The culprit, once again, is the shift toward SUVs and crossovers among car buyers that has placed once-safe segments into jeopardy, even among models developed as global offerings. This means that Ford will be without a midsize sedan model in Europe and a number of other markets, just as its two smaller hatchbacks, the Focus and Fiesta, also approach the end of their product cycles there.
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Offered in sedan and station wagon form, the Mondeo has seen five generations since its debut in 1993, and was originally offered stateside as the Ford Contour and the Mercury Mystique. Later, the Mondeo took the form of the Ford Fusion, which was finally axed in North America last July. The end of Fusion production effectively closed the door on Ford's sedan offerings in the US, with Taurus production having ended about a year and a half prior. Ford had announced that it would phase out most of its passenger cars in favor of crossovers and SUVs.
The planned end of Mondeo production in Europe is merely a continuation of that trend. Even successful sedans like the Honda Accord have had to dial back production to meet declining demand.
The impending end of the line for the Mondeo again puts the spotlight on the possible crossover alternatives, which in Europe are a more varied bunch and include models like the Puma, a subcompact crossover that isn't offered stateside. The Valencia, Spain, plant that produced the Mondeo for the European market plans to switch to SUV production, so the Puma might soon see some siblings as Ford fills out its European lineup.
Is this the end of all Ford sedans?
Not quite, because there's still the Chinese market, which has been particularly receptive to this body style for quite some time-and also offers the Escort and Focus sedans. That's right, the Escort returned a couple of years ago as a China-only model, but the Mondeo will stay in production there as well, as will a modernized version of the Taurus, which is also produced locally. This means that China currently has four Ford sedans to choose from, while the US has zero. It's not a picture that many would have predicted a short 10 years ago. The bigger question may be just how much longer the Chinese market will remain welcoming to sedans.
Will we see a Ford sedan of any size return to the US in this decade, possibly as an EV competitor to the Tesla Model 3? Let us know in the comments below.