European Ford Mondeo out of production, just short of its 30th birthday

By Lukas Müller On Apr 15, 2022

The once very popular mid-size model fell victim to crossovers, it will not have a successor in Europe.

The Ford Mondeo is well known and loved by many lately, the first generation of this model was put into production in the fall of 1992, and in 1994 won the title of European Car of the Year. Despite the rather ordinary appearance, the “first” Mondeo was warmly received by the press and the market due to its good balance of consumer qualities and excellent handling, annual sales in Europe in the 90s exceeded 300 thousand units per year.

Ford Mondeo first generation

The second generation Mondeo was a little less popular, and the “third”, which was also produced recently, was already under pressure from strong and massive crossovers, losing customers year after year. The fourth and final generation Mondeo for Europe debuted in 2012 and has not been officially sold recently. The “fourth” Mondeo went through the last update in 2019, the engine line was cut in 2020, in the spring of 2021 it became known that the production of this model would soon be discontinued, but without an exact date, and today the German magazine auto motor und sport reported, that Mondeo production at Ford's Valencia, Spain plant was halted at the end of March (if they had lasted until autumn, they could have celebrated 30 years on the assembly line.

Ford Mondeo fourth generation

The peak of sales of the “fourth” Mondeo in Europe, according to the resource CarSalesBase, fell on 2015, when 79,673 copies were sold. Last year, sales were only 13,481 units against 82,488 units of the segment leader, the VW Passat. Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year, the European VW Passat lost its sedan version (the station wagon is still in service), and at the end of February, another European mid-size passenger car Renault Talisman was discontinued.

Fifth generation Ford Mondeo for China

The segment of mid-size cars is melting before our eyes, and soon only premium-class models will remain in it. The Opel Insignia will be a crossover in the next generation, while Mazda has abandoned the new generation Six. There are no longer traditional passenger models in Ford's American lineup. But non-premium sedans, liftbacks and even station wagons are still in demand in China: here Mondeo not only survived, but also went into a new fifth generation, made on an extended Focus C2 platform. Unfortunately, the launch of the “fifth” Mondeo outside of China is not expected, and the plant in Valencia will be redesigned for the production of hybrid power plants.