Ford Mondeo is at an end?

[doubleyeller]

They're discontinuing it according to my sources.

A question that comes to my mind: if they went the same way as Vauxhall and brought back the old names ie Viva, would many go out and buy a mk6 Cortina?

[sierraman]

For many a Focus is big enough so what’s the point. I’ve had loads of Mondeos but I won’t be having another, I’ll go onto a Focus next as it’s plenty big enough.

[adw1977]

The Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy share a platform, apparently the plan is to discontinue all three.  It seems buyers no longer want cars that are large on the inside.

 

The current versions went on sale in 2014-15 so I expect Ford will continue making them for a few years yet to get the most out of their investment, but won't spend money on developing replacements.

[HMC]

They’ll have to rename a demographic in the electorate.

 

“A4 on PCP” man?

[Vince70]

My Ex had a newish Focus estate as a company car and I always thought it was A mondeo as the thing looked massive so I guess with the size of the thing it’s made

A mondeo redundant.

Also with the new generation of Ecotec engines I imagine it can’t be a nice drive being the size of an ocean liner with less than a 1000cc under the bonnet powering all those toys a modern has.

But the last Mondeos could be Autoshite gold in the future.

[Timewaster]

The boot of a Mondeo is significantly bigger than a focus.

Perfect for the traveling salesmen the sector was born to serve.

I had a focus estate and struggled to get all my work gear in it.

[GeordieInExile]

This is on the face of it a strange choice - the Focus has been, er, refocused to meet changing expectations and tastes (by looking more like an A Class/1 Series) and there's no reason why the Mondeo couldn't do likewise, surely. Even if people don't want hatches at this size (which ain't necessarily so anyway), a more premium feeling Mondeo saloon might make an attractive alternative to the usual German crap if priced attractively.

[Supernaut]

All this talk of the Focus getting so big the Mondeo is irrelevant makes me think in more general terms about cars getting bigger.

 

In the work car park I recently saw a current model VW Polo and a current model VW Golf next to each other. It took me a few seconds to tell the difference between them, as they were pretty much the same size!

[HMC]

It’s also about the power of brands. Merc can brand buses, cars of every segment, off roaders etc and it basically retains its integrity with the masses and they sell in numbers to make it viable. It’s a unique brand in that regard in many ways so perhaps an unfair comparison. But if it made financial sense they would persist with the mondeo as an entity but people want glamour and status on the never never at that sort of price level. A Mondeo is not a status symbol and that is what sells.

[Dick Longbridge]

It'll be sacked off and replaced by an EssYooVee. Apparently, the Mondeo is a bit Tony bLiar.

 

Telegraph today:

Ford faces mounting speculation that it is considering plans to slash costs by scrapping its Mondeo range of mid-market family cars and cutting up to 24,000 workers.

 

Thousands of staff who work for the car maker are at risk of redundancy while the famous ‘Mondeo Man’ which embodied an aspiring political class of voters under former Labour leader Tony Blair could be on his way out.

 

 

The Detroit car maker could slash up to 12pc of its global workforce in “deep and fundamental” plans being formulated in its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Many of the cuts are feared to come from the company’s European operations, particularly in Germany and Spain.

 

A spokesman for Ford said it is “focused on aggressively attacking costs” but would not comment on the potential job cuts. The deliberations were first reported by The Sunday Times. Final decisions are not expected for several months.

 

A fresh wave of cuts in the UK, where the company employs around 12,000 staff, would be likely to anger MPs and unions who last year condemned the business for “blindsiding” staff at an under-threat engine plant in Bridgend, Wales after Ford said it was reducing planned investment in the plant.

 

As well as trimming its workforce and cutting production of the Mondeo, Ford was said to be considering scrapping the Galaxy and S-Max people carriers in favour of more lucrative offroad-style “sports utility” vehicles and may chop a number of dealerships.

 

Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett 

Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett

Another radical option would be to move some or all of its European business into a joint venture with a rival such as Volkswagen.

 

A spokesman said that while the Mondeo market is slowing it “remains a core part of our product line-up in Europe” and there are no current changes planned to Ford’s products. Changes to consumer tastes mean that in recent years drivers have been swapping classic Mondeo cars with larger vehicles such as SUVs.

 

The potential changes have emerged months after the company said it would be cutting costs across engineering, marketing, manufacturing and sales between 2019 and 2022, saving a total of $25.5bn. It also said earlier this year that it would not invest in the next generations of traditional Ford sedans for North America.

 

The car giant, which was founded more than a century ago and has more than 200,000 staff, has been squeezed this year by higher aluminium and steel prices, a fall in demand for diesel-powered vehicles and the threat of Brexit on its most profitable market

[Cavcraft]

It's not all true about modern cars being biger than their 'ancestors' as the Mk1 Cavalier/Vectra C proved. The boot on the Mk1 Focus is pathetically small, how people with prams get on, God alone knows.

[doubleyeller]

I believe the Punto has also gone out of play recently. What's going to be the next long established model to bite the dust?

[SierraMikeHotel]

I'm in full agreement with HMC. The current Mondeo is a brilliant car but no matter how good it is, a Ford will never be as desirable in people's minds as a Merc or BMW.

 

A shame and I look forward to owning one in about ten years!

[Supernaut]

I'd love to see the figures on how many Mondeo Vignales they've sold.

[rantingYoof]

If the crossover phenomenon continues I struggle to see a future for virtually all large hatches, saloons and estates, with the exception of the premium* stuff.

 

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[Ghosty]

I'd love to see the figures on how many Mondeo Vignales they've sold.

They must have them on a deal as I've been seeing a load more Vignales of all models recently.

[sierraman]

There’s shit loads of them in America. I’m not sure therefore there is no market for them, at least not there anyway. Apparently Toyota are reintroducing the Camry as a 2.0 Hybrid here, sounds like the taxi cab par excellence. I’ve been in one in America and I’d love one, old style traditional saloon with the reliability of the Toyota hybrid system that as we all know NEVER goes wrong.

[Rave]

I reckon Ford will continue to make the Mondeo/Fusion or a successor for markets where large saloons are still reasonably popular, or developing markets, but I reckon its days in the UK and probably the rest of Europe are definitely numbered. It's just not worth the bother of them spending money on developing a car that's actually good when they sell so few of them; a 'white goods' model will probably continue to sell OK in less discriminating countries.

 

TBH the only way I can see cars like it making a comeback in the UK is if we have a financial crisis so severe that society at large repudiates taking on large amounts of debt for a flash motor (or anything else) for a generation. Being a financial Eeyore I still think there's a pretty good chance that will happen at some point, possibly quite soon, but even I recognize that a return to better motoring times would not make up for the general misery that would ensue.

[Kiltox]

I'd love to see the figures on how many Mondeo Vignales they've sold.

Actually saw one the other day in Gloucester - think it was a rental though

[HillmanImp]

I remember when they killed off the Granada/Scorpio.

 

The Cortina/Mondeo kept getting bigger until it eventually filled the hole that the Scorpio was meant to fit so they killed it off.

 

At the same time the Focus had grown so much it took the place of the Cortina/Mondeo and the Fiesta took the place of the Escort/Focus.

 

It's okay though as anyone who still wanted a Fiesta sized car could buy a Ka.

 

Several of the manufacturers have done it too. They keep making their cars bigger and then introduce another small car to replace the previous small car that is no longer small. Look at the VW Fox instead of a Polo, Vauxhall Agila instead of a Corsa, C1 to replace the AX/Saxo which became a C2/C3.

 

Are Ford Ka's large enough to warrant a small car under them in the line up yet then or is this going a different way?

[garethj]

If I was in charge at Ford the next model of Mondeo would look like a crossover and be electric or at least hybrid power. That’s enough reason to stop calling it the Mondeo.

 

We know how brand snobbery works in the UK against Ford but I’m not sure how much effect it has in mainland Europe or in the US. I think they’ll want to continue selling into that market segment because a Mondeo probably costs 5% more to build than a Focus but sells for 15% more.

[HMC]

Yeah in the uk mondeo seems short hand for “bloke next doors car” (look at my sig I don’t see a problem with that) and for a lot of uk buyers these days they’d rather be seen as a Swiss banker even though they are driving to Homebase for some shelving. Like the bloke next door.

[Timewaster]

I believe the Punto has also gone out of play recently. What's going to be the next long established model to bite the dust?

The Punto was axed because of its embarrassing crash performance.

It obviously doesn't sell in big enough numbers to warrant developing a new model.

 

Bloated 500s are Fiats mid range car now. I expect the Panda to fade away soon.

They are already pushing it on low price deals.

[Spottedlaurel]

There’s shit loads of them in America. I’m not sure therefore there is no market for them, at least not there anyway. Apparently Toyota are reintroducing the Camry as a 2.0 Hybrid here, sounds like the taxi cab par excellence. I’ve been in one in America and I’d love one, old style traditional saloon with the reliability of the Toyota hybrid system that as we all know NEVER goes wrong.

 

I was going to mention about the Avensis being dropped, but the silver lining being the Camry's reintroduction. I fear that there won't be an estate version however, I suppose they'll steer people like me towards some sort of SUV/crossover. That will then make it seem like the latter are more popular and the 'normal', non-German family car segment will slowly diminish as a result.

[sierraman]

Not a fan of the crossover SUV type thing, I can feel nothing but acute embarrassment at the thought of riding about in one. It just says to me ‘I’ve given up, I’m now waiting to waste away driving round in this massive blob from retail park to retail park then settle down in front of a television of an evening to watch brainless rubbish’

[jumpingjehovahs]

My brother has a 2017 Mondeo and it’s brilliant. Quiet, fast, comfortable and massive (longer and slightly wider than my Lexus RX). It’s a 180bhp TDCI so goes like shit off and get’s 47mpg even if he drives it like he’s nicked it. It’s got big alloys and a great pearl white paint so looks amazing.

 

For what most people need, it’ll do it.

 

However, it’s a company car and just not that cool. So he freely admits, for his own money it wouldn’t have been a Mondeo. Which is probably why it’s had it’s time. The Focus is big enough, and if it’s not people buy an Edge.

 

Seen below with my old Altea, for scale.

 

 

 

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[bolognasal spray]

they played a clip of tony blair's speech on the world at one and he actually said sierra not mondeo

[Sir Snipes]

I'm pretty sure the latest fiesta is as big as a C-Max.

[Datsuncog]

I'm pretty sure the latest fiesta is as big as a C-Max.

To counter that, I have it on good authority that the forthcoming third-generation C-Max will have roughly the same dimensions as a Terex Titan.

 

 

Still rumoured to have rubbish fuel economy, mind.

 

In seriousness though, I was quite surprised to return to my Mk2 Subaru Forester in Lidl's carpark the very first time I had it out, to find it being dwarfed by an adjacent new Renault Clio. Model inflation is weird.

[HMC]

they played a clip of tony blair's speech on the world at one and he actually said sierra not mondeo

Any yet IIRC in the late 1980/ early 90s he himself had a montego countryman.