A company spokesperson has told just-auto that Ford of Europe is planning to launch the all-new Mondeo in May 2013, following an unveiling at the Paris motor show.
The new Mondeo is the twin of the Fusion, an all-new large sedan which Ford is about to launch in the Americas. This car had its global debut at the Detroit motor show in January. The two cars are the latest example of One Ford, the ongoing project to sync the lifecycles of formerly regional products.
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The Fusion is available with 1.6- and 2.0-litre EcoBoost (direction injection, turbocharged, petrol) engines and these units are also expected to see service in the Mondeo. An updated, Euro 6-compliant range of diesels will also feature in the Mondeo. The Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi (EV) are not expected to have Mondeo equivalents for European markets, though Ford’s spokesperson says Ford of Europe is by no means ruling these cars out – it simply depends on the potential for sales.
A Ford source has, meanwhile, played down reports that the company’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost three-cylinder unit would be available in the Mondeo, telling just-auto that while such tests have taken place, such a variant would not necessarily be launched.
Ford of Europe is yet to state where it will manufacture the Mondeo but the current plant at Genk in Belgium is more or less guaranteed to be the location. The other existing Mondeo plants in China, Taiwan, Russia and Vietnam are also expected to switch over to the new car during 2013. The Fusion is built at the Hermosillo plant in Mexico, with cars also due to be made at AutoAlliance, Flat Rock in Michigan but not until 2013 – the Fusion will go down the line where the Mazda6 is currently made (Mazda is ending production at AutoAlliance).
As well as its new D-segment challenger, Ford of Europe is likely to reveal an updated Fiesta at the Paris show. This would be the car’s first restyle since its launch at the Geneva show in March 2008. A high performance ST variant will follow in Spring 2013, company sources have told j-a. Some of the changes were in fact previewed by the Fiesta ST concept, which had a notably different front end to the current Fiesta. The ST premiered as a three-door at the Frankfurt IAA last September and as a five-door at the Geneva show this March.
The facelifted Fiesta will likely not reach North America until that region’s 2014 model year: the 2013MY car was announced recently and is mostly carried over, with the changes limited to trim level names (SES is dropped and Titanium is new).
The updated Fiesta will be built in Europe only at Ford’s Niehl, Cologne (Germany) works: as announced in June 2011, Fiesta production at the Valencia plant in Spain will be phased out later this year. Other facilities which build the car – Nanjing (China); AutoAlliance, Rayong (Thailand); CSAP, Cuautitlán (Mexico); and Maraimalai Nagar, Chennai (India) – will launch the updated model from 2013. Ford do Brasil, which imports its ‘New Fiesta’ from Mexico, is expected to start building this latest, sixth generation car at its Camaçari plant from late 2012.
In other future product news for Ford of Europe vehicles, the Kuga is due to enter production at the Valencia plant from late 2012 – it effectively takes the place of the Fiesta. The same facility will build the second generation Transit Connect in 2013.
Author: Glenn Brooks
