New 2022 Ford Mondeo revealed for Chinese market
Ford Mondeo family car gets big makeover for fifth generation, but it won’t go on sale in Europe
The Mondeo badge is back - but not in Britain. Ford has revealed a new generation of its iconic family car that’s due to hit roads in 2022, but the model will not go on sale in the UK, in Europe or in the USA, and is for China only.
Designed by Ford’s China Design Centre in Shanghai specifically for Chinese customers, it will be built by Changan Ford, likely alongside the new Evos SUV that was rumoured for a while to be the Mondeo’s successor. It’s also likely that the new Mondeo will share the Evos’ platform.
It takes plenty of design inspiration from the Evos SUV, sharing the same design language as Changan Ford’s other new model. A bold front grille is joined by an LED lighting bar running along the trailing edge of the bonnet, which links the two daytime running light clusters.
Beneath them sit the main headlight units, while the car has a similar swooping coupe-like roofline. The rear end of the car is more traditional, with larger tail-lights that draw inspiration from the Mustang, taking the place of the C-shaped elements found on the Evos.
The brand points to some of the premium touches it has designed into the new model, such as flush pop-out door handles and the gloss black fascia linking the rear lights. The brand says it is 63mm longer and 23mm wider than the outgoing model, the Mondeo Mk4, while the wheelbase has grown by 104mm, creating additional space in the rear.
Officially, Ford has not shown the interior of the car, though it is likely to rely on a cabin architecture shared with the Evos. This would mean high-spec versions of the Mondeo will come with a full-width digital dashboard comprising a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and a separate touchscreen, spanning up to 27-inches diagonally. The infotainment screens use Chinese software, called SYNC 2.0, developed locally by Chinese multinational tech company Baidu.
No engine details have been revealed, although leaked homologation documents from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Technology suggest that two engines are being readied: a 1.5-litre motor and a 2.0-litre petrol unit, with the latter producing 238bhp.
The Mondeo has been on sale in China since 2002, introduced with a local-market version of the second generation car built in Chongqing. Production of the current-generation model will cease in Europe in March, and it will not be replaced with a new car for this market.
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