More Rumors Suggest The Ford Mondeo Will Be Discontinued

ord has officially denied rumors about killing the Mondeo and the closely related S-Max and Galaxy MPVs in Europe. "We currently have our strongest-ever vehicle range in Europe. While we regularly evaluate our future product plans based on customer preferences and trends, there are no changes at this time. Mondeo remains a core part of our product line-up in Europe. We have upgrades coming for Mondeo later this year, which will see new powertrains as well as exterior and interior updates as well as enhancements to the Mondeo Hybrid range."

The automaker has also described the information about possible job cuts as "pure speculation."

Ford has made it clear that it has no intentions to develop a next-generation Fusion sedan for the American market. The demise of the model has raised questions about the fate of its European sibling, the Mondeo, and now a new report indicates it could be facing the chopping block.

While a Ford  spokesman previously declared that "the Ford Mondeo remains a core part of our product lineup in Europe," it seems the Blue oval company is changing its mind and could axe the mid-market family car. According to the Telegraph, the automaker plans to kill the entire Mondeo range in an attempt to reduce its costs on the continent. What's more, the closely related S-Max and Galaxy MPVs could also be axed in favor of more SUV and crossover offerings.

Ford wants to save no less than $25 billion in the next four to five years and, to achieve that, it will significantly reduce its engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and sales costs. This will affect mainly its European workforce as, according to The Sunday Times, up to 24,000 workers in Great Britain, Germany, and Spain could be laid off. The firm is "focused on aggressively attacking costs," but the potential job cut hasn't been confirmed yet.

The wildest speculations even suggest Ford could move some or even all its European business into a new joint venture with a rivaling company. Contrary to older reports, a complete abandonment of the European market is believed not to be in the cards at this point.

For the time being, the Mondeo is still safe, as Ford is working hard on a facelift for the model. It should be released by the end of the year or early next year and bring a number of design improvements and changes to the engine lineup. The automaker now has a new automatic gearbox and a range of diesel engines, which should find their way into the revised Mondeo.