Ford Mondeo to die in 2022 after 29 years

Ford Europe has confirmed that production of its Mondeo sedan and wagon will end in March 2022, when the nameplate is set to be retired for good.

Launched back in 1993 and living for five generations, the Mondeo's huge popularity has dwindled -- so much so that it was discontinued in Australia last year.

Despite a drop-off in demand for traditional family sedans and wagons, in Europe Ford sold a remarkable five million Mondeos, a success never replicated in Australia, with Ford's rival to the Volkswagen Passat enduring a rocky relationship with buyers here.

Introduced in 1996, the Mondeo was dropped in 2001 before being reinstated again in 2007. The fourth-generation was then relaunched Down Under in 2015 before the whole range was streamlined to just a few variants in 2019 just months before being quietly dropped after it was announced the final facelift of the current fifth-gen model wouldn't make it here.

It was thought Ford was hatching plans to replace the Mondeo with an overt crossover-coupe-shaped vehicle but Ford Europe has now confirmed that car will not be named the Mondeo and that the current model will not be replaced.

Blaming "changing customer preferences" for the decision, Ford said it was "evolving our passenger vehicle range in Europe to meet changing customer needs as we move to an electric future".

Last year in Europe, Ford said that 39 per cent of all vehicles sold were SUVs and crossovers – an eight per cent year-on-year increase.

With the Mondeo's departure, Ford now sells just the Focus hatch and the Fiesta light hatch – with only the latter sold in the ST performance guise in Australia.

With both models set to be pensioned off in 2023 or 2024, it's thought they will be replaced by plug-in hybrids or even full pure-electric versions ahead of the upcoming combustion engine ban in countries like the UK.

Ford has already declared that by 2030 its entire line-up will be battery-powered.