Mondeo wagon to power midsize relaunch

Ford will take on Commodore Sportwagon and seek to reinvigorate its stalled midsizer with the launch of the new Mondeo wagon in the third quarter of 2009.

Due to arrive in dealerships "in the next few months" according to local Ford boss Marin Burela, the Mondeo wagon will be the focal point of the nameplate's relaunch Down Under and seeks to win both private and fleet sales for the underperforming midsizer.

Critically acclaimed for its great on-road manners, excellent packaging and strong performance, the European-built Mazda6 and Honda Euro competitor has not bothered the sales leaders in the midsize segment. Launched Down Under in late 2007 in sedan and hatch variants, the car has struggled to get sales traction and has often been the subject of heavy discounting.

But local Blue Oval chief Burela has big hopes for the relaunched Mondeo -- in particular the wagon version, which the company displayed at Melbourne Motor Show earlier this year.

He told the Carsales Network that Ford would use the stylish new wagon to "take our first shot across the bow" of Commodore's Sportwagon.

"[The Mondeo wagon] Is a very classy car in terms of packaging, performance, fuel economy, styling. We think it will be a tremendous competitor to the Sportwagon A real surprise and delight to the market," Burela said.

Mr Burela defended Ford Australia's performance with the late 2007 / early 2008 launch of the Mondeo, but admitted the brand had low-balled the sales targets for the car.

"We were very limited in terms of funds [for the original launch] so what we said [is] we will focus the car on the private sector only and this [x] is the target we will set and that's exactly what happened... The target being very small admittedly, but the team met the target.

"Now what we've done is we've redefined what we want to achieve with Mondeo and we're doing that on the back of bringing in the wagon and then relaunching the sedan at the same time," Burela explained.

"We're starting now to launch a campaign on Mondeo holistically -- sedan and wagon... So when we start moving I think what you'll start to see is some real momentum -- not just in the private sector but in the non-private sector... In which we haven't participated [to date]."

Ford is being tight-lipped about its exact plans for the revised Mondeo range. Though the sedan model will remain part of the Mondeo line-up, Ford sources say the hatch will be the main focus of the non-wagon business. Though Burela did not mention the hatch is his dissertation, insiders have since confirmed that the five-door is a 'keeper'. At relaunch Mondeo will echo the likes of Mazda's 6 which offers sedan, hatch and wagons across a graduated model walk. Expect the sedan, however, to be fleet-focussed. 

Unlike Mazda, Ford has the advantage of offering a diesel-auto combo in the Mondeo -- this is likely to be a popular wagon variant. If, however, the company is serious about grabbing private buyers from Holden's Sportwagon, it will almost certainly need to offer a range-topping sports luxury style XR5 variant.

In the UK around $2200 separates equivalent wagon and hatch models. A similar premium would see a 'theoretical' range-topping Mondeo XR5 wagon priced at around $46,200 plus government and dealer charges. By way of comparison Holden is currently offering its Sportwagon SV6 from $41,990 driveaway.

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