A automobile that grew to become the byword for a sure sort of British motorist will probably be phased out subsequent 12 months after 29 years in manufacturing.

The Ford Mondeo was launched within the UK in 1993 and has bought 5 million since on the again of recognition with each households and executives.

However demand has shifted in direction of SUVs and lower-emission automobiles.

So manufacturing of the Mondeo will cease at Ford’s Valencia plant in early 2022, the corporate stated.

The American automobile big has been re-evaluating its enterprise mannequin because the motor trade shifts strikes in direction of zero-emission motoring.

Ford plans that every one its automobiles bought in Europe and the UK will probably be absolutely electrical by 2030, with each mannequin having a hybrid or electrical possibility by 2026.

“As we speak is one other step on Ford’s electrification journey, offering a bridge to an all-electric passenger automobile future,” stated Kieran Cahill, vice-president of producing at Ford of Europe.

However for a era of motorists it should sign the demise of an icon, because the Mondeo was at all times extra than simply an government saloon and property automobile.

On listening to the information the BBC’s enterprise correspondent Simon Jack tweeted: “This appears like the tip of a political period.”

That was a nod to the idea of the “Mondeo man”, popularised by Tony Blair on the Labour Get together Convention in October 1996.

It was a reference to the centrist, no-nonsense, hard-working voter that Blair hoped his then new imaginative and prescient for the Labour Get together might appeal to.

Whereas politics way back moved on from Blair’s imaginative and prescient, the Mondeo remained standard, however with dwindling gross sales annually.

Virtually 40% of Ford’s gross sales in Europe of passenger automobiles previously 12 months have been SUVs or crossovers, in contrast with 31% only a 12 months earlier, the corporate stated.

Time waits for no man. Not even Mondeo Man.

The Ford Mondeo was meant to be snug, economical, spacious and secure. Removed from flashy, however sufficient of a automobile to sit down proudly on suburban drives.

It was an emblem of hard-working aspiration. A favorite of gross sales reps the size and breadth of the nation. It was the sort of automobile that the sort of voters New Labour needed to draw would purchase. And so Mondeo Man was created.

However instances have modified. The household hatchback now appears outdated; aspirational drivers now need SUVs, or their smaller brethren, often called Crossovers.

So the Mondeo goes and Mondeo Man has taken his place in historical past – changed, little doubt, by SUV Steve, and Crossover Kate.