Ford will drop its Mondeo midsize automobile in Europe and no alternative for the mannequin is deliberate, the automaker mentioned.

Manufacturing of the automobile at Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain, will finish in March 2022, the company said on Thursday. 

The transfer comes as prospects have more and more moved to SUV options, a Ford spokesman mentioned. 

“The market phase during which the Mondeo competes has been dwindling for years and is down about 80 p.c since 2000,” the spokesman informed Automotive Information Europe.

The Mondeo was Europe’s No. 4-selling midsize automobile final yr, however its quantity shrank by 48 p.c to 21,053 models, in keeping with figures from JATO Dynamics. The midsize phase as a complete declined by 29 p.c to 297,863 models as altering market tastes and coronavirus lockdowns saved prospects away.

The Mondeo has been offered as a hatchback, sedan and station wagon in Europe since 1993, with gross sales totaling round 5 million within the area since then, Ford mentioned. 

The automobile was a favourite with enterprise drivers, notably within the UK, Ford’s largest European market. In 1996, the British Labour Occasion used the phrase “Mondeo Man” to establish new self-made middle-class voters that it needed to win over in an upcoming common election.

Ford of Europe President Stuart Rowley informed Automotive Information Europe in a current interview that the corporate is prioritizing money-making segments in order that the automaker’s operations within the area are sustainably worthwhile.

“We see the place buyer demand goes,” he mentioned. “When you take a look at the segmentation now, small utility segments [SUVs] are rising. We need to put our capital within the rising elements of the market.”

Ford mentioned on February 17 that it’ll sell only full-electric passenger cars in Europe by 2030. It plans to supply plug-in variations of each car it sells by 2026 on the best way to changing into an all-electric model. 

Ford mentioned the Valencia manufacturing facility will proceed to construct the Galaxy and S-Max minivans after manufacturing of the Mondeo is stopped. The plant additionally produces the Kuga compact SUV.

Ford additionally confirmed that it’ll make investments a further 5.2 million euros ($6.2 million) into the Valencia plant to assist elevated battery pack meeting capability there following a 24 million euros funding introduced in January 2020. Manufacturing of the two.5-liter gasoline engine utilized in its hybrid Kuga, Galaxy and S-Max fashions might be moved to Valencia from Mexico in 2022, it mentioned.

The Volkswagen Passat was Europe’s top-selling midsize mannequin final yr, with gross sales down 7.4 p.c to 115,763, in keeping with JATO knowledge. The Skoda Excellent, at No. 2, noticed gross sales fall 13 p.c. Gross sales of the Peugeot 508, the No. 3 vendor, dropped by 48 p.c to 21,053.

VW will preserve solely the Passat station wagon when a brand new technology of the midsize automobile is due towards the top of 2023 for markets corresponding to Germany the place the physique type stays in style, sources acquainted with the plans informed Automotive Information Europe in November.

The Passat sedan might be dropped in Europe and the U.S. as VW will increase its concentrate on electrical automobiles and SUVs, the sources mentioned.