New Ford Mondeo to debut in 2021 with leaf springs at the rear – report
An online parts document has seemingly confirmed the next-generation Mondeo will be unveiled late next year.
Despite declining interest in its market segment, the Ford Mondeo name looks as though it will live to fight on.
A parts tooling catalogue spotted by Autocar on Ford's European website shows a specialist tool designed to remove the rear leaf spring from a “2022 model year Mondeo CD542”.
The leaf spring design would, presumably, allow for improved hybrid or plug-in hybrid battery packaging. Currently hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the Fusion/Mondeo sacrifice large amounts of luggage space in order to accommodate their drivetrain batteries.
According to the catalogue, the new Mondeo will launch in Europe during the third quarter of 2021. CD542 was the model code originally given to the successor of the Ford Fusion sedan in North America.
A direct replacement for the Fusion is no longer on the cards because Ford's North American arm will soon only sell SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks, in addition to the Mustang sports car.
Last year spy photos emerged of an engineering mule with taller-than-usual suspension, a wagon body, and disfigured panels largely borrowed from a Focus.
Those photos give credence to rumours Ford is planning to use the Mondeo name for a Subaru Outback-style wagon based on a stretched and widened version of the platform employed by the latest Focus and Escape.
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