2015 Mondeo on the way

Capri

I'm not impressed that the 'new' Mondeo is coming THREE years after it's US version went on sale

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/ford/mondeo/first-drives/2014-ford-mondeo-first-drive-review?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=Enews%20bulletins&utm_content=link2_html&utm_source=20141009

Ford's excuse - ' However, the European Mondeo is arriving here a full three years after its American cousin went on sale, due to alterations to production plans.
It also arrives after what we’re told is significant revisions to make it palatable for a European audience. This ‘tailoring’ in Ford-speak includes substantial changes to the chassis, improvements to interior quality, new engine options and additional body styles.'

However, expect good deals on old-model Mondeos on the showroom floors

For Forks Sake

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057281366

fmcg_scribe

Capri wrote: »

I'm not impressed that the 'new' Mondeo is coming THREE years after it's US version went on sale

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/ford/mondeo/first-drives/2014-ford-mondeo-first-drive-review?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=Enews%20bulletins&utm_content=link2_html&utm_source=20141009

Ford's excuse - ' However, the European Mondeo is arriving here a full three years after its American cousin went on sale, due to alterations to production plans.
It also arrives after what we’re told is significant revisions to make it palatable for a European audience. This ‘tailoring’ in Ford-speak includes substantial changes to the chassis, improvements to interior quality, new engine options and additional body styles.'

However, expect good deals on old-model Mondeos on the showroom floors

Arguably, you missed the key paragraph in that Autocar review:
"It is also centre stage in a class that is rapidly declining as private and company buyers alike are finding more favour in SUVs, small premium saloons and increasingly spacious cars from the class below."

This change to the family saloon segment has been going on since the late 1990s. There are long term changes happening across many car market segments.

In the background too many volume car makers find it hard to make profits, so there is a constant quest to save money and reuse components. The new Mondeo probably got caught up in organisational changes in Ford and the lack of focus on the European car market because car sales in Europe generally have been flat for several years.

Markcheese

"This change to the family saloon segment has been going on since the late 1990s. There are long term changes happening across many car market segments."

What segment is a mondeo in ... It's a big car now . (Compared to when it first appeared )

bazz26

The same segment it has always been in. Each segment as a whole gets bigger.

fmcg_scribe

Markcheese wrote: »

"This change to the family saloon segment has been going on since the late 1990s. There are long term changes happening across many car market segments."

What segment is a mondeo in ... It's a big car now . (Compared to when it first appeared )

Mondeo, Passat, Insignia, Avensis, and Mazda 6 (to name but four) are all in the family saloon segment. However, in terms of size, they also overlap the compact executive segment (3 series, C class, A4, and so on), so as incomes have been growing and car financing options have become more exotic, more people have been moving "up" from those family saloons to compact exec cars. In the UK, the 3 series has been among the top 10 selling cars for some time, mainly because of this trading up.

That said, a bigger threat to the family saloon segment is the growth of the compact SUV segment, and the volume brands like Ford are contesting that but perhaps some of the other volume brands like Nissan are having more success there.

For BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, things are looking bleak in terms of long term prospects for large executive saloons, such as the 7 series, A8, and the S class. Although those models are flagships for those brands, sales figure fromm China and U.S. can't hide the fact that demand from private buyers for those cars is declining because people are trading down and luxury SUV sales seem to be more recession proof. That explains why the German brands have building up their SUV ranges, why BMW has dusted off plans to build an X7, why a high end spec Range Rover will be launched, why Bentley is building an SUV, and so on.