2013 Ford Mondeo production delayed

It’s reported that the 2013 Ford Mondeo – due to debut at the Paris Motor Show in September – will not go in to production until Q3 2013.

The 2013 Ford Mondeo – which is pretty much the same car as the new Ford Fusion in the US – was expected to arrive at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

That it didn’t was a bit odd, especially as it’s colonial cousin, the 2013 Ford Fusion, was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

It now seems that Ford plans to debut the new Mondeo at Paris in September, and were scheduled to start building the new Mondeo at its plant in Genk, Belgium, from April 2013. But it seems that plan has, just like its debut, been pushed back.

Automotive News Europe report a Ford spokesperson saying that “we are working through various issues to ensure a robust, high quality launch”, which is a reasonable statement – no one wants the new Mondeo to launch unless it’s bullet proof – but seems odd when the 2013 Fusion is expected in showrooms in North America in September 2012 – a full year before European Mondeos are likely to arrive.

Still, when the 2013 Mondeo does finally arrive it should be an appealing car. With its ‘Aston Martin’ grill, a range of powerful and economical Ecoboost petrols and frugal diesels, hopefully a 4WD option and a plug-in hybrid version too, it will be a better car than its sales will credit.

But it has to arrive first.