Ford has inadvertently confirmed it will launch a fifth-generation Mondeo via an internal document published on an official European website.
The document, posted on a website for Ford's dealer network and picked up by
, revealed a new Mondeo is the works because it references a tool for the rear axle assembly for the "2022 model year Mondeo CD542."Internally, the CD542 codename was originally the secret designation for the replacement for the North American Fusion but that model was subsequently cancelled.
Now it seems the codename lives on as the fifth instalment of the Mondeo – but not as we know it.
According to reports, prototype Mondeos have been spotted running around Europe with a jacked-up ride height and lengthened Ford Focus Active wagon body.
This has led to suggestions the next Mondeo, which is set to be launched in Europe in the third quarter of 2021, will be a crossover or SUV.
Using the long-running passenger car nameplate on an SUV would not be unprecedented for Ford, which has applied the Mustang name to its first electric SUV, the Mustang Mach-E.
That makes sense considering the insatiable appetite for SUVs, both globally and in Australia, where Ford chose not to launch Europe's latest facelifted Mondeo and sales of the existing hatch and wagon have almost come to a standstill.
Curiously, the tool listed for the 2022 Mondeo is to remove a rear leaf spring.
This suggests the next Mondeo could either shift to the Aussie-engineered Ranger T6 platform or, more likely, it will employ compact transverse-mounted composite springs like the Volvo S90 and V90 wagon.
It's believed the the reason for the less sophisticated rear suspension is that engineers need to package the batteries required for a plug-hybrid version that could offer a pure-electric range of up to 70km.
Set to borrow the Ford Escape's 150kW 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol, with a larger battery than the small SUV's 10.3kWh unit, the next Mondeo could push out as much as 220kW.
As well as a plug-in Mondeo, mild-hybrid petrol and diesel versions are also believed to be in development.