After 9 years, Changan Ford has finally ushered in a replacement. This time, Mondeo's identity is no longer a global car, but a Chinese special car. On March 18, Changan Ford's new generation of Mondeo officially opened pre-sale, and the pre-sale guidance price was 159,800-219,800 yuan.
For Changan Ford, the new generation of Mondeo and its importance, can even be said to be an important part of whether it can return to the peak. According to the data, Changan Ford's sales reached a peak of 940,000 vehicles in 2016. However, after 2017, Changan Ford experienced Waterloo, although sales began to return to the positive in 2020, achieved a slow pace, and handed over 300,000 vehicles in 2021, but only reached one-third of the peak period.
In recent years, Changan Ford has been adjusting its strategy to try to counterattack, and the new generation of Mondeo specially supplied by China is actually the landing of the "Ford China 2.0 Strategy". The strategy was released in 2019, when Ford proposed the localization concept of "more Ford, more China". Therefore, the new generation of Mondeo for China's special supply has made many adjustments in terms of price, design, space, and intelligence around the preferences of Chinese consumers, bringing a new experience that is more in line with the needs of the Chinese market than the old models.
Judging from the pre-sale price, the new generation of Mondeo is still quite sincere. According to statistics, the pre-price of the new generation of Mondeo is not only lower than that of Dongfeng Nissan Tianlai, GAC Honda Accord, GAC Toyota Camry, FAW-Volkswagen Maiteng, SAIC Volkswagen Passat and other first-line joint venture B-class cars with high sales, but also lower than models such as Beijing Hyundai Sonata and Dongfeng Yueda Kia K5.
Entering the market at a low price is only the first step for the new generation of Mondeo to open up the Chinese market again, and more sincerity is reflected in product design and value.
It is reported that the "potential energy aesthetics" design adopted by the new generation of Mondeo integrates the century-old aesthetic accumulation of the Ford brand with the local cutting-edge trend, and the previous tilting posture, sharp lines, and flexible profiles bring a visual effect of rigidity and softness. At the same time, the new generation of Mondeo also has a lot of humanized design, for example, when the owner with a key or Bluetooth mobile phone close to the vehicle, the welcome induction system "Wolong Awakening" will be lit from the inside to the outside of the front / tail lights in turn, giving the owner a full sense of ceremony.
In order to further cater to the Chinese consumers' pursuit of large space, the body size of the new generation of Mondeo has been fully upgraded, with a length, width and height of 4935/1875/1500mm, and a wheelbase of 2945mm; compared with the old model, the length, width and height have increased by 62/23/30mm, and the wheelbase has been lengthened by 95mm; in the same class of models, this body size is also at the leading level.
Intelligence and a sense of technology have become important indicators for many Chinese consumers to measure the value of a model. The new generation of Mondeo is equipped with a 1.1-meter ultra-wide area HD giant screen, which integrates a 12.3-inch full-color digital LCD dashboard and a 27-inch ultra-large true 4K central control screen; equipped with the latest generation of car-machine system SYNC+2.0 Zhixing Interconnection System, which integrates Baidu artificial intelligence technology and rich Internet application ecology, supports multi-touch, AI speech recognition, gesture control, facial recognition and other multi-dimensional interaction methods, combined with Ford's visual virtual artificial intelligence assistant VPA Zhixing partner, can continuously learn the preferences of car owners.
At the same time, the new generation of Mondeo is also equipped with Ford's new generation co-Pilot360 intelligent driving assistance system, equipped with advanced visual perception system, equipped with 23 sensor configurations, can achieve up to 18 intelligent driving assistance configurations, including L2 active driving assistance function - BlueCruise active driving assistance function. In addition, the vehicle is equipped with Ford's first mass-produced vehicle-to-road coordination system, which is based on cellular vehicle networking (C-V2X) technology, which connects the vehicle to the urban intelligent transportation system and enhances the vehicle's perception of road infrastructure such as traffic lights.
At the same time of "more China", the new generation of Mondeo has not lost the genes of the century-old Ford brand in control. According to reports, the new generation of Mondeo is equipped with Ford's fourth-generation Ecoboost 2.0T engine, rated at 175kW, peak torque of 376N·m, matching the upgraded 8AT gearbox, with standard/energy-saving/sport three driving modes, maintaining its consistent advantage in power.
For a long time, the competition in the B-class car market has been very fierce, and Mondeo itself has also sold more than 10,000 vehicles a month, but with the passage of time, the delayed Mondeo has gradually lost the love of Chinese consumers. According to the data, in 2021, although Mondeo's annual sales have increased compared with 2020, there are still only 33,000 vehicles, which is still a big gap from the peak; the monthly sales in February this year are only 25 vehicles.
Just when Mondeo is struggling to support at the end of the product life cycle, other major models in the B-class car market have basically completed a new round of replacement, such as the seventh generation of Nissan Tianlai, the eighth generation Camry, the tenth generation accord, etc. have all been listed, and even launched mid-term redesign models. In the face of competition, it depends on whether the new generation of Mondy, which entered the market at a low price, can withstand the pressure and help Changan Ford usher in a real reversal.
Text/Wen Chong
Editor/Chen Zhengzhong