Ford hints at electric Mondeo

FORD’S next Mondeo might be powered by electricity, judging from a fresh trademark application lodged in Australia by Ford Motor Company.

The application for the name Mondeo Evos was lodged with the Australian Government’s IP Australia last week under its motor-vehicle listings, along with the explanation that it is for “motor land vehicles and electric vehicles and parts therefor”.

Similar applications were also lodged in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

In the United States, a separate application for the Evos trademark was made last year, with that paperwork suggesting that the name was being reserved for “electric vehicles, trucks, off-road vehicles”.

The two applications fit with speculation that the current Mondeo and its American twin, the Fusion, will be replaced by a Subaru Outback competitor, only this time with an electrified powertrain under the Evos banner that is likely to be applied to various electric products wearing the Blue Oval.

The Evos name fits with Ford’s policy of badging all of its SUVs with names starting with E, such as EcoSport, Escape, Edge, Endura and Everest.

The current Spanish-built Mondeo mid-size hatch and wagon sold in Australia is due to soldier on until 2021, apparently with no plans to replace the model directly with a conventional passenger car as Ford forges on with its shift to SUVs and trucks.

The Evos name dates from 2011 when Ford of Europe showed a plug-in hybrid, gull-wing-door concept grand-tourer coupe bearing that badge at the Frankfurt motor show.

Despite winning plenty of plaudits, that design came to nothing, presumably because Ford headquarters in Dearborn decided to roll out the current Mustang as a global product.

The latest trademark application in Australia was lodged by Ford’s head office in the United States, indicating that the Mondeo Evos will be part of a global product push, even though the name has been registered in just three right-hand-drive markets to date.

This would suggest that other markets, such as North America, Europe and China, will employ a different name for the same vehicle.

The current Mondeo was launched in Australia in 2015, but the timing coincided with the decline in the mid-size-car segment as buyers switched in droves to mid-size SUVs.

The mid-size-car segment has plummeted by almost half since then, with Mondeo sales collapsing by 35 per cent in 2018 – the same level of decline as the segment-leading Toyota Camry.