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On April 13, Changan Ford's new-generation Mondeo officially launched four new models with a price range of 15.98-216800 yuan. As a reference, the 2020 Mondeo models on sale in cash cost 19.28-226800 yuan, which starts at 33000 yuan lower than the previous pre-price range of 15.98-219800 yuan. The price of the top-equipped model is a further 3000 yuan lower than the expected price.

In terms of appearance, the new generation of Mondeo no longer uses the "Martin face" decorated with horizontal chrome strips, but uses an active front grille, and the interior of the net is decorated with bright black decorative elements similar to scales, with the function of active closure. The LED headlight group adopts a split design, the front surrounding area adopts a penetrating design, the interior is wrapped by a black decorative strip, and the far and near light group below is integrated with the front enclosure.

On the side of the body, the new car adopts the popular slip-back roof design, while the hidden door handle is used to depict the overall three-dimensional sense of the side. From the tail point of view, the new generation of Mondeo is equipped with a blackened through taillight, and three vertical light sources are integrated into the left and right sides of the lamp cavity, which has a high degree of recognition after lighting.

In terms of size, the new Mondeo is 4935/1875/1500mm in length, width and height, and 2945mm in wheelbase. As a reference, Mondeo on sale is 4873/1852/1470mm in length, width and height, and 2850mm in wheelbase. From the data point of view, the new generation of Mondeo wheelbase and length significantly increased, there is a better experience in space.

On the interior side, the new Mondeo is very similar to the interior design of the light chaser. The horizontal LCD screen over 1.1m consists of a 12.3in LCD dashboard and a 27-inch central control screen (EcoBoost 245mm ST-Line/ EcoBoost 245s only), with a three-spoke multi-function steering wheel and a knob-like electronic shift mechanism. Because many functions can be operated on the big screen, there are almost no all kinds of knobs and buttons in the car.

In terms of power, the new generation of Mondeo is equipped with a 2.0T turbocharged engine model CAF488WQC, with a maximum power of 175kW and a peak torque of 376N ·m. In terms of transmission system, except for the top ST-Line model matching 8-speed hand-integrated gearbox (with steering wheel shift dial), the other three models are equipped with 8-speed automatic gearbox. As a reference, the 2020 Mondeo is on sale with 1.5T and 2.0T engines, maximum power 134kw and 152kw, peak torque of 243N m and 354N m, matching 6-gear automatic gearbox.

Data show that the Mondeo is Ford's first global model, which was developed at a cost of US $6 billion in 1986, which can be said to be one of the most expensive models in automobile history. Ford also hopes to build Mondeo into a "world car." In February 2004, Mondeo, as the second production car of Changan Ford, officially launched two models with a price of 209800 yuan and 229800 yuan, and only 2.0L engine in terms of power. On the market side, due to the declining sales of Mondeo in Europe and the United States, this generation of Mondeo is not sold in the United States and Canada and other North American markets, in which Mondeo is replaced by Fusion in the United States. In November 2007, the third generation Mondeo-Zhisheng officially launched, the new car launched a total of four models, the price range is 18.18-239800 yuan, power provides 2.0L and 2.3L engines, matching 6-block self-integrated gearbox. In August 2013, the fourth-generation Mondeo was officially launched, and the design elements derived from Aston Martin were sought after in the market, but due to the lack of generation for many years, its product power and design beauty have been unable to keep up with the times. Mondeo sales have hit rock bottom.

In the domestic medium-sized car market, Japanese Accord, Camry, Teana and German Passat, Maiteng and other models have been very strong performance, although Mondeo has a good strength, but does not pose a greater threat to the sales of the above models. According to the data, Mondeo sold 101035 vehicles in 2016 and 112158 in 2017, reaching an all-time high. However, since 2018, its sales have suddenly plummeted to 45405, with sales of 17642, 25027 and 34345 respectively from 2019 to 2021, a year's effort equivalent to one month's sales of Accord and Camry.

Can the new Mondeo become popular again? From the outside, the new Mondeo, created by Ford's China design team, is designed for Chinese consumers, but the beauty of the design is a matter of opinion. In terms of interior decoration and space, the improvement of the new Mondeo is very obvious, not only in the body size, but also the 12.3-inch LCD instrument and the 27-inch Dalian screen combination are also very eye-catching, compared with the same class models are two major advantages. In terms of power, Mondeo is equipped with 2.0T engines, which is also very obvious compared with the previous generation of models. To sum up, referring to the price of the new Mondeo, in fact, Changan Ford's purpose is very obvious, to compete with the same class models with higher production power and lower price. How do you describe this sentence in one word? That's right, cost-effective.

However, even if the new Mondeo has a high performance-to-price ratio, which may lead to sales growth, but it is difficult to become a popular style. For Chinese consumers, the ratio of performance to price is a point that can hit consumers very well. who is not willing to buy a car with good quality and low price? But at the same time, we should also understand one truth: every penny is worth a penny. From the configuration point of view, although the price of the new Mondeo is as low as 159800 yuan, the minimum and sub-low configuration models are not standard in some luxury and intelligent functions. In fact, compared with Accord, Camry, Passat and other models, the biggest competitive pressure of the new Mondeo is not product strength, but brand strength. Due to the slow iteration of the previous generation of Mondeo and the lack of popular models under Changan Ford, the popularity of the Ford brand is widening compared with that of Germany and Japan. Therefore, for Changan Ford, the birth of the new Mondeo with a performance-to-price ratio is actually a big gamble.

It is understood that in addition to the new Mondeo, the Fox with a four-cylinder engine and a new generation of explorers will go on sale in the second quarter of 2022, while the new generation of Ruijie will be available in the fourth quarter of 2022. These are Changan Ford's blockbuster products, but compared with the above models, Mondeo belongs to the heavier model of Changan Ford, regardless of price, appearance, interior, power and other factors. Mondeo is like a car born to save the Chinese market, this attitude is admirable, but whether these changes can be recognized by the market remains to be tested.

Cost-effective hats are easy to put on, but difficult to take off! Of course, Changan Ford's practice also has hidden worries. Beijing Hyundai and Dongfeng Yueda Kia have already gone through the practice of obtaining the market through performance-to-price ratio, but now these car companies are having a hard time in the market. What about Changan Ford? On the other hand, independent brands have competed with joint venture brands through performance-to-price ratio in the past few years, but now in order to get rid of the hat of performance-to-price ratio, independent brands continue to lay out the high-end market, and still can not get rid of the cheap label.

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