Paris Preview For All-New 2007 Ford Mondeo

The all-new Ford Mondeo makes its world debut at the 2006 Paris Motor Show between September 30 and October 15. Ford of Europe's stylish new flagship model is being previewed in its wagon bodystyle in near production specification, with launch scheduled across Europe from the second quarter of 2007.

"The new Mondeo is critical to the Ford of Europe business," said John Fleming, President and CEO of Ford of Europe. "The Ford Mondeo has always been a major player in the European CD segment, and with over four million owners looking for us to deliver something special, we have every intention of meeting their significant expectations with this all-new model."

New Mondeo will follow and build on the success of the new Ford S-MAX and Ford Galaxy models, both of which have been launched to media and customer acclaim during 2006.

To meet customer needs and wants, the 2007 Mondeo will deliver more comfort, more space, and more premium quality features, while remaining affordable.

Benefiting from Ford's 'Shared Technologies' initiative, new Mondeo shares much of its architecture and technology with S-MAX and Galaxy, as well as a production line.

New Mondeo completes a €715 million investment that has modernised Ford's Genk plant in Belgium and transformed it into a world-class, flexible manufacturing facility. From early 2007, new Mondeo bodystyles will join S-MAX and new Galaxy on the same assembly lines using common architectures and technologies.

This gives the company tremendous flexibility and manufacturing efficiency to respond to market demands and fluctuations.

Genk also plays an increasingly important role in the global Ford business. Ford of Europe continues to strengthen its role as the developer of high quality vehicles like the new Mondeo which are targeted not just at Europe, but also at the Asia Pacific and African markets.

New Mondeo has also been developed in line with Ford's Product Sustainability Index.

PSI provides a basis for permanent evaluation and improved sustainability performance for new generations of vehicles across environmental, social and economic areas. This holistic approach to product development is an industry first, with the new S-MAX and Galaxy being the pioneer vehicles created with PSI.