Ford Delays Debut of Next-Generation Mondeo

Ford Motor Co. has postponed production launch of the next generation of its Mondeo midsize car at its factory in Genk, Belgium, by as much as three months from early next April as previously planned.

The company confirms European news reports, saying the delay was caused by problems with quality and homologation of the car for multiple markets. As a result, the revamped Mondeo won't go on sale in Europe until about September 2013.

The latest generation of the Fusion, the American version of the Mondeo, is due in the U.S. market late this year. Ford is scheduled to publicly unveil the upcoming Mondeo at the Paris auto show in September.

Separately, Ford tells Automotive News Europe that it is close to finalizing a decision about whether to build the next-generation S-Max and Galaxy MPVs in Genk. Production of the current versions of those models will continue there through next year.