Taking a page from Subaru, Ford will be bringing a lifted, black plastic-clad Mondeo station wagon to the US. To us, it’s a Fusion station wagon that is not available in the US. But to other parts of the world, it is known as a Mondeo. Whatever you call it the Fusion name will continue after Ford kills off all of the Fusion sedans. This new/old wagon will be called “Fusion Active” and hit US dealers toward the end of 2021 as a 2022 model.

What’s going on is that a lifted, black plastic-clad medium-sized wagon is perceived as a crossover to the buying public. Crossovers are good-station wagons are bad. Well, station wagons are good, it’s just that consumers turn away from them. So Ford can sneak in an entirely new vehicle for the US market that is actually just a tired, old Fusion/Mondeo wagon. Think of it as Ford’s Subaru Crosstrek or Outback. 

The Ford Fusion Active will have all-wheel-drive and requisite black plastic-cladding

The Fusion Active will have an all-wheel-drive along with the requisite black cladding that gives station wagons a more rugged look. Engines will be either a 2.0-liter Ecoboost banger mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission or a plug-in hybrid like you can find in Fusion Energi sedans now. Prices are estimated to be in the $30-40,000 range. 

The Detroit car manufacturers are on the warpath to extinguish every last sedan they all make in the name of consumer preference. The Fusion was the last Ford car nameplate destined to be gone after this year. With this news, the Fusion brand will continue after 2020.

In both 2014 and 2015 Ford sold over 300,000 Fusion sedans

In both 2014 and 2015, Ford sold over 300,000 Fusion sedans each year. And around those years the Fusion was seeing sales of over 200,000 a year for years. The Fusion was one of Ford’s most popular models for over a decade. Even last year it sold over 165,000. That’s not chicken feed.

So, with a product like the Fusion selling as it does it remains a mystery why Ford wants to kill it off. Already this year it has sold almost 40,000 and you know what kind of year 2020 is going to be. You don’t? OK, it is going to be a crap year for vehicle sales. 

Fusion was headed to a 160,000 year in 2020

But if not for the coronavirus lockdowns the Fusion sedan was headed toward another 160,000 year score. Obviously, the Ford brain trust has a better handle on all of this than we do. Still, why not spiff up the Fusion design, add the Fusion Active to the line and shoot for 200,000 sales a year? Those are excellent numbers. 

As a comparison, Chevy has seen the numbers for the Impala sedan taper off consistently since 2012. That year it sold almost 185,000 Impalas. Last year that number dropped to 45,000. But the Fusion is selling almost twice as many cars as Chevy sells Impalas. 

But, enough of singing the sad sedan story. We’ll be getting a new/old Fusion in 2022 and that is an interesting return of the Fusion name.