26 July 2001: Ford's Mondeo is meeting or exceeding sales expectations in Europe, and is contributing strongly to the marque's improved financial performance in Europe, where the company says it is on course to break-even in 2001, produce 'reasonable' profits in 2002, and make $1 billion in profit by 2003 or 2004.

When the Mondeo was launched late last year, projected sales were for between 285,000 and 300,000 sales in Europe in 2001. To date, the actual sales are running at 4% above estimates, in a European market that is estimated to be down around 2%.

The Ford is facing strong competition in its sector from cars such as the Citroen C5, the Renault Laguna II and Audi A4, as well as VW's facelifted Passat. The availability of a good diesel engine has made a difference to the Mondeo in a market where 32 percent of new cars sold in Europe in 2000 were diesel powered, a level expected to reach over 40 percent by 2005.

Last year Ford Europe lost almost $1 billion. In the first quarter of 2001 it earned $88 million compared with a loss of $3 million in the same period last year. In the second quarter it earned $141 million, 10 percent down on last year.

Diesel will also be an important factor in Ford's next new car, the Fiesta due to be launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. This new baby Ford will have an oil-burnder provided by Peugeot.