- ford has confirmed to car and driver that the fusion mid-size sedan will not end production until 2021, meaning it still has a couple more model years left.
- the 2019 model year, however, will be the last for the v-6–powered fusion sport, which won't return to the lineup for 2020.
- other than the mustang, the fusion will be the last passenger car remaining in ford's lineup, as the company has already ended production on the focus, fiesta, and taurus.
although it has been a while since ford announced the cancellation of nearly all of its passenger-car models, it turns out that the fusion sedan is set to die a long, slow death. a ford spokesperson told c/d that there are still "a couple more years" left for the fusion, meaning that production at its plant in hermosillo, mexico, will continue until sometime in 2021. the company has already begun chopping up the fusion lineup, however, as the fusion sport model (pictured) has been dropped for the 2020 model year.
introduced for 2017, this higher-performance trim level offered a 325-hp twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter v-6 engine and all-wheel drive. it went from zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds in our testing. a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four with 245 horsepower will now be the most powerful engine available in the 2020 fusion; two less-powerful four-cylinder engines, a hybrid, and a plug-in-hybrid model are also still offered.
what will happen to the fusion name after production ends in 2021? the current-generation fusion sedan will certainly reach the end of the road, and the hermosillo plant will begin building the next-generation transit connect van. but ford has suggested that it may apply existing names to new crossover body styles, and there are rumors that the fusion nameplate itself may be applied to a subaru outback–esque wagon model at some point in the near future.