Ford Planning Remarkable EV Push in Europe with All-Electric Mustang SUV
| Updatedby Teuta Franjkovic · 4 min read
Ford is pushing into electric vehicles at a time when car manufacturers around the world are racing to slash carbon dioxide emissions in order to comply with more stringent environmental standards in the European Union.
After Tesla, Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan, and Volkswagen, the time has come for Ford to introduce their view on electric vehicles. More than 50 years after it has been shown for the first time, the Ford Mustang coupe is still considered one of the most popular cars in its class, whose demand has been growing worldwide through years.
So, it’s not strange that the company that once helped thousands of people to find steady jobs, now contributes to Mother Earth with their all-electric Mustang SUV.
Still, we don’t know much about the battery car since they confirmed their plans about making the vehicle back in 2018. However, recently they released few short videos teasing the new model, showing a camouflaged version that went under testing at their Smithers Winter Test Center.
Addressing, what they called in in the company, “EV misconceptions”, these videos are meant to soften any worries potential buyers might have got. Those worries are usually directed towards the ways how the battery-cars perform in cold weather, their range, overall availability of public charging facilities and performance.
Even though they might be the last (for now) to reveal their electric SUV, Ford was actually one of the pioneers in the battery-car market, who throughout the years has been offering a mix of hybrids, plug-ins, and pure battery-electric vehicles. However, their early models had only marginal performance and the BEVs could barely manage 100 miles per charge.
The video shows SUV that delivers anywhere from 300 to 373 miles per charge, depending on the optional battery pack. Let’s bear in mind that the number of high-speed public charging stations is growing fast so Ford, same as its competitors e.g. above mentioned Tesla, General Motors and Audi, hopes that this “range anxiety” will soon belong to the past.
In the meantime, by connecting the new battery-SUV with the praised Mustang, the company is trying to ensure their customers that they plan to deliver a seriously great performing vehicle.
Ford Executive Vice President of Product Development Hau Thai-Tang commented that selling electrification on just fuel efficiency is not going to pay out when gas is going for $2.50 a gallon.
Ford definitely isn’t the only one that’s changing its performance strategies. When Tesla introduced their Ludicrous Mode option on their Model S, the users went wild. Also, let’s not forget Porsche that last week revealed their new Taycan electric sport car that is allegedly able to hit 60 in less than a 2.7 seconds.
The performances of the upcoming battery are still not known but with electric motors developing maximum tire-spinning torque the exact moment they’re turned on, the new model could give pretty good credibility to Ford’s conventional sport Mustang models – the 760-horsepower Shelby GT500 that comes to market only a few months before.
The “Mustang-inspired” SUV is supposed to come somewhere around the same time as Tesla Model Y sport-utility vehicle. However, the general battery-car market will experience the whole new explosion of new products during the next 12 to 18 months. Audi, launched its first BEV, the e-tron SUV, and Porsche’s Taycan is also beginning to sell soon. General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Volkswagen, and virtually every automaker now has a battery car in their fleet.
This isn’t the only electric push Ford plans for the European market. Their upcoming releases include also electric models of SUVs Kuga and Puma as well as its Mondeo sedan.
The US automaker is also planning to launch nine other electric models in Europe by 2024, including a Mustang-inspired sports utility vehicle.
Ford is said to be investing $11 billion to this project, and that doesn’t include the $500 million it promised to invest in Michigan-based start-up Rivian. They also announced a new alliance with Volkswagen to share EV R&D and technology. The company said they expect to build more than 600,000 electric vehicles in Europe over six years, sourcing components and the vehicle underpinnings from VW, helping both to cut costs.
