Ford’s first all-electric vehicle will be a Mustang-inspired performance SUV, Auto Express can reveal. It will arrive in 2020 and could be launched as the Mach1.
The all-electric SUV will be built on a new dedicated EV platform and have a range of 300 miles, while the design and packaging of the model has almost been signed off. Prototypes will hit the road next year to undergo development testing.
Ford’s original plan was to launch an all-electric SUV in 2020, but in order to stand out on the market and create something unique the brand has changed tact and decided to launch it as a performance model. The brand will ‘infuse’ the SUV with the image, performance and style of the Mustang, bosses told Auto Express.
No performance details on the Mach1 have been issued so far but the vehicle will use lithium-ion battery technology, while production will take place at one of Ford’s facilities in Mexico rather than the US, bosses said.
The decision to develop a performance SUV first was partly down to a new division within Ford called Team Edison – a team of around 200 people established three months ago tasked with creating and developing Ford’s autonomous and electric vehicles.
At the same time as announcing the Mach1, Ford also confirmed it had doubled its investment in electric vehicles to $11 billion (approx £8 billion) up to 2022. Company bosses said the brand wants to ‘electrify iconic Ford nameplates’.
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