Ford may be a little late to the EV party, but it is doing it’s damn hardest to play catch-up with the promise of 14 electrified vehicles on sale before the end of this year, growing to 18 before the end of 2021, thanks to an investment of 8.5 billion pounds.
Claiming that its electrified range could save European customers more than £28 million in fuel costs every year, it is supporting it’s growth by increasing the expansion of the public charging network – promising to install 1000 Ford-site charging points, and an IONITY and FordPass Charging Network.
Mustang Mach-E customers placing a reservation in 2020 will receive a free one‑year subscription to the FordPass app, which enables users to effortlessly utilise FordPass
Charging Network locations and pay for charging services from a single account. “Ford is at the forefront of real change, and we’re committed to providing all of our customers with the broadest choice of electrification options,” said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe. “Infrastructure is critical to helping consumers have the confidence to go electric, but we can’t do it on our own. Accelerated investment by all the key stakeholders across the UK and Europe is more important than ever.”
The unique and immersive experience, launched at London’s famous Marble Arch today, will reach an estimated audience of four million consumers during a 50-stop, 200-day UK tour. Separate Go Electric experiences in up to seven European markets will follow. It is hoped that the hands-on, engaging activities will help clear up some of the myths around electrification and inspire confidence in consumers who may be confused about the different types of electrified powertrains available and their benefits.
A recent Ford-commissioned survey revealed that the 3 in 4 people aspire to own an electrified vehicle one day, with almost half (45 per cent) claiming not stopping for fuel is a key benefit of owning one. However, 40 per cent of people claim to have little or no knowledge of electric vehicles which means they’re unlikely to make the switch from pump to plug soon. Almost half (49 per cent) of consumers rank a lack of charging stations among their main concerns about owning an electric vehicle.
Ford brought the Mustang Mach-E all-electric SUV to life through a development process concentrated entirely on customer needs and desires. Ford of Europe engineering teams were involved from the outset to deliver vehicle architecture, hardware and software characteristics that support the needs of European customers.
Mustang Mach-E spring and damper specifications, electric power-assisted steering, electronic stability control and Mach-E 4 all-wheel drive settings are tuned specifically for European roads and driving styles. We will be getting a passenger ride later today and we’ll be bringing you our first impressions so stay tuned.
Equipped with an extended-range battery and rear-wheel drive, Mustang Mach-E’s pure-electric driving range of more than 370 miles under WLTP regulations. Eighty-five per cent of Mustang Mach-E customers placing pre-orders have opted for the extended-range battery.
Charging with up to 150 kW at an IONITY charging station, the Mustang Mach-E will reach a driving range of up to 57 miles within 10 minutes of charge time. The standard-range Mustang Mach‑E is estimated to charge from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in approximately 38 minutes while charging on a DC fast-charging station.
At home, an available Ford Connected Wall box solution will deliver up to five times the charging power of a typical domestic socket – meaning customers can add an estimated average range of 38 miles per charging hour, based on extended-range, rear-wheel drive configuration.
Using connectivity delivered by the FordPass Connect on-board modem, the Mustang Mach-E can continuously improve through the delivery of secure over-the-air updates capable of enhancing vehicle performance and the next-generation SYNC®communications and entertainment system.
Next-generation SYNC uses machine learning to quickly learn drivers’ preferences and become even better over time. A 15.5‑inch screen and simple interface ditch complicated menus, making it easier to access features with touch, swipe and pinch controls, and conversation voice recognition. Featuring cloud-based connectivity, the system also introduces wireless compatibility with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and AppLink apps from smartphones and mobile devices.
Mustang Mach-E also features three unique drive modes: Whisper, Engage and Unbridled. Each drive mode fine-tunes driving dynamics, ambient lighting and dynamic cluster animations to match the desired character. Even vehicle sounds are adjusted for an authentic all-electric experience.
“Everything about Mustang Mach-E has been design from scratch with the customer at its core, from the all-electric powertrain to the next generation SYNC system,” said Roelant de Waard, vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford of Europe. “Even the purchase and ownership experience is new. Mustang Mach-E is the first Ford that customers can order, configure, customise, and even arrange delivery for, all online.”
We will be bringing more on that after an exclusive interview with Roelant – so keep your eyes peeled.
We can confirm that the first Mach-E units will be coming to Europe and the United States in autumn of this year, and that the first year’s global output still stands at 50,000 units. He refused to comment on whether Ford has the potential for expanding production volume, telling us that their first priority is to meet that target.
Ford will be contacting reservation holders at the start of Q2, and reservation holders will be able to change their trim level and options when they do their build. He couldn’t confirm whether any new options not currently listed will be offered but instead added that there will be over-the-air updates (“that are as good as, if not better than Tesla”), and that not everything is known yet… So there will be a few safety and HMI features now yet announced revealed.
Prices for the base-level car with the 75kW lithium-ion battery will start from £42,070 and £58,000 for the 1st Edition, which is currently oversubscribed.
Will the Mustang Mach-E do for electric cars what the Ford Model T did for the masses – sparking a revolution in EV mobility (or has Tesla beat them to it)? Roelant certainly hopes so as he’s yet to own an EV!
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