Ford goes into battle with plug-in Pony
Ford has thrown down the gauntlet to its rivals over battery-electric vehicles after unveiling the new Mustang Mach-E.
The new all-electric crossover aims to give the marque a proper competitor to battle with the likes of the Tesla Model 3 and Jaguar I-Pace.
The Mach-E is a 4.7-metre long, five-seater SUV with a luggage capacity of more than 500 litres. Innovations on the car include buttons to pop the doors open rather than conventional door handles and the vehicle is accessed via a smartphone key.
Ford chairman Bill Ford Jr says the Mach-E puts together his desire for Ford to be a leader in clean cars and make the company carbon-neutral by 2030, and his personal love of the Mustang and its V8 engine.
“We are really pushing our chips in on the table with this vehicle,” Ford says. The carmaker has said it will spend NZ$18 billion developing electric and hybrid models by 2022.
The entry point of the Mach-E range, will be a rear-wheel drive and available with two different combinations of electric motor and battery. The cheapest version will have 255bhp and a 75kWh battery for a range of 450km, while the more potent edition brings 282bhp and gets a 99kWh battery for a WLTP range of about 600km.
Both of the electric motors offer 415Nm of torque, for a 0-100kph time of less than eight seconds. The equivalent, entry-level Tesla Model 3 has 252bhp and covers the 0-100kph dash in 5.3 seconds.
A faster GT edition of the model is also under development, with Ford targeting a 0-100kph time of “less than five seconds”.
Inside, the dashboard is dominated by a portrait-orientated 15.5-inch touchscreen, which incorporates a wide range of features, but key car-related controls, such as the heating and ventilation, are sited at the bottom and have a clear interface.
Ford’s confidence in the Mach-E, and its determination to challenge Tesla, was reflected in the location the company chose to reveal it: An airplane hangar close to the main offices of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX operations in California.
Musk replied to Ford’s event with a tweet late Sunday: “Congratulations on the Mach E! Sustainable/electric cars are the future!! Excited to see this announcement from Ford, as it will encourage other carmakers to go electric too.”
Customers interested in the Mach-E can place a refundable US$500 (NZ$785) deposit toward purchasing the vehicle. Ford will start taking orders for the SUV next year when it will be available in America and Europe. The vehicle is yet to be confirmed for sale in New Zealand.
