Electric SUVs are rapidly growing in number in Australia, and Ford wants a piece of the action.
CarExpert understands the long-awaited Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV will finally make the trip Down Under, giving the Blue Oval brand a rival to the Tesla Model Y among others.
It’ll be one of the previously announced five electrified Fords due here by 2024, following the Escape PHEV (launched this year) and the electric E-Transit and E-Transit Custom vans, due in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
It’s perhaps no surprise the Mustang Mach-E is coming here, considering right-hand drive deliveries began in the UK and Ireland last year and Ford recently confirmed it for an early 2023 launch in New Zealand.
GT
Ford Australia has previously said the electric SUV’s chances for a local launch were dampened not by lack of demand, but by lack of supply.
It’s unclear what variants will make the trip to Australia, but in the UK it’s offered in RWD, AWD and GT variants.
The RWD and AWD models are offered with a choice of 75.7kWh (Standard Range) and 98.7kWh (Extended Range) batteries, with the GT only offering the larger of the two.
Standard Range RWD models produce 198kW of power and 430Nm of torque, with range of 439km on the stricter WLTP test cycle. Opting for the Extended Range bumps power and range to 216kW and 610km respectively.
Standard Range AWD models produce 198kW and 580Nm, with range of 399km. With the Extended Range battery, power is bumped to 258kW and range to 539km.
Ford claims outputs of up to 358kW of power and 860Nm of torque for the GT, as well as 499km of range.
From a standstill the RWD does the 0-100km/h dash in 6.9-7.0 seconds, the AWD in 5.8-6.3 seconds, and the GT in 4.4 seconds.
Maximum DC charge power is 115kW on models with the smaller battery and 150kW on those with the larger battery.
Inside, there’s an enormous 15.5-inch portrait-oriented central touchscreen, as well as a standard 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster.
Standard equipment on all UK-market models includes LED headlights, heated and power-adjustable front seats, a surround-view camera, hands-free power tailgate, and a 10-speaker B&O sound system, with AWD and GT models upgrading to adaptive LED headlights.
The introduction of the Mustang Mach-E will give Ford a rival to not only the Tesla Model Y, but also the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 and upcoming Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4x.
However, given the current industry climate plus Ford’s own supply bottlenecks – Ford closed orders in the US in April for MY22 vehicles, citing demand – we would expect supply to be more like that of the Korean models, i.e. fairly constrained.
While we understand the Mustang Mach-E will be one of the five electrified vehicles due by 2024, it’s less clear what the fifth vehicle will be.
Given Ford’s focus – no pun intended – on commercial vehicles in Australia, some kind of electrified or electric ute offering seems likely.
A plug-in hybrid version of the new Ranger seems the most likely possibility.
Ford of Europe has already confirmed its commercial vehicle range, which includes the Ranger ute, will be “zero-emission capable” by 2024.
The Ranger PHEV is expected to use a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, with outputs of around 270kW of power and 680Nm of torque and combined fuel economy of around 3.0L/100km.
Perhaps less likely is the electric F-150 Lightning, considering it’s in hot demand in its home market. The regular petrol-powered F-150 will finally come here next year, however, with right-hand drive remanufacturing performed by RMA Automotive.
