Ford Mustang SUV Starts A Blitz Of New Electric Vehicles

Ford Mustang SUV Starts A Blitz Of New Electric Vehicles

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford is unveiling its first all-electric SUV, marking the start of an avalanche of battery-powered vehicles coming from mainstream and luxury automakers during the next two years that industry analysts say will boost electric vehicle sales. The "Mustang Mach E," which will go 230 miles to more 300 miles per charge depending on how it's equipped, was unveiled Sunday night ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show press days. There are 18 now for sale in the U.S., and IHS Markit expects that to grow to 80 in 2022, including pickup trucks and SUVs that are in the heart of the American market. Yet last year, pure electric vehicles made up only 1.5% of new vehicle sales worldwide, and the consulting firm LMC Automotive predicts that will rise to 2.2% this year. In the U.S., electric vehicles were only 1.2% of sales in 2018, and it's expected to be about the same this year.

But automakers see opportunity for growth, and with electric vehicles getting 250 miles or more on a single charge, worries about running out of juice on a daily commute are gone. Because of the added models and increased range, LMC predicts that they will make up 17% of global sales and 7% of U.S. First-generation electric vehicles, which mainly were retrofitted versions of existing models designed to meet government fuel economy standards, didn't sell well largely because they couldn't travel more than 100 miles between charges. But now, many can go beyond the distance people drive in one day with plenty of cushion. Jake Fisher, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports. Stephanie Brinley, principal auto analyst for IHS Markit, said electric vehicle choices may expand before consumer demand does, but eventually people will buy them. While many electrics coming in the next few years are from luxury brands, mainstream brands like Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota also have them on the production schedule.

Ford and General Motors have announced plans for all-electric pickups that will compete against gas and diesel trucks that are the top sellers in the U.S. For Ford, executives realized in 2017 that they had to offer something more exciting for the first of a new generation of electric vehicles. The company last year it promised six battery electric vehicles by 2022. It also has partnerships with VW and startup Rivian to build more. To sell them, Ford decided to go to the company's strengths: Pickup trucks, commercial vans and the high-performance Mustang. Jason Castriota, the company's brand director for electric vehicles. The five-passenger Mach E sort of resembles a Mustang, and Ford says it comes close to matching the car's performance. Engineers say the base model will have a range of about 230 miles (370 kilometres) per charge, with a long-range option of more than 300 miles (483 kilometres). The base version is expected to go from zero to 60 mph (96.6 kph) in a little over six seconds, Ford said, while the performance GT version will do it in about 3.5 seconds. The base version is rear-wheel-drive, with all-wheel-drive options. It has the Mustang pony badge on the front and rear, a long hood and a fastback look at the rear. Yet designers preserved rear-seat headroom with a blacked-out glass roof. The Mustang team set up the Mach E's chassis tuning, which determines its handling. Designers also copied the Mustang's triple tail lights. U.S. orders are being taken now, and the SUV will reach showrooms next fall. 7,500 federal tax credit, which is being phased out at Tesla and General Motors.

In another echo of the original Mustang program, Iacocca staged an intramural design competition to get things rolling. This contest, begun in August 1971 and ultimately lasting three months, pitted the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury production studios against DeLaRossa's Advanced Design group and the Interior Studio under L. David Ash. Talk about "back to the future." Even many of the key players were the same as 10 years before. This design competition was as heated as the first. Ford President Lee Iacocca, looking to recapture the vibe of the first Ford Mustang for Mustang II, reinstituted the in-house design competition that produced the '65 model. The September 1971 fastback that would become Mustang II wasn't Ghia's, but it showed the Italian coachbuilder's influence. Of course, Iacocca also took a keen interest in Mustang II styling. All this ultimately came down to a late-November management review of five full-size clay models, one notchback and four fastbacks.

The easy winner was a fastback from the Lincoln-Mercury group under Al Mueller. Like Joe Oros before him, he painted his clay -- in an eye-catching persimmon, not white -- so it would stand out and improve his team's chances. Lee Iacocca enthusiastically declared that Mustang II would "turn the small-car market on its ear". But though surprisingly little altered for production, the design got mixed press reviews, and some critics felt that the notchback derived from it was a hodge-podge. The fastback was considered more handsome, though it wasn't a "classic" shape like the '65 Mustang. It was, however, more practical by dint of its European-style lift-up rear "door," a first for a Mustang and another boost for the popularity of hatchback body styles in America. Interior design was less debated, though no less involved. Forsaking usual design practice, studio chief Dave Ash decided to make his "seating buck" unusually realistic to convey a sense of being in a real automobile.