Ford Mustang Mach-E (2021–)

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a battery electric compact crossover SUV produced by Ford. Introduced on November 17, 2019, it went on sale in December 2020 as a 2021 model. The Mach-E is part of the Mustang series, with its name inspired by the Mach 1 variant of the first-generation Mustang. The car won the 2021 North American SUV of the Year Award.

Overview

During development, the Mustang Mach-E was originally teased as the Ford Mach 1, but was retracted after strong public opposition, with Ford CEO Jim Farley describing the name tease as an evaluation.

The Mach-E has buttons that open the doors, and a small door handle protruding from the front doors, instead of door handles. Smartphones, or a keypad built into the B-pillar, can be used as a key.

The interior has a wide dashboard and built-in soundbar; the dash is equipped with a vertically mounted touchscreen infotainment system fitted with a rotary dial. The majority of the car's systems are controlled through the screen, which uses Ford's recent SYNC 4 operating system, updatable wirelessly. There is a digital cluster for the driver, and the steering wheel has several physical buttons.

The Mustang Mach-E uses the Global Electrified 1 (GE1) platform, which is a heavily reworked version of the C2 platform shared with the fourth generation Focus and third generation Kuga/ fourth generation Escape. It offers a traditional cargo area at the rear offering a volume of , and a waterproof trunk under the hood and can be charged by a home AC charger or by DC fast chargers at up to 150 kW.

Trim levels

In the U.S., the Mustang Mach-E is available in four distinct trim levels: base Select, mid-level California Route 1 Edition, well-equipped Premium, and performance-oriented GT. A limited-production First Edition trim was also available at launch for the 2021 model year, and was based on the Premium trim. A GT Performance Package is also available for the GT trim.

The model was launched with two battery pack sizes and three power outputs. The entry-level rear-wheel drive version is offered with either a 68 kWh battery pack driving a motor or an 88 kWh extended battery pack driving a motor. Both battery packs have a claimed time of 6.1 seconds or less and an EPA range of around respectively. Both the SR and the ER models use the same Motors the output difference is due to the power from the battery. The larger motor is used in the rear of all models with the smaller motor used in the front of the AWD models (Select and Premium). The GT Performance gets the same motor in both front and rear.

A dual-motor all-wheel-drive version is also offered with either the same 68 kWh battery pack driving a motor, or the 88 kWh extended battery pack driving a motor. They have estimated EPA ranges of , respectively. Testing by Edmunds Automotive indicated an actual range of with the extended-range battery pack version; they said that "Every Tesla we've tested has failed to hit its EPA range estimate". ''Car and Driver'' achieved a time of 5.1 seconds with the extended-range model.

An all-wheel-drive GT trim is offered with the 88 kWh pack, producing , a targeted time of 3.8 seconds, and a targeted driving range of . Edmunds's testing found that the Mach-E GT's peak acceleration is curtailed after 5 seconds of hard acceleration; Ford confirmed this. The GT trim's Unbridled Extend Mode attempts to ameliorate this limitation by increasing cooling and limiting peak motor output.

The Mach-E GT Performance Edition was revealed on December 2, 2020. It is equipped with 20" alloy wheels with Pirelli tires, red Brembo calipers, and black accents on the bodywork. It is equipped with a motor that can generate of torque, and has a range of .

Specifications

In May 2023, Ford announced integration of the North American Charging System (NACS) DC fast charging system into their electric vehicles. New built Ford electrics after 2024 will have native NACS charge ports on the vehicle. Existing Ford electric models will be able to connect to the NACS system and its chargers by use of an adapter. Both will thus have access to the extensive NACS charging network with more than 12,000 chargers worldwide.

Special variants

Mustang Mach-E 1400

The Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a test-bed prototype, first tested by Vaughn Gittin Jr., developed in over 10,000 hours of collaboration between RTR Vehicles and Ford Performance. It is made mostly from composite fiber, saving more weight over carbon fiber. Based on the performance figures of the upcoming Ford Mustang Mach-E GT, the power of the Mach-E 1400 has been increased to and over of torque, powered by a total of 7 electric motors from a 56.8 kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt alloy battery, for high performance and discharge rate, cooled by a di-electric coolant. The power of each electric motor can be adjusted individually within very small margins, and could allow for switching between all-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and front-wheel drive.

The aerodynamics of the prototype allow it to get up to of downforce. Regenerative braking is achieved through an electric booster system, accompanied by ABS and stability control to optimize the braking system. The electric prototype also contains Brembo brakes like the Ford Mustang GT4 racecar. The public debut occurred at the 2020 NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Mustang Mach-E GT Service Vehicles

In December 2021, New York City announced it was buying 184 Mustang Mach-E SUVs as emergency vehicles. During 2022 these vehicles would replace gasoline-powered cars already in use. This model could accelerate from in 3.8 seconds and had a range of .

Mustang Mach-E Rally

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2023, Ford unveiled the Rally concept car, which will be put in production. In September 2023, Ford introduced the production version of the Mustang Mach-E Rally, which has an electric motor on each axle with a total of .

Marketing

Ford hired British actor Idris Elba (who once worked for Ford of Britain along with his father) to star in several teaser commercials for the car and host the Mustang Mach-E's official debut on November 17, 2019.

On July 9, 2021, Paul Clifton, Kevin Booker, and Fergal McGrath set a Guinness World Record by driving from John O'Groats to Land's End. They covered the route with three charges. Later, a team consisting of Booker, McGrath, and Adam Wood beat this record with one charge stop of 43 minutes 13 seconds, gaining an additional two Guinness World Records.

Production

Unlike the internal combustion engine (ICE) Mustang models, the Mach-E is assembled at Cuautitlán Assembly in Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico. According to former Ford CEO Jim Hackett, assembling the vehicle in Mexico allows Ford to make a profit from the first vehicle, unlike other electric vehicles, adding that as Ford develops factory capacity for electric vehicle production in the United States, some production may be moved there.

In February 2021, Ford announced the vehicle would be produced in China by the Changan Ford joint venture for the Chinese domestic market in order to penetrate the nation's electric vehicle market.

In April 2022, Ford stopped accepting new orders for the 2022 model year Mustang Mach-E due to its popularity.

In June 2022, the CFO of Ford Motor announced that the profitability of the Mustang Mach-E has been wiped out due to increases in the cost of raw materials.

Significant recalls

In May 2022, Ford initiated a select recall for 2021 Mach-E AWD models over "an issue with unintended acceleration, deceleration, and/or a loss of power" resulting from functional safety software failing to detect a software error during operation leading to unintended acceleration, unintended deceleration, or a loss of drive power.

Safety

The 2021 Mustang Mach-E top trim was awarded the "Top Safety Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after a crash where advanced driver assistance system was in use.

Awards

In 2021, the Mustang Mach-E won ''Car and Driver''s first "EV of the Year" award. It was up against ten other vehicles including three Tesla models, Audi e-tron, Volvo XC40 Recharge, and Porsche Taycan. All vehicles were tested on how far they could travel at , performance tests, subjective feel tests on public roads and finally a road trip from Michigan to Virginia and back. The magazine stated that: "The Mach-E has the driving dynamics and design to push new buyers past mere acceptance of EVs to excitement." They also made note of the premium materials and build quality in their scoring.

Sales

References

External links

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Mustang Mach-E
Cars introduced in 2019
2020s cars
Compact crossover sport utility vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Production electric cars