Ford Motor Co has unveiled an all-electric Mustang that for the first time affixes the car’s distinctive horse logo to a sports utility vehicle (SUV).
The new offering, presented on Sunday ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, marks a catch-up move for Ford into the race toward electric following earlier models by Tesla Inc, General Motors Co and others.
The push also aims to ensure the 55-year-old vehicle’s relevance at a time when sedans are losing luster in the US, although it is a shift that drew heckling from fans of a vehicle with considerable driving chops and a distinctive place in American culture.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Ford didn’t have to call its new electrified Mach-E SUV a Mustang, but it did and the world is a little sadder place because of it,” wrote Mike Sutton, senior online editor for Car and Driver.
The Mustang Mach-E, which would become available late next year, has a targeted range of at least 483km per charge and would, in a special performance version, have capacity to zip up to 100kph in under four seconds.
It is to be priced at about US$45,000, but US tax credits for electric vehicles would trim that to about US$35,000, making it competitive with Tesla’s Model 3 car.
The SUV has echoes from earlier Mustangs, including a long hood, the rear haunch design and “aggressive” headlights, according to a Ford description.
A note from Deutsche Bank AG praised the styling of the vehicle, predicting its “Mustang-inspired sleek silhouette and curves” would resonate with consumers and calling the launch a “successful first entry for Ford in the electric-vehicle segment.”
Separately, European vehicle sales hit their highest October level in a decade, an industry body said yesterday, as the sector recovers from a stall last year over tighter pollution regulations.
The 8.7 percent increase in registration to 1.18 million vehicles “marked the highest October total on record since 2009,” the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said.
Year-on-year comparisons are inflated, as a number of automakers had difficulty meeting the stricter pollution WLTP measuring methodology that went into force on Sept. 1 last year, sending sales more than 7 percent lower in October last year.
Over the first 10 months of this year, sales were 0.7 percent lower from the same period last year.
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