No, it won’t be called Mach 1, but Ford is still planning to launch an EV crossover in 2020 heavily influenced by Mustang styling. The company released a teaser image of the vehicle on a blog post by Darren Palmer, Ford Team Edison Global Product Development Director, who is heading up this EV effort.
The image shows clear Mustang influences in the rear fascia and taillamps as well as the rear window. How tall or SUV-inspired the styling is left to be seen. Ford is promising a range of around 300 miles from this electric when it launches in 2020.
“My team and I are both proud of and energized by the company’s $11 billion investment to bring 16 fully electric vehicles within a global portfolio of 40 electrified vehicles through 2022,” Palmer wrote in his blog.
Ford had teased the use of the Mach 1 name last January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Following considerable pushback from Mustang enthusiasts, Ford has since dropped all reference to an EV Mach 1. Jim Farley, head of global markets for Ford, told Automotive News that the Mach 1 name was “put…out there to evaluate it. There are pros and cons. I don’t want to handicap it at this point, but we got a very strong reaction from people." The disappearance of Mach 1 references by the auto maker, however, demonstrates that the reaction wasn’t favorable.
