Ford will launch Mustang Mach-E simultaneously in U.S. and Europe

Ford on Thursday debuted the Mustang Mach-E electric crossover in London as part of a European tour, confirming to Autoblog that it will launch the first variant of its American-as-apple-pie nameplate simultaneously in Europe and the U.S. in late 2020. 

It’s a reflection of how far ahead Europe is of the U.S. in terms of adopting electric and electrified vehicles, due in part to strict rules limiting CO2 emissions. The automaker also announced it will have 18 electrified vehicles on the market in Europe by the end of 2021, up from 14 by the end of this year.

The Mustang Mach-E will be Ford’s lone fully electric vehicle on both continents, having discontinued earlier EV models. In the U.S. it joins existing plug-in hybrid variants of the Escape crossover and Fusion Energi sedan, plus the Escape Hybrid and the Explorer Hybrid. Also planned is a Rivian-built Lincoln EV, reportedly arriving in 2022, and a battery-electric F-150, possibly in 2021, following a hybrid version.

Ford says engineering teams in Europe were involved from the outset in developing a European version of the Mustang Mach-E. They’ve tuned suspension, steering, electronic stability control and all-wheel-drive settings for the particulars of Europe, where vehicle suspensions are typically stiffer and roads twistier and narrower than they are in the U.S.

Ford did not address a report from CNET that said Norway will get priority in Europe for the Mustang Mach-E, saying only that it would be “available simultaneously in both the U.S. and key European markets late this year.” Sales of EVs in Norway rose nearly 31% last year to 60,316, comprising 42% of all new vehicle sales for the year. That compares to the roughly 2% share of the overall vehicle market here in the U.S. EV sales in Germany rose 75.5% last year to 63,281. There, the government recently increased EV incentives with a goal of having 10 million on the roads by 2030.

The rush of electrified Fords will be supported, the company said, by the introduction of 1,000 charging stations for employees at Ford facilities across Europe over the next three years. Ford is also a founding member the IONITY consortium, which plans to build 400 fast-charging stations with a 350-kilowatt capacity in Europe by year’s end, with preferential rates for drivers of Ford vehicles. It also operates more than 125,000 FordPass Charging Network locations in 21 countries. 

Ford will begin deliveries of the Mustang Mach-E in late 2020 for the First Edition, Select, Premium and California Route 1 trim levels, with the GT flagship models coming in 2021.