Ford Developing Electric Mustang Crossover That CEO Says Will "Go Like Hell"

author: Mia Bevacqua   

Since last year, Ford has teased the public with an electric Mustang-inspired crossover. There have been tidbits of information released here and there, along with a few sketches, however, most details about the EV have been kept hush-hush. But Ford Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, does have one thing to say about the upcoming electric pony – that it "is going to go like hell."

Ford looks to make EVs that are "fun to drive"

"When we first started talking about electrification, there was this thought that there had to be a trade-off: It was either going to be green and boring and no fun, or really exciting but burn a lot of fossil fuels," Ford said, according to Automotive News. "Electrification has come to the point that you can do both."

Ford intends to make 16 new battery-electric vehicles by 2022, and plans for them to be fun to drive, like many other EVs (i.e., Tesla) entering the market. Last year, Ford announced it would ax some of its slow-selling cars – including the Fiesta, Fusion, Taurus and C-Max – to devote more resources to its proposed electrified lineup.

What is known about the upcoming Mustang-influenced EV is that, supposedly, it will have a 300-mile range. Furthermore, it will be built in Mexico, not the original planned location of Michigan. The name of the vehicle is still undecided, though some have hinted it may be called either the Mach 1 or the Mach E. 

New campus will support R&D of advanced projects, including Mustang crossover EV

A dedicated talent group, called Team Edison, was formed back in 2017 to oversee development of the Mustang Crossover EV. To support R&D for the project, Ford is creating a new campus in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit.  Bill Ford says he hopes the location, which will be constructed from an old train station, will house bright minds such as software developers and tech startups. He also says he's open to the idea of sharing the space with other automakers.

Ford may be eyeing Volkswagen as a potential campus roommate. Earlier this year, the Detroit automaker announced it will team up with VW on several projects including, possibly, some EVs and autonomous vehicles. 

"If they want to, sure," Ford said talking to Crain's Detroit Business. "As you know, we've already announced a partnership with VW on a lot of things, and we are talking with VW about future things. We just haven't kind of crossed the finish line yet. Talks are going really well. So yeah, it could be them, or actually anybody that wanted to come down and be part of this ecosystem, we would love it."

In other words, the new Corktown campus may become a large-scale co-op for auto industry innovators. Ford paid $90 million for the location and plans on spending $740 million overall to get it up to speed. When the work is complete, the depot is expected to be a 1.2 million-square-foot workspace for 5,000 employees working on advanced technologies. 

Sources: Automotive News, Washington Post, Crain's Detroit Business

Mia Bevacqua

Mia is an ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician, L1, L2 and L3 Advanced Level Specialist. She has over 12 years of experience in the automotive industry and a bachelor’s degree in automotive technology. These skills have been applied toward content writing, technical writing, inspections, consulting, automotive software engineering.