The U.S. EPA Officially Certifies Ford's Fully-Electric Mach-E Range of 300 Miles

author: FutureCar Staff    

The Ford Mach-E is the company's first fully-electric vehicle.

Ford Motor Company's fully-electric Mach-E SUV will have an EPA estimated range of 300 miles, which was targeted by the automaker.

On Monday, Ford announced the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified range numbers for several variants of the all-electric 2021 Mustang-inspired Mach-E. According to the data, Ford has met all its targeted EPA-estimated range ratings for the various Mach-E models tested by the EPA to date.

The Mach-E will be offered in several configurations, including a standard and extended range rear-wheel-drive model, a standard range all-wheel-drive and extended range rear-wheel-drive setup.

The premium extended-range rear-wheel-drive Mustang Mach-E offers the longest range and meets its targeted EPA-estimated range of 300 miles, while the extended-range all-wheel-drive model meets its targeted EPA-estimated 270-mile range. 

The standard-range rear-wheel-drive Mustang Mach-E meets its targeted EPA-estimated range of 230-miles, while the standard-range all-wheel-drive model exceeds its 210 miles of targeted range, with an EPA-estimated range of 211 miles, Ford announced on Monday.

The California Route 1 edition has a targeted EPA-estimated range of 300 miles, which will be confirmed once EPA officials complete their tests, which are expected by the end of the 2020 calendar year.

"This validation by the EPA comes at a perfect time as the Mustang Mach-E is gearing up to take on the open road," said Darren Palmer, global director, Battery Electric Vehicles, Ford Motor Company.

Ford's Mach-E was unveiled last November and it's the automaker's first fully-electric model. Ford will now compete with Tesla and other newcomers in the electric vehicle segment. The battery-powered Mach-E was inspired by the legendary Ford Mustang and even shares some of the same styling cues, including the iconic pony badge on the front grill.

The fully-electric Mach-E on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2019.

For the world's automaker automakers, building electric vehicles that offer longer ranges of 300 miles or more is an important selling tool, as consumers often equate range with peace of mind. Drivers of electric vehicles often experience what the industry calls "range anxiety", which is the fear of not knowing if they have enough charge to reach their destination. Ford addresses this problem with its upcoming Mach-E.

Among the Mach-E's more unique features is a new system called "Intelligent Range", which can more accurately predict how many miles the Mach-E can travel before the battery needs to be charged. The Intelligent Range system is designed to reduce range anxiety.

The Mach-E's battery system reports how much energy is available, while the powertrain control module calculates how much energy is actually being used. The Intelligent Range predictions are designed to get better over time. The system can also calculate the range remaining based on a driver's previous driving habits, weather forecasts and crowdsourced data collected from other Mach-E SUVs. 

The system can also better calculate the range remaining so drivers avoid unnecessary charging stops.

The first Mach-E vehicles will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.

Ford disclosed last year after reservations were opened that more than 80% of U.S. customers reserved a Mach-E with an Extended Range Battery, which shows that EV buyers are still concerned about range. Upgrading to the Extended Range Battery which offers 88 kWh of available battery power costs $5,000 more.

Ford also revealed that more than a quarter of all Mach-E reservations came from California, which is not surprising since the Golden State leads the U.S. in electric vehicle sales.  

The Mach-E Select equipped with a standard range battery starts at $42,895. The Mach-E Premium starts at $47,000. Upgrading to the extended range battery pack in Premium edition costs an additional $5,000. Ford is also offering the California Route 1 edition with the extended battery, which only comes with rear-wheel-drive.  

The all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive versions of the Mach-E will support DC fast charging and is estimated to achieve a 10% to 80% charge in approximately 45 minutes, which is on par with other EVs, including the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

FutureCar Staff