Ford to Build its Electric Mach-E SUV in China for the Local Market

author: FutureCar Staff    

The high-performance Ford Mach-E GT will also be built in China for the local market.

Ford Motor Co announced on Wednesday that the company will build the battery-powered Mach-E SUV in China for the local market. China is the world's biggest auto market.

The Mach-E will be manufactured by Changan Ford for customers in China. It will be available to customers by the end of the year.

Changan Ford is the joint venture between Changan Automobile and Ford Motor Company. The 50/50 joint venture was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Chongqing, China.

The electric crossover is Ford's first mass-market SUV and was inspired by Ford's iconic Mustang sports car. It's the first Ford vehicle that shares the classic Mustang pony badge.

The China-made Mach-E will have an estimated range of over 600 kilometers (372 miles). 

The Mach-E will also come equipped with Ford's latest driver-assist technologies and infotainment system that supports over-the-air (OTA) updates, so the Mach-E will always run the latest software.

The Mach-E will offer the automaker's Co-Pilot360 automated driving and safety suite that will  help drivers in China anticipate potential driving hazards and improve traffic safety. Co-Pilot 360 also offers level-2 automatic driving assistance functions, including hand-free driving on some divided highways in China. 

Ford claims its the first automobile manufacturer in China to offer cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology in mass production vehicles and will offer the advanced communications technology in the Mach-E.

Ford will also build the high-performance edition Mustang Mach-E GT performance edition in China. The GT high performance edition will offer dual electric motors and all-wheel-drive, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds. 

The Mach-E is set to become a major competitor to Tesla's China-built Model Y crossover, which the company recently started producing at its new Shanghai factory.

Ford will also be competing with Volkswagen's new ID.4 electric SUV. VIn November, Volkswagen launched two new battery-powered ID models in China—the ID.4 CROZZ and ID.X.

The fully-electric ID.4 CROZZ is being manufactured by Volkswagen's joint venture with China's FAW Group, while the ID. X is being built by SAIC Volkswagen, a separate joint venture with Chinese automaker SAIC Motor.

Volkswagen's domestic rival BMW also is selling its new fully-electric iX3 SUV in China. The iX3 is being built by Brilliance BMW, the automaker's joint venture with Chinese vehicle manufacturer Brilliance Auto.

BMW's factory in Shenyang also produces the combustion engine version of the X3 SUV on the same assembly line. 

Ford will also be competing with electric vehicles from Chinese electric vehicle startups Xpeng and NIO Inc., both of which are experiencing growing sales in China.

Like many automakers, Ford is investing heavily in electrification. The company plans to invest more than $11.5 billion in electric vehicle development by 2022. 

Production of Mach-E in China is part of the automaker's "Best of Ford, Best of China" strategy to offer Chinese customers industry-leading smart vehicles and advanced technologies.

FutureCar Staff