Ford has unveiled the all-electric version of its Explorer in Europe during an event held in central London. Aiming for a price tag of just over £45,000 in the UK and with production set to kick into gear around the end of 2023, Ford is looking to offer an American flavour of SUV within European markets. The brand ‘Explorer' is familiar to Europeans and Ford hopes to leverage that familiarity to drive sales. Despite the name-share, this is a brand new vehicles and shares almost no DNA with its gas-guzzling cousin from the other side of the pond. Will Ford's attempt to push its most iconic brands into Europe, be enough to generate success?
The unveiling we attended was sparse on detail, but the fact that Ford announced a collaboration with VW back in 2019, leads us to believe that this vehicle will be based on the MEB platform. Backing up that supposition is the fact that it will be built at Ford's facility in Cologne – and they will definitely be using VW-produced batteries. Innovations on show included a 14.6-in portrait-orientation infotainment screen that could be tilted to different angles.
Working with the closest-sized VW product, we would guess that the Ford Explorer EV will have a tech spec sheet that looks a lot like this:-
| Battery: | 82kWh | |
| Power: | 150kW | |
| Top Speed: | 100mph | |
| 0-60: | 8.5 seconds | |
| DC Charger: | 135kW | |
| 80% Charge: | 33 mins | |
| WLTP: | 315 miles | |
| Towing: | 750Kg/1000Kg |
Overall, Ford expects to sell 1.2 million EVs (all models) using the VW platform, but to then transition to its own platform before ramping up to 600,000 EVs a year in Europe by the end of 2026.
We're expecting the Ford Explorer EV to come in two trim levels, with a premium finish costing closer to £50,000.
Despite thousands of layoffs at Ford plants, the company is positive that it can make a difference in the electric vehicle market. Martin Sander, General Manager for Ford EVs in Europe, told media that the new Explorer, “Is a trailblazer for a new breed of exciting Ford electric vehicles.”
Despite being produced in Cologne, Ford is keen to bring its own American flavour of motoring to its new models – with Sander promising that models would be “Fully loaded with everything our customers will need for their daily drives.”