President of the Americas Joe Hinrichs told CNBC the company is moving quickly toward producing what it previously described as a 'Mustang-inspired' all-electric SUV that will be in showrooms next year.
With all eyes trained on Tesla last Thursday awaiting its highly anticipated unveil of its Model Y crossover, Ford quietly teased the prospect of an electric version of its iconic Mustang"Pony car."
Ford declined to comment on the tweet, but an executive who asked not to be named because the plans aren't public yet said they timed it with the Tesla launch to hint at big things coming in their own electric car program in the coming months. The Mustang-based SUV will mark a major shift for Ford, the automaker migrating to the same sort of skateboard-like platform that Tesla, General Motors and several other manufacturers have adopted. This approach places the batteries, motors and other key drivetrain components below the load floor. That not only lowers a vehicle's center of gravity and enhances handling, but it means the engine compartment can be radically shrunk in size, increasing space for passengers and cargo.
"Selling electrification on just fuel efficiency is not going to pay out when gas is going for $2.50 a gallon," Ford Executive Vice President Hau Thai-Tang, said during a briefing at Detroit's Cobo Hall convention center last year. "Electrification is a really important part of our future," Hinrichs told CNBC, and the automaker has announced plans to invest about $11 billion in battery-based propulsion. Part of that will go to the creation of a new engineering complex in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood that will also serve as headquarters for its autonomous vehicle efforts.
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