For successors to MEB Fords?
Ford is working on a new EV platform intended for ‘compact’ electric cars. This basis should, among other things, make a more favorable purchase price possible. It is not yet entirely clear what Ford plans to do with it, but there is a good chance that it will eventually take over the role of Volkswagen’s MEB platform that Ford is currently using.
Ford is taking important steps in the electric field here in Europe, including with the help of Volkswagen’s MEB platform. The electric Ford Explorer is based on this and a sportier brother of the Explorer will eventually appear. However, Ford is also thinking further. Caught earlier this year The Financial Times already that there is a platform in the pipeline that will eventually allow us to get rid of the MEB basis again. Ford CEO Jim Farley is now talking about a newly developed base and he may be referring to the same thing.
According to InsideEVs During the presentation of the latest quarterly figures, Farley revealed that the basics had been worked on ‘in silence’ for two years. That was done by a team outside Ford’s ‘mothership’, through some kind of Ford-funded start-up. “They have developed a flexible platform that is not only suitable for various vehicles, but also serves as a basis for software and services.” A fairly broad description, but according to Farley it should concretely lead to smaller and more affordable electric cars. That certainly sounds like music to our ears as Europeans. Farley says he hopes to be able to provide Tesla and Chinese manufacturers with a response.
For the time being, a lot is still unclear and you can bet that we will only see something concrete about this in the longer term. Here in Europe, as mentioned, we are first waiting for the Ford Explorer and its possibly Capri brother, but also for the fully electric Ford Puma. The latter has nothing to do with this new base, but is almost certainly on a base prepared for electric propulsion that was already under the Fiesta and under the Puma with fuel engines.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl