Fifth and final electrified Ford to launch here by 2024 could be Ranger hybrid, F-150 Lightning or Explorer EV
The Ford Puma EV will arrive Down Under in 2024 as the fourth of five electrified models Ford Australia has committed to selling by the end of next year.
Confirmation of the Puma EV for Australia reinvigorates speculation about what Ford’s fifth electrified model will be next year, with everything from the Ford Ranger hybrid and F-150 Lightning electric pick-up to the recently revealed Explorer electric SUV all possible.
For now though, the focus for Ford is on the pint-size Puma electric SUV, which could become big business for Ford in a market increasingly interested in affordable EVs.
“When it comes to our story on electrification, another entry we’ll be adding… is Puma,” said Andrew Birkic, Ford Australia president and CEO. “We will be bringing in a BEV Puma.”
The Puma EV is set to become the smallest and most affordable electric vehicle in the Blue Oval brand’s EV line-up, following the E-Transit large electric van this month, the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV by year’s end and the E-Transit Custom mid-size electric van next year.
“The all-electric Puma – an incredibly exciting entry into the light SUV segment – will be coming Down under,” said Birkic.
“With this addition, we’ve now confirmed four of Ford’s best battery-electric vehicles – the E-Transit, E-Transit Custom, All-Electric Puma and Mustang Mach-E – for our local customers.”
Birkic said the Puma EV is part of a broader strategy to position the brand for an increasingly electrified future.
“We are making some decisions about our line-up and we believe that is the right investment for us,” he said.
One of those decisions was to kill off the Escape in Australia, something that appears to crack the door wide open to the newly-revealed Explorer EV to be produced in Europe on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB EV platform.
If the new Explorer EV was sold here it would be the fifth electrified Ford model available in Australia.
Other options include a yet-to-be-revealed ‘sport crossover’ that was promised as part of a broadening Ford EV model range in Europe.
And, of course, there are EV and plug-in hybrid versions of the Ranger on the horizon, and the F-150 Lightning electric pick-up is also a possibility. The Lightning’s popularity in America makes a late-2024 timeframe seem tight for Australia, while electrified versions of the Ranger are also unlikely to emerge before 2025.
Ford hasn’t released details of the Puma EV yet but it is expected to utilise the ICE architecture of the current model.
The light-size Ford Puma is currently available in three front-drive three-cylinder turbo-petrol auto variants priced between $30,840 (Titanium) and $36,390 (ST-Line V), with a hot ST version also on the cards.
While pricing and specification levels for the EV version are still some way off, it’s a fair bet it will command a healthy price premium over the petrol-powered versions.
Australia’s cheapest EV is currently the GWM Ora hatch at $44,490 drive-away and the Puma EV is also likely to be priced from under $50,000, which would put it in the firing line of the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS small electric SUVs, as well as the upcoming MG4 and Fiat 500e electric hatchbacks.
Given the popularity of affordable EVs (since arriving late in 2022, the Atto 3 has comfortably outsold the Puma and many other conventional light, small and medium SUVs), there’s a chance Ford could go big on the Puma EV in Australia.
That would gel with the company’s global strategy. Earlier this year Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company was “not going to be playing in the two-row commodity crossover market because… it didn’t really work out for us”.
That means that as well as commercial vans and utes, Ford wants to continue pushing hard with electric vehicles, which in some instances could see the brand exit traditional market segments.
Ford Australia last year killed off the Fiesta and Focus and this week also announced plans to discontinue the Escape SUV, which competes with the Toyota RAV4 – Australia’s top-selling SUV – in the county’s single biggest new-vehicle sales segment.
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Keyword: Ford Puma EV confirmed for Oz