Ford has unveiled its mid-sized electric Explorer SUV, a remake of its iconic and best-selling Explorer SUV. The model has been built on Volkswagen’s VWAGY modular electric drive matrix (MEB) platform and is expected to be available for less than $50,000 or €45,000.
Martin Sander, GM of Ford’s Europe EV business, said, “Steeped in our American roots but built in Cologne for our customers in Europe, it is road trip-ready for the big adventures and fully loaded with everything our customers will need for their daily drives.”
With the launch of the new Explorer SUV, Ford has moved closer to its target of making its entire Europe lineup electric by 2030.
Ford has said it expects 8% margins on its EVs — along with 2 million units in annual production of the vehicles — by 2026, helping to boost its overall adjusted profit margins to 10%. The company’s adjusted profit margin last year was 6.6%.
Aside from EV leader Tesla, no major automakers are expected to generate meaningful profits from electric vehicles for at least several years, as the industry works to increase EV output and manufacturing scale. That’s particularly true of EVs like Ford’s, as mass-market vehicles typically generate lower profits than luxury models.
Last year, the American automaker sold 61,575 electric vehicles in the United States and became the second-largest EV manufacturer in the country after Tesla. With the new Explorer SUV, Ford aims to take this saga of achievement across the border. Ford has said in its statement that it has no plans to launch the iconic electric crossover in the United States.
In 2019, Ford and Volkswagen announced to team up and launch two fully electric vehicles in the Europe market to help the Detroit automaker expand its electric footprint in the region. Ford expects to produce 1.2 million EVs using Volkswagen’s MEB platform over six years, starting in 2023.
The new 5-seater electric SUV has a futuristic design. With its advanced driving assistance technology, movable touchscreen and nearly 470 liters of storage capacity, it is well-equipped for family road trips. It will be available in two trims — the Explorer and Explorer Premium — with an expected base price of less than €45,000.