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FORTUNE.COM // DECEMBER 2019
Bolt. The problem: All three of
those models have struggled with
uninspiring sales.
“Tesla taught the industry
that doing a ‘compliance’ car”—
built mainly to satisfy stringent
pollution and fuel efficiency
standards—“is a disaster,” says
John McElroy, host of the news
and analysis website Autoline. “If
growing, both in the U.S. and over-
seas. Ford expects EV sales to grow
to 1.5 million a year in the U.S. by
2025, comprising more than 100
different models.
Still, consumers remain cau-
tious. Surveys show a majority of
the public believes that EVs are too
slow, perform poorly in extreme
weather, and take too long toFEEDBACK [email protected]
charge—persistent concerns that
Ford classifies as “myths.” When
their own income is involved, even
industry observers are skeptical.
Henry Payne, an automotive critic
at the Detroit News, says he had
“no interest” in environmentally
friendly cars—until he bought a
Tesla Model 3.
“Tesla positions the battery and
motors low, meaning a low center
of gravity—just what you’re look-
ing for in a sports car,” Payne says,
adding that the car’s software-
oriented experience also appeals:
“Everything works through the
touch screen, and the over-the-air
updates to the car are unbeliev-
able—just like your smartphone.”
Ford isn’t exactly new to electri-
fication and its associated tradeoffs.
The company’s first entry into
the gas-electric hybrid cate gory,
which was pioneered by Toyota’s
Prius, was the 2004 Escape SUV.
The goal in those days was to save
energy at a time when gasoline was
considered costly, environmental
activism was on the rise, and fossil
fuels seemed to place Western for-
eign policy at the mercy of Arab oil
producers. Most gas-electric hybrid
models sold well; drivers liked that
the technology felt like that of a
conventional car.
But battery electric vehicles—
BEVs—are a far different proposi-
tion. The Mustang Mach-E will
be Ford’s first to be built on an
architecture designed specifically
for a large lithium-ion battery and
electric motors. (Ford previously
rigged a small number of Focus
sedans and Ranger pickups with
batteries to develop the technol-
ogy.) Much like the Model 3, the
Mach-E’s battery—which weighs
more than 1,200 pounds—sits
wide, low, and long in the vehicle,
establishing a low center of gravity
and strengthening the car’s frame.
Ford plans to use the same archi-move to reimagine its best-known
brand in the face of industrywide
sales declines that have left no
automaker untouched.
N
O ONE ASKED FORD to mess
with the Mustang. The
automaker could have
brought to market a far
more utilitarian electric vehicle,
given it a name that wasn’t already
part of Americana, and positioned
it to signal zero- emission virtue in
the tradition of EV models such as
the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, or Chevy
you’re going to make an electric, it
better look great, have good range
between charges, and be desirable.
Then you have a chance to make a
profit.”
Despite the mindshare that
Tesla enjoys, the number of EVs on
American roads remains relatively
small, representing 1 million of
the approximately 275 million
passenger-registered vehicles. But
with manufacturers under regula-
tory pressure at home and abroad
to limit carbon emissions, the
number of EVs sold each year isGENUINE PONY
A five-passenger,
all-electric SUV
with the Mustang’s
famous gallop-
ing horse logo?
Believe it. The lines
shaping the nose of
Ford’s new Mustang
Mach-E [1] preser ve
the family like-
ness but drop the
usual honeycomb
grille—after all,
there’s no internal
combustion engine
to cool. An electric
plug on the car’s
left front fender [2]
underscores the
point. Inside, promi-
nent touch-screen
displays [3] allow
for centralized,
Tesla-like manipu-
lation of various car
systems and serve
as extremely visible
signals to passen-
gers and fellow
drivers alike that
this Mustang is not
like the others.