By Michael Elkins
Ford (NYSE:F) on Tuesday unveiled its new all-electric Ford Explorer SUV exclusively for the European market. The automaker said it plans to leverage the well-known Explorer nameplate to gain traction.
Other than the Explorer name and some design attributes, the new vehicle has very little in common with its gas-powered counterpart in the U.S., or the plug-in hybrid version that's currently available in Europe. The naming is part of the company's strategy to leverage its "most iconic" brands for EVs, including the Mustang Mach-E crossover and F-150 Lightning.
The new Explorer EV is one of two vehicles expected for Europe that leverages the Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) Group's all-electric "MEB" platform at Ford’s factory in Cologne, Germany. The two auto companies first announced a broad collaboration on electric and autonomous vehicles in 2019. The collaboration on EVs was intended to speed up the process of getting vehicles to market as Ford works on its own dedicated platform.
"Explorer is a trailblazer for a new breed of exciting Ford electric vehicles," Martin Sander, general manager of Ford's European EV business, said in a release. "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."
The Detroit automaker expects to produce 1.2 million electric vehicles using Volkswagen's platform over six years, starting in 2023. Those plans include 600,000 EVs a year in Europe by 2026.
The Explorer EV will be offered in two trims: Explorer and Explorer Premium, with a starting price of less than 45,000 euros (about $48,250) when sales launch later this year.
Ford said that the company has no plans to offer the midsize electric crossover in the U.S.
Shares of F are up 4.79% in mid-day trading on Tuesday.