What will Ford’s fifth electric car be in Australia?

Ford Australia has reiterated its plans to have a total of five electric vehicles (EVs) on sale by the end of 2024.

At this stage the company has confirmed four of the five EVs set to be on sale by this deadline. These include the Mustang Mach-E SUV, E-Transit large commercial van, E-Transit Custom light commercial van, and the Puma EV crossover.

This target set by Ford Australia was previously referred to as five ‘electrified’ vehicles and included the Escape plug-in hybrid (PHEV). This model, however, is now confirmed to be getting the axe by the end of 2023 and therefore doesn’t count.

At this stage it’s still unclear what the fifth EV Ford Australia plans to have on sale by the end of 2024.

One option is the F-150 Lightning that was first revealed in 2021 but which has been hugely in-demand in North America.

Ford was forced to close its order books in December 2021, before production had even started, and in 2022 announced plans to double its production output in an attempt to get cars to customers sooner.

It’s worth noting Ford currently produces the F-150 Lightning exclusively in left-hand drive. The regular internal-combustion F-150 on the other hand is set to be remanufactured to right-hand drive in Australia.

If the Ford F-150 Lightning goes on sale locally it will go up against the likes of the Ram 1500 REV, which has been confirmed for an Australian launch.

Another option Ford Australia could be bringing to Australia is the European Explorer EV, which is the first of two confirmed vehicles to be based on the all-electric Volkswagen Group MEB architecture.

The other Ford EV to be built on the MEB platform is a “coupe” version of the Explorer, which rumours suggest could be known as the Explorer Sport or Capri.

Production of the Explorer EV will take place in Cologne, Germany, previously home to the Fiesta.

Measuring 4460mm long, the Explorer EV is shorter than the related Volkswagen ID.4 crossover (4584mm), but longer than the Volkswagen ID.3 hatch (4262mm). It’s also shorter than the Mustang Mach-E which measures just over 4.7 metres long.

If the Ford Explorer EV goes on sale in Australia it will go up against the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID.4, BYD Atto 3, and Peugeot e-2008, among others.

Ford Australia’s EV rollout forms part of the Blue Oval’s global investment of US$50 billion (~A$74 billion) in electrification through 2026.