A Ford to rival the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6? Blue Oval to add another mid-size electric SUV in 2023 to sit alongside Mustang Mach-E

Ford has announced a suite of changes to its production and line-up which will see it triple its electric vehicle output by 2026 and, importantly, add a new mid-size electric SUV.

The new SUV will sit alongside the Mustang Mach-E in the brand’s electrified portfolio, which also currently includes the Transit EV and F-150 Lightning.

Ford says the new mid-size SUV will be focused on Europe, where it already offers the Escape mid-sizer as a combustion car or a plug-in hybrid. It is unclear whether this new SUV will be a replacement for the Escape, an Escape EV or an all-new model to run alongside it.

It is also notable that Ford and Volkswagen have deepened their ties which are currently the source of the new Ranger and Amarok pairing. It is understood that the brands will also team up for an MEB-based electric vehicles in Europe, whether this is a Ford version of the ID.4 SUV or ID.3 hatch or a new vehicle entirely is as-yet unclear.

Ford has also spent time aligning its resources in order to deliver on its promise of 600,000 electric vehicle deliveries by 2026. To that end, it has struck a new deal with China’s CATL to provide more affordable LFP batteries for its EVs, a significant change from the current and more traditional NMC batteries it sources from South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation.

LFP batteries are more affordable than their NMC counterparts and Ford predicts they will shave costs by 10-15 per cent. Recently, entry-level versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y have moved to LFP chemistry for their battery packs.

Ford's mystery new SUV will sit alongside the Mustang Mach-E in the European market.

Ford even says the nickel and lithium for its ambitious new EV plans will be sourced from BHP and Liontown Resources respectively in Australia.

It can’t be long before we see the new Ford EV, as the company has plans to sell 30,000 of them before the end of next year, but don’t keep your hopes up for an imminent Australian launch, as we still haven’t even seen the Mustang Mach-E Down Under.

The brand is struggling to keep up with sales of the electric SUV in Europe and the US where the response to it has generated “huge enthusiasm and demand”, according to Ford CEO Jim Farley.

Unlike the F-150 Lightning though, the Mustang Mach-E is built in right-hand drive for the United Kingdom, offering a flicker of hope for a future Australian arrival.

The F150's electric spin-off is still just a distant hope for the Australian market.

Ford says it can deliver a whopping 600,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2023, with a plan to triple that number to 2 million by the end of 2026.

Combustion versions of the sought-after F-150 will finally arrive in Australia mid way through 2023 as part of a local re-manufacturing effort to seize on demand demonstrated by the Ram 1500 (imported by Ateco) and Chevrolet Silverado (imported by GMSV). It is unclear if Ford has plans to add the Lightning electric variant to the local line-up, but given the state of demand for that model in North America, it could be a while before it arrives.

Ford has chosen to lead in Australia with the commercial Transit range rather than the exciting Mach-e SUV.

Ford is majorly pivoting to electrification globally, splitting its business into ‘Model e’ and ‘Ford Blue’ which represent the research and development departments of purely electric vehicles and combustion vehicles respectively. These massive new electrified investments by the brand come at the expense of Ford Blue, which is experiencing a cutback of 8000 workers in the coming months.

Ford has been a laggard in the Australian market when it comes to adding electric and hybrid vehicles, only just having added a plug-in hybrid version of the Escape mid-sizer in Australia. Next up will be fully electric versions of the Transit full-size van, and smaller Transit Custom.