Ford Mustang Mach-E to be continually updated

Global Ford CEO Jim Farley says the Ford Mustang Mach-E will be updated with new software and hardware constantly during its life rather than follow the traditional course of annual model-year upgrades and a more significant mid-cycle overhaul.

Following Tesla's example, which helped introduce the concept of constantly updating a model throughout its life, Farley said the change in strategy is an example of how Ford plans to radically alter the way it designs, develops and manufactures vehicles.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Farley said in the future the Blue Oval brand will not wait for traditional model year changes to upgrade its Mach-E, instead making changes "on the fly" via both over-the-air software updates and hardware improvements.

"We are not going to wait for next year. We’re are going to re-engineer that vehicle now, and then use that expertise for the F-150 Lightning," Farley told the newswire.

Under this strategy, Farley says it will lead to cheaper production of the Mach-E – and other models.

"We have learned so much about the lack of integration in our engineering operations as we compared our engineering on Mach-E to others that are best-in-class, and we are finding lots of profit opportunities," he said.

"Being in the industry as long as I have, I haven’t felt this chance to take out so much cost after Job 1."

Providing Bloomberg an example, Farley said one of the Mach-E improvements included refining the battery-electric SUV's cooling system.

As part of the updates the hoses were reduced by a third and the number of motor-driven pumps cut by half.

Fewer parts slash both complexity and cost, leading to higher profits.