Ford Mustang Mach-E to launch in Oz by 2024

The Ford Mustang Mach-E will be one of the five electrified models Ford Australia has promised to have on sale Down Under by the end of 2024, carsales can confirm.

Ford Australia’s electrified model rollout finally began with the Ford Escape plug-in hybrid in May and its first EV will be the large E-Transit van later this year, followed by the mid-size E-Transit Custom in 2024, leaving two other yet-to-be-announced EVs for local launch by the end of the same year.

Now, finally putting an end to years of speculation, a source with intimate knowledge of the matter has confirmed to carsales that one of those EVs will indeed be the Mustang Mach-E, meaning the bespoke battery-powered SUV could hit Ford Australia showrooms much sooner than 2024.

The source stopped short of revealing exactly which variants would be offered or when they might arrive, but a two- or three-grade line-up as per the Ford Mustang range seems the most probable eventuality. 

For reference, there are four variants to choose from in the US at the moment – Select, GT, Premium and California Route 1 – although sales for the current model year have been temporarily halted due to “high demand”.

High demand is exactly what has ruled the Mach-E out for Australia so far, given chief engineer Ron Heiser previously revealed to carsales the zero-emission high-rider was indeed destined for this market, before Ford was forced to focus on meeting unexpected North American and European demand.

Since then, the Mach-E has entered right-hand drive production and made its way into British showrooms, and was also confirmed for New Zealand, yet there’s still been no sign of the Mach-E coming Down Under.

That changed in January of this year, however, when carsales unearthed not one but two Ford trademark applications filed with IP Australia revolving around the Mach-E, specifically for the ‘Mustang Mach-E’ and ‘Mach-E’ nameplates.

Then last month Ford announced new partnerships with Chinese battery producer CATL and Australian raw materials provider BHP, and said it would increase EV production output to more than 600,000 units per annum from late next year.

The Kiwi Mach-E launch was also confirmed last month, with sales set to start across the ditch sometime in 2023.

Even now, however, Ford Australia is denying it has any local plans for the Mach-E.

“Mustang Mach-E is an amazing SUV, with a truly unique, innovative approach and classic Mustang style,” a local spokesperson told carsales.

“We love it, but we have no news to share on any plans to introduce it to Australia.

“We’ll look at each vehicle through the lens of how each customer will benefit – so far, that’s the range and fuel-saving of a BEV [E-Transit and E-Transit Custom], and the flexibility of a PHEV [Escape] for families.

“There’ll be more to come.”

With two all-electric commercial vehicles, one plug-in hybrid SUV and now a dedicated battery-powered crossover locked in for Australia, the only mainstream form of electrification missing from Ford’s expanding electrified model line-up is a self-charging hybrid, and just such a thing will likely come in the form of a Ford Ranger, which could become Ford Australia’s fifth electrified model by 2024.

Ford has already confirmed the new Ranger’s third-generation T6 architecture is receptive to various forms of electrification, and we can’t imagine the local division will want to be beaten to the electrified pick-up punch by the next-gen Mitsubishi Triton, for which a plug-in hybrid powertrain has already been confirmed.

The next-gen Nissan Navara will more than likely follow suit given it and the Triton are being developed in tandem.

A full battery-electric powertrain is also under study for the Japanese twins, something Ford will be no doubt aware of as it continues to develop what’s widely anticipated to be a zero-emission Ranger, or another all-electric ute that could be called the Ranger Lightning.

Sticking with the electric pick-up theme, the Ford F-150 Lightning is also an outside chance to arrive by the end of 2024, given Ford will officially remanufacture North America’s top-selling pick-up here from mid-2023.

However, the Ford Escape Hybrid would make more sense given the enormous demand for the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the fact it’s produced in right-hand drive – unlike the F-150.

Further afield, Ford Australia could also import a pure-electric version of the Ford Puma small SUV, a still-secret new mid-size electric SUV and a smaller electric “sport crossover”, all of which have been confirmed for Europe by 2024.

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