Ford released the first image of a Mustang-inspired electric crossover that it plans to bring to market in 2020.
The teaser image doesn’t offer a lot of detail. The image is just a sketch of the vehicle’s backside, which shows at least a leaning towards the Mustang profile. But it’s important because it marks the beginning of what promises to be a long promotional effort to get customers excited for the automaker’s shift towards electric vehicles.
This electric vehicle teaser image comes on the heels of the company’s decision to end its nationwide advertising for its sedans such as the Fiesta, Focus and Taurus. The automaker announced in April that it would phase out most cars it sells in North America. Ford will continue to produce the Mustang and focus the rest of its efforts in North America on trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles as well as a move into electric vehicles.
Not much is known about this new Mustang-esque vehicle. The automaker describes it as an electric performance utility; the vehicle is expected to be able to travel about 300 miles on a single charge.
Ford is investing $11 billion to add 16 all-electric vehicles within its global portfolio of 40 electrified vehicles through 2022. At the heart of the company’s electrification effort is its Corktown project, a massive 1.2 million square feet of space dedicated to its electric and autonomous vehicles businesses.
The goal of Corktown is to create a “mobility corridor,” — Ford’s version of its own Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley — that ties hubs of research, testing and development in the academic hub of Ann Arbor to Ford’s Dearborn headquarters, and finally to Detroit. Ford will house 2,500 Ford employees, most from its emerging mobility team, in its new Corktown campus by 2022.
