Ford reveals new Explorer EV for the European market

DETROIT — Ford Motor on Tuesday unveiled its first all-new electric vehicle exclusively for the European market and said it plans to leverage the well-known Explorer nameplate to gain traction.

The EV crossover is part of Ford’s plans to transition its European lineup to be entirely electric by 2030.

Other than the Explorer name and some design attributes, the new vehicle shares little to nothing with the gas-powered SUV in the U.S., or a plug-in hybrid version that’s currently available in Europe. The naming is part of the company’s strategy to leverage its “most iconic” brands for EVs, including the Mustang Mach-E crossover and F-150 Lightning.

Ford said it has no plans to offer the midsize electric crossover in the U.S. It is one of two vehicles expected for Europe that leverages the Volkswagen Group’s all-electric “MEB” platform at Ford’s factory in Cologne, Germany.

Ford and Volkswagen first announced a broad collaboration on electric and autonomous vehicles in 2019. The collaboration on EVs was intended to speed up the process of getting vehicles to market as Ford works on its own dedicated platform.

The Detroit automaker expects to produce 1.2 million electric vehicles using Volkswagen’s platform over six years, starting in 2023 — double its previous production plans. Those plans include 600,000 EVs a year in Europe by 2026.

Ford said the Explorer EV will be offered in two trims: Explorer and Explorer Premium, with a starting price of less than 45,000 euros (about $48,250) when sales launch later this year. The company declined to disclose the expected range and other performance statistics.

Ford has said it wants to reference its American roots more in the marketing and styling of European passenger cars, according to Automotive News.

“Explorer is a trailblazer for a new breed of exciting Ford electric vehicles,” Martin Sander, general manager of Ford’s European EV business, said in a release. “Steeped in our American roots but built in Cologne for our customers in Europe, it is road trip-ready for the big adventures and fully loaded with everything our customers will need for their daily drives.”

The push for EVs by Ford comes amid a restructuring of its European operations that thus far has included thousands of layoffs. Ford executives have said the automaker is looking toward a “leaner, more competitive cost structure” for the region.