Ford confirmed during CES 2017 that they are planning to build an all-electric SUV.
The vehicle will be powered with autonomous features and designed to appeal to the segment of buyers who like compact crossovers.
In an earlier statement, the automobile brand announced that they have planned to launch at least 13 electric vehicles in the next five years. It marks their big entry into the world of electric cars and Ford is planning to offer a car in multiple segments including hatchbacks, SUVs among other models. The newest announced confirmed that the upcoming model is an all-electric compact SUV equipped with fully autonomous technology. If you are already excited to buy this one, you are in for a disappointment and the car won’t be available until 2021.
Technical specifications of the upcoming model remain sparse. While Ford did confirm they will be building the new SUV at their Flat Rock plant in Michigan during the CES 2017 announcement that was the only update done during the conference. Being an all-electric SUV meant for 2021, it is not surprising to see the manufacturer keeping all details under wraps as they are probably not ready to reveal them all right now. Apart from this crossover, there will be a plug-in Transit custom car, smaller cars as well as one designed for the police department.
Ford is debuting their EV technology this year which enters alpha phase in 2017 and from now on, the tech will continue to improve with real time statistics collected on road. Making electric vehicles easy to use is an important task for all automobile manufacturers. People should be able to readily charge them, use the features and be able to rely on its autonomous technology. Besides, the engine should be reliable and render performance on par with petrol or diesel powertrains.
During the CES 2017 event, Ford discussed their plans to introduce electric cars in massive numbers so that they become mainstream. However, the company didn’t reveal any plans related to setting up charging stations. A viable way is to make use of existing gas stations and garages which when equipped with quick charging ports make it easy for users to drive anywhere. Implementing the idea in different countries may take time but many European countries have already managed to achieve it because of Tesla’s presence there. A unified communication system is also being developed to make autonomous technology possible.
