Ford New Zealand has fronted up with full powertrain details on its local Mach-E battery electric vehicle (BEV) lineup, to be released in early 2023 - but the company is still tight-lipped on pricing, and whether it will be able to duck under $80k to allow buyers to claim the Government's $8625 Clean Car Discount.
The Mach-E will be available in three models. The entry single-motor RWD is naturally the best bet for a Discount-friendly retail price: it packs a 75.7kWh battery to give a range of 440km (WLTP figures). That capacity matches the higher-priced versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, which only offer 58kWh in their entry-level RWD specifications.
The Mach-E RWD makes 198kW/430Nm and can hit 100km/h in 6.9 seconds.
Middle of the range is a dual-motor AWD with a 98.7kWh battery, which puts the Mach-E up alongside premium makes for size and range: it achieves 540km on the WLTP standard. Combined power from the dual motors is 258kW/580Nm and 0-100km/h is 5.8 seconds - again, very close to the AWD Ioniq 5 and EV6, which both stretch into six-figure prices.
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Topping the range is the high-performance AWD GT, which keeps the same battery but drops 40km range as a result of its considerable power upgrade: 358kW/860Nm, with 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds.
Ford NZ says it has already begun customer-order and technical training preparation for the Mach-E, with an online ordering portal to be opened when pricing is made public.
“There is certainly a lot to take in whenever a new vehicle is launched, let alone an entirely new powertrain technology and platform like the Mach-E," says Ford NZ managing director Simon Rutherford.
"We are gearing up to help our dealership teams at every level become Mach-E and EV experts, helping to ensure when a customer emails, calls or walks in with questions, they’ll get the information they need."
It's well-known that putting the Mustang name on a pure-electric SUV upset some hard-core Mustang fans. And still does.
But it's doing the job. Globally, 80 per cent of Mach-E customers are new to the Ford brand and it now outsells the traditional Mustang eight-to-one.
Mach-E is key to Ford NZ's future planning, as it introduces a range of electrified models to help offset looming Clean Car Standard fines on what remains its "core" model - the top-selling Ranger ute.