Ford’s new car Explorer EV officially released, based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform.

On March 21, 2023, the new product co-developed by Ford and Volkswagen was officially released. The new car, named Explorer EV, is a compact pure electric vehicle based on the same MEB platform as the Volkswagen ID.4. The official stated that this car will be officially delivered in early 2024, with a starting price expected to be $48,000, about 330,000 yuan.

The design language of this brand-new pure electric vehicle is slightly different from that of Ford’s previous models. The front face of the new car adopts a through-style design, but the headlamp unit is not through style. The hook-shaped DRLs on both sides are connected by black decorative strips, and the brand logo of Ford is located in the center of the closed grille, with a sturdy bumper. A U-shaped silver decoration line is added to the lower bumper, echoing the bottom line of the closed grille.

The new car adopts a floating roof design, and the window line rises at the C-pillar. Since the new car is positioned as a compact SUV, its side is not very sleek and slightly shorter than the ID.4. In addition, the wheels are multi-spoke two-color low-drag wheels, providing three options in sizes of 19/20/21 inches.

The design elements of the tail are similar to the front face, and the taillight style and rear bumper style echo the front of the car.

This car offers body colors such as Nordkap Blue, Vitality Blue, Frozen White, Magnetic Grey, Agate Black, and Vitality Red.

Inside the car, this car uses a 15-inch Ford Sync Move central touch screen that can be raised and lowered. Touch buttons are set on the island platform below the screen, which can control functions such as volume. The ambient light above the center console is actually a Sound Bar speaker. In addition, the car is equipped with keyless entry, dual-zone automatic air conditioning, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 10-color ambient light, and other functions.

In terms of intelligent driving, this car is equipped with 12 ultrasonic radars, 5 cameras and other hardware. It is the first Ford model in Europe to offer automatic lane changing function. In addition, other ADAS functions of the car include adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function, pre-collision assistance, crossroad alert with active braking, Active Park Assist 2.0 parking assistance system, etc.

As for the powertrain, Ford has not yet disclosed many details. However, because the Explorer EV is based on the same MEB platform as the Volkswagen ID.4, there will not be much difference in terms of power parameters.

Officially, the Explorer EV will offer both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions. The battery can be charged from 10% to 80% in 25 minutes under fast charging mode.

The vehicle has a battery temperature pre-adjustment function, which can optimize the charging speed, charging plan and trip planning through the system.

Ford officials said that Explorer EV users can use more than 450,000 charging piles in Europe this year, and this number will reach 500,000 by 2024, including more than 2,100 DC fast charging piles built by Ionity in more than 450 locations.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.