Ford reveals new electric car, New Zealand to miss out

Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Ford has unveiled a new Explorer, but not as you know it. As opposed to the Explorer still offered in the United States, this Explorer is smaller, fully electric, and destined for showrooms all over Europe.

The new Explorer is Ford’s much teased and hyped first platform based off Volkswagen MEB architecture. It’s the brand’s fourth fully electric vehicle reveal, and its second BEV SUV behind the Mustang Mach-E.

Like what you see? Well, unfortunately it won’t be sold locally.

The Explorer EV is an intriguing model for Ford. Based on the same platform as the Volkswagen ID.4, it is very similar in size to the aforementioned Mach-E, with the same amount of seats.

There must be some kind of method to the madness of Ford releasing two SUVs in the same segment that are completely different from bottom to top.

**READ MORE:

The cabin is slave to an enormous 14.6-inch touchscreen.

* Why classic cars in crazy colours are crushing it at auction

* Every new EV under $80k for 2023 (so far)

The Explorer is set to come with either a 52kWh or 77kWh battery.

* Ford returns to Formula 1 after more than 20 years

* Kiwi customers keen on Ford's first electric car

Ford New Zealand has already confirmed that the Explorer EV won’t appear on our roads any time soon, clearing the path for the Mustang Mach-E to run unopposed.

“Unfortunately we can confirm it is not coming to NZ. We are committed to EVs in NZ but they need to make sense for our market and be competitive for our customers,” a Ford New Zealand spokesperson told Stuff.

The new Explorer features rounded edges, distinctive LED signatures at each end, and (unsurprisingly, given it’s an EV) no main grille area. It would be hard to pick it as a descendent of the ID.4, with the model if anything looking most like a Mustang Mach-E relative.

Whilst Ford has yet to confirm the Explorer’s powertrain details, UK publication AutoExpress reports that the model will get two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants, and the choice of either a 52kWh battery or a 77kWh battery.

These two batteries, the outlet says, are good for 351km and 539km of range, respectively, with only the latter offering 170kW charging speeds. The flagship dual-motor variant will reportedly make 250kW, and feature a slightly depleted 491km range.

Inside, the dashboard is punctuated by a whopping 14.6-inch portrait touchscreen, with a digital cluster, almost square steering wheel, ambient lighting, and wireless device charging also present.

Whilst the Explorer won’t be sold in New Zealand, it could make an appearance of sorts here in the coming months.

Alongside the new model’s debut, Ford confirmed that it will have an Explorer EV drive around the world – a stunt designed to hush those still concerned about range anxiety in electric vehicles.

The drive will be performed by intrepid adventurer and social media influencer Lexie Alford, also known as Lexie Limitless.

Alford became the youngest person in the world to have travelled to every country on the planet in 2019 at 21-years-old – a verified Guinness World Record. Her drive of the Explorer is a tip of the hat to Aloha Wanderwell; the first woman to drive around the world.

Wanderwell’s journey took place over a five-year period between 1922 and 1927, covering more than 610,000km across 80 countries in a Ford Model T, and performed whilst Wanderwell was just 16-years-old.