The cooperation between the automotive giants Ford and Volkswagen in the development of electric cars was no secret, but we have finally seen the first tangible fruits of the agreement, which provides that Ford can use the MEB electric car platform developed by Volkswagen. Ford has introduced its first electric car built on the MEB platform and it is the Explorer EV.
This car is specially designed for the European market and has nothing in common with the Ford crossover of the same name, which is offered in the USA and also in some countries in Europe. This model is planned to be produced at the Ford plant in Cologne and is slightly shorter in dimensions than the related Volkswagen ID.4.
The 15-inch multimedia screen placed in a vertical position is immediately noticeable in the cabin, and it can also be raised higher or lowered a little lower. The driver is given a 5-inch digital instrument panel, which displays all the main information.
Ford has demonstrated the car, but forgot the most important technical information. The manufacturer has revealed that the machine is available with rear-wheel drive and also all-wheel drive, while charging from 10 to 80% with an appropriate power charger will take 25 minutes. Since the car was built on the MEB platform, we can make predictions that the battery capacity and other parameters will also be very similar, if not identical, to cars produced by Volkswagen.
The manufacturer has not yet indicated the approximate driving distance on a single charge, but it is known that the car is equipped with a heat pump to improve efficiency at low temperatures. Explorer EV is equipped with 12 ultrasonic sensors, five cameras and three cameras that monitor what is happening all around the machine. The starting price offered by the manufacturer for this car is 45 thousand euros, but we do not yet know the battery capacity and other parameters in order to fully judge whether it is cheap or expensive.
