Automaker could launch first electric vehicle by 2022.
According to Motor1.com, the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E had a big debut at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show. With the Blue Oval preparing to launch its first serious EV effort, one might naturally assume that the company’s luxury arm, Lincoln, would soon take a crack at an EV using the Mach-E’s bones (just as it does with the Escape-based Corsair, the Explorer-based Aviator, and the Expedition-based Navigator).
That may be a little presumptive, though. Reuters reports Lincoln won’t take advantage of the Mach-E’s existence and will instead look to startup Rivian and its skateboard chassis to underpin the brand’s first all-electric vehicle, a compact SUV (naturally). Ford invested $500 million in Rivian earlier this year, and at the time, made clear that it would use the company’s EV chassis in its vehicles. Neither party responded to Reuters.
Yet according to Green Car Reports:
The Aviator plug-in could serve as a much better bridge to the upcoming fully electric. The model will offer Pure EV and Preserve EV modes. Given the name Pure EV, we’re assuming that Lincoln has chosen to let owners lock in fully electric operation. Even near or when the accelerator is floored.
The Aviator Grand Touring is rated at 450 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. It has a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 under the hood. When the PHEV runs through its charge it will operate as a hybrid. Meeting or beating the fuel economy numbers for non-hybrid models, said Ford. The EPA hasn’t yet rated the Aviator plug-in hybrid’s electric range. Something Ford has been tight-lipped about, but with the battery at around 13 kwh, it’s expected in the vicinity of 20 miles.
