Ford opted to use the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform for electric cars, now its ambitions are greater and it will have its own.
The American carmaker Ford has opted to enter the electric age by taking advantage of resources and developments already made by other brands instead of doing it in-house.
This is a wise decision, as it has allowed Ford to bring two electric cars to market in a very short period of time, something that would not have been possible if it had to develop its own development platform for electric cars.
Ford announced its choice of the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform in 2020, which allowed the VW Group to earn significant revenues.
Ford’s two electric cars, the F-150 Lightning pickup and the Ford Mustang Mach-E are based on the platform, and there was even talk last year of a third Ford electric car on the MEB platform.
But Ford wants more, and several internal reports suggest that the American company has been working on a new development platform of its own for some time now, which means that in the near future the brand will not need the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform.
Martin Sander, head of electric vehicles in Europe had this to say:
“Any kind of integration with VW’s MEB platform, it’s very versatile, very capable. We are exploring all kinds of opportunities, how far we can go and what kind of segments we can cover with this.”
Still, Sander has also indicated that no final decision has been made and that they are not ruling out continuing to work with other brands to launch their electric cars, be it Volkswagen’s MEB or any other manufacturer’s.
Ford’s initial decision was a good one, but it is also true that not having its own development platform means that its vehicles cannot differentiate themselves in some aspects from the competition, which could be a weak point in the event that the American brand wants to differentiate itself from the rest.
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