When Ford rolled back the covers on the 2024 Mustang last week it revealed the anticipated base model, as well as the more powerful GT version. And it delivered a bit of a surprise in the form of the 500-horsepower Dark Horse edition. But there was something missing at the well-attended “Mustang Stampede” event.
In 2017, Ford announced it was working on a hybrid version of the pony car, and there were widespread expectations it could debut along with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost and 5.0-liter powertrains for the new seventh-generation Mustang. That didn’t happen.
Now, Ford is well-known for holding back variants of the Mustang. And its corporate PR department lives by the mantra, “We don’t talk about future product.” But, in this case, spokesman Mike Levine broke the rule, telling TheDetroitBureau.com, “There’s no hybrid Mustang.”
According to Levine, the decision to abandon the hybrid program came not long after Ford announced the project — when it decided to reconfigure its effort to develop an all-electric SUV. Initially, the plan was to come up with a basic EV that would just be enough to meet the requirements of California’s strict zero-emissions vehicle mandate. But that was scrapped by now-CEO Jim Farley who, instead, ordered the development of a sportier, higher-performance EV that would become the Mustang Mach-E.
No hybrid? Why?
At that point, explained spokesman Levine, there was no justification for a hybrid. “No need.”
Why kill it off? Industry watchers offer several possible explanations.
“From a business standpoint, this makes perfect sense,” said Sam Abuelsamid, the principal auto analyst with Guidehouse Insights, “considering the popularity of the Mach-E which is (close to) outselling the traditional Mustang coupe now.”
American motorists bought 27,722 of the all-electric SUVs during the first eight months of this year, about 2% more than the 27,140 sold during all of 2021. And sales have been severely restricted due to production capacity constraints.
While U.S. buyers purchased 33,144 of the classic, gas-powered Mustang coupes through the end of August, that was down nearly 15% from year-before numbers. For all of 2021, U.S. Mustang coupe sales came in at just 52,414, less than half the 122,439 delivered in 2015. And that, said Sam Fiorani, lead analyst with AutoForecast Solutions, makes for a bad business case for adding a hybrid to the line-up.
The car that never was
While Ford never provided details about the Mustang hybrid program, it was expected to focus on delivering a significant boost in power, relying on the massive, instantaneous torque electric motors can deliver.
But, noted Fiorani, “Ford currently doesn’t have a high-performance hybrid and it would require a lot of engineering to come up with one.” Among other things, he explained, “It would require reconfiguring the Mustang platform to make room for a battery.”
And the cost of all that engineering would be spread over a single generation, around five to six years, because Ford has even more dramatic plans in place for the eighth-generation Mustang, both Abuelsamid and Fiorani agreed.
According to internal planning documents, the next version of the coupe will go 100% electric, just like the Mustang Mach-E.
The precise timing is uncertain, “and they’ve pushed the window out” from the original plan, said Fiorani, forecasting the Mustang battery coupe likely won’t arrive until sometime around the 2029 or 2030 model years.
Good planning
That’s likely a smart move, added Abuelsamid, noting Ford has a lot coming in the battery-electric segment during the coming decade. It plans to open an entirely new manufacturing complex, dubbed BlueOval City, near Memphis around 2026. And it is in the process of setting up a number of new battery plants, including two in Kentucky and another at the BlueOval City complex.
By the time the all-electric Mustang coupe arrives, it will be able to use “a number of next-generation technologies,” said Abuelsamid, including “next-gen motors, and an 800-volt electrical architecture.”
Ford is configuring its new battery plants to be able to switch to lighter, smaller and more energy-dense solid-state batteries once that technology is ready for mass production. That would work to the advantage of a vehicle like the Mustang coupe which doesn’t offer a lot of space to tuck in today’s lithium-ion batteries.
Meanwhile, the pony car would benefit from more powerful motors and a higher-voltage electrical system delivering more power, as well as faster charging times, he explained.
The new Dark Horse edition is one of the most powerful Mustangs ever, at 500 hp, but it would be easy for Ford to beat that using electric motors, experts suggest. The new Lucid Air makes up to 1,100 ponies, and even the new Kia EV6 GT will punch out 576 hp when it reaches U.S. showrooms later this year.
Unhappy campers in a changing world
There was some initial pushback by Mustang loyalists when Ford decided to use that name on its all-electric SUV, but resistance has been fading. And Fiorani believes, by the end of the decade, even the most diehard traditionalists could be net in favor of an all-electric coupe.
“The performance will be so staggering,” he believes, “so over the top, buyers would forgive not having a V-8 under the hood.”
As plans currently go “Someone will have laid the groundwork” for going electric with a traditional muscle car, Fiorani added.
General Motors has laid out plans to go 100% electric by 2035 and recently confirmed a battery-powered Chevrolet Corvette is in the works. There’s plenty of speculation that Chevy will bring out a Camaro EV, as well.
Last month, Dodge announced it will halt production of its classic Charger and Challenger models at the end of the 2023 model year. At the same time, it revealed its Charger Daytona SRT Concept, a prototype all-electric muscle coupe. A production version — close to the design of the show car, TheDetroitBureau has learned — will reach U.S. showrooms in 2024.
To minimize resistance, Dodge is taking some novel steps, including the use of a multi-step gearbox — most of today’s EVs using a single-gear transmission. It’s also created an external sound system mimicking the resonant roar of its current Hellcat V-8 powertrain.
Whether Ford will follow that approach is uncertain but it still has a few years to think about what a battery-powered Mustang coupe will be like.
The gas-powered Mustang isn’t about to go out with a whimper, however. Internal documents suggest Ford will continue to follow its classic playbook and continue to bring out ever more powerful variants. The Shelby GT500 set to vanish when the seventh-gen coupe goes into production will have only a brief hiatus. It’s expected to return for the 2026 model year and deliver even better performance than before. The current Shelby punches out 760 hp.
But that would be an easy number for an all-electric Mustang coupe to not only match but handily exceed.
I’ll take the Daytona Concept over this all day every day, even though I would prefer it to be called Charger 500.
The lower front valence has a lot of Civic Type R in it, has a strong Taurus grille opening…no, wait, upside down Mach E. Rear quarters, 68 – 70 at the top but the wheel opening bulges interfere with the crisp line of the top of the quarter. At certain angles and light, it almost looks like the front of the quarter is dented or the opening has been flared like a bad body kit. See the convertible in the leading photo. But then with the grey coupe the leading surface of the quarter reminds you of Camaro.
And yes, while you can have a Mach H, GTH, you really can’t b/c Mach H? C’mon. GTH? Naw, GT Hertz edition or proper G.T. 350H. Mach E is what we wanted and maybe what FOMOCO Farley and crew should’ve come up with a better name for the eCUV.
“The performance will be so staggering,” he believes, “so over the top, buyers would forgive not having a V-8 under the hood.” Wrong, you will NEVER be forgiven for not having a V8 under the hood.