Ford and Volkswagen have an ongoing deal that will involve sharing platforms and making cars in the same factories. One of those platforms is Volkswagen’s MEB, which underpins the ID.3, ID.4, and others, and it is set to spawn a crossover for the Blue Oval. It will be one of seven upcoming EVs for the American brand. We already know that number from a previous announcement made last year.
It is important to note that the Ford-VW tie-up will involve four passenger cars and five commercial vehicles. In other words, the prototype that is featured in these fresh spy photos is supposed to be one of the four passenger cars that the Blue Oval will build based on a Volkswagen Group platform.
From what we already know from previous statements and spy shots from February this year, our shots show an EV that is bigger than the Mustang Mach-E and even bigger than the Medium-size Crossover our spies caught in February this year. In other words, this should be something bigger than a Volkswagen ID.4, and it looks like it fits the bill from that perspective, at least from what we can distinguish from the photos.
This is the first public sighting of the prototype out in the open, it is camouflaged to mark the occasion, and this barely covers the basics.
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We still do not know what Ford intends to name the new crossover, but we do know that it is an all-electric model and that it will have a size that is close to the Volkswagen ID.6 – though with a lot more ground clearance. For now, it is referred to as the “Sport Crossover“, and it is set to be following the smaller “Medium-size Crossover” that will share Volkswagen’s MEB platform and is scheduled for a launch in early 2024.
From a styling perspective, it will have a boxy shape, quite huge LED headlights, an angular tailgate, and what looks like an inspiration from the Explorer body, but only as far as styling cues go. The interior is allegedly set to be exclusive to Ford, as well, while Volkswagen will keep its touch controls for itself on their ID. range.
The Blue Oval has confirmed to produce the new pair of electric crossovers in Cologne, Germany. Both will be underpinned by the Volkswagen group’s EV hardware. ‘The medium-sized crossover and the sports crossover will both be based on the MEB platform,’ Ford of Europe chair Stuart Rowley said. He promised they would be highly differentiated products.
The Ford-VW partnership is key to the company’s electric plans. The European chief pledged that the Cologne factory – the heart of Ford’s EV plans – will account for 1.2 million units over their lifecycle.
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