Ford was rumored to be working on something after the Edge ST was announced earlier this year, and the Explorer ST is the follow up model. It’s pledging to have the freshest lineup in the U.S.by 2020 by dropping the average age of its models to 3.3 years, from 5.7 years now.
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The Explorer ST is expected to get a unique body kit with black and red accents. Nearly every new Ford is going to get a hybrid option, including the all-conquering F150 pickup and even the Mustang coupe.
“Hybrids for years have been mostly niche products but are now on the cusp of a mainstream breakout”, Ford’s global markets president Jim Farley. And even if there’s a slim chance that ratio would increase further, Ford’s SUV offensive is directed at its competitors, from which it hopes to steal some more customers in the years ahead.
President of Global Operations, Joe Hinrichs took the stage and explained that the fitness aspect would be accomplished by replacing more than three quarters of the brand’s model line-up by 2020 and introducing four all new models.
Levine said the suite would be more advanced than standard packages on GM, Nissan, Honda and Toyota. The F-150 trucks, on the other hand, would get more low-end torque and a mobile generator.
FORD has teased a potential replacement for the EcoSport small SUV as it maps out a new-car future filled with hybrid and electric vehicles – including one classed as a “performance utility”. It’s good to see that Ford is moving ahead with the performance SUVs.
Ford will update its aging SUV lineup that’s been losing share in the US the last several years by redesigning its Escape and Explorer models and adding a battery-powered utility capable of traversing 300 miles on a charge. Commercial trucks and vans received an asterisk in the announcement; Ford didn’t confirm if the entire package of safety systems would grace every heavy-duty truck and commercial van, such as the E-Series vans and F-Series trucks bigger than the F-150. Five of the models will offer hybrid powertrains and one battery electric.
Ford Motor Co.’s product development chief says one way to make electric vehicles more popular is to give them wider appeal. Now the company has shown its first teaser of a sheet-covered short-wheelbase four-wheel drive with boxy, staunch proportions and a tailgate-mounted spare wheel that will pay homage to the original – we’ve rendered a better glimpse at what might come.
All upcoming hybrids from Ford would be cheaper and more efficient compared to the current hybrids, thanks to the common cell and component design and in-house motors, transmissions, and battery packs.
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“Both will be true off-road vehicles that will be as comfortable at high speeds on the road as they are on sand”, Farley said.
