Ford, like every legacy automaker, is scrambling to electrify its portfolio before strict emissions regulations and internal combustion engine bans make selling gas-powered cars almost impossible. So far, it’s electrified the Mustang and the F-150 pickup truck, and now it’s preparing to launch a battery-powered Explorer.
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The new Explorer has been developed by Ford and German automaker Volkswagen. The two companies announced a partnership to build EVs together in 2019, which they said would see Ford use VW’s platforms to develop more EVs for the European market.
That’s exactly what’s happening with this new Explorer. It has been built on Volkswagen’s MEB electric vehicle platform, which is the same platform used in the ID.4 electric crossover. But you wouldn’t really know that from the outside.
Instead of the ID.4’s distinctly VW lines, the new Explorer has a futuristic, boxy style to it. Its roofline and C pillar are familiar from the 2023 Explorer we see over here, but updated to fit the EV’s much smaller dimensions. It’s actually almost 21 inches shorter than the current Explorer.
Despite its smaller size, the new EV Explorer has seats for five across two rows and storage space spread across the car of “about 470 liters,” which is roughly 125 gallons here in America. Inside, Ford says there will also be an “ultra-modern” interior that packs in sport seats and a soundbar audio system.
Inside, there’s also a touchscreen that makes up the center console, as well as an enormous storage bin that can fit a 15-inch laptop with ease. The Explorer also comes with standard features like keyless entry, heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and a hands-free tailgate.
When it comes to the EV tech, Ford hasn’t given a range target for the new car just yet but, if it had, that would all have been calculated to Europe’s WLTP cycles, rather than the EPA testing America follows here.
Ford has, however, confirmed that the new Explorer will be able to fast-charge from ten percent battery up to 80 percent in just 25 minutes on one of Europe’s fancy DC charging points. The Blue Oval also says buyers will have access to more than 450,000 charging points across Europe when the Explorer finally hits the highway autobahn.
The new Ford Explorer EV will be available to pre-order in Europe later this year, when buyers will be able to choose from rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants. The Explorer will also be available with Assisted Lane-Change technology, which Ford says is a first for its cars in Europe.
But that’s the bad news here, all of this is just for buyers in Europe. Ford will build the new EV at its Ford Cologne EV Centre in Germany, meaning it wouldn’t qualify for the new tax breaks brought in by the Inflation Reduction Act and, as such, the company has no plans to bring it stateside. In a statement shared with Jalopnik, Ford said:
“The new electric Explorer has been developed specifically for Europe with European customers in mind and is produced exclusively in Europe. There are no plans to export the electric Explorer to other markets including North America at this point.”
But don’t be sad that we’re missing out, be happy that it happened in the first place. And maybe Ford will take everything it learns from the Europe-exclusive Explorer and pack it into an all-new model that it’ll finally bring over here one day. We can always dream.