At the beginning of the year, the new electric Ford Explorer arrived on the market. It was introduced on the American market, but although it was expected that it would arrive in Europe very soon, it seems that this will not be the case.
According to the Kölnische Rundschau, Ford was to start production of the Explorer this month, while sales were to begin in the first months of next year. But it seems that Ford would have to postpone the launch on the European market. According to this source, employees in Cologne (Germany) have already been informed about this. The reason could be new safety regulations in the European Union.
From 2024, the EU intends to put additional assistance systems on the list of mandatory for all new cars. For newly homologated vehicles, these regulations apply as early as July 6, 2022, and from the following year they will apply to vehicles with an old type of homologation.
This model is built on Volkswagen’s MEB architecture as a technological twin of the VW ID.4 model. The reason for this possible six-month delay is reportedly related to new safety regulations that will come into force in the near future.
Ford has not revealed many details about this car. It remains unclear which individual components Ford is getting from Volkswagen and how the electric Explorer differs from other MEB-based models. It is also not known what powertrain the Ford Explorer will use.
When it comes to the price, the Ford Explorer should cost up to 45,000 euros, and the order book is already open.
Source: Kölnische Rundschau