Ford Motor Co will use the Mustang name, previously reserved for a muscle car, for an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) that customers in the United States, Canada and Europe can start ordering on Nov. 17, the company said on Thursday.
Ford confirmed its new electric SUV will be called the Mustang Mach-E ahead of a debut event scheduled for Los Angeles on Sunday.
Until now, the Mustang name has been used only on a line of sporty coupes associated with Detroit’s 1960s muscle car era.
The SUV will be among a more than dozen all-electric automobiles the company plans to launch by 2022 with an investment of $11.5 billion as it moves away from traditional gas-powered cars.
In April, the No.2 U.S. carmaker invested $500 million in electric automaker Rivian and said it planned to use the Michigan startup’s platform to build a new Ford-branded electric vehicle.
A reservation for the Mustang Mach-E can be made on Ford’s website in the United States, Canada and Europe by paying a refundable deposit of $500, the company said.
Ford has apparently learned from brands like Porsche, Lamborghini and Jeep that even ardent fans will forgive the use of a brand name on a once-unthinkable type of vehicle. That’s as long as the new vehicle maintains some core aspects of the original and as long as the original vehicle that made the brand carries on as well.
For instance, Porsche fans were once outraged by the Cayenne SUV. But because Porsche still makes sports cars like the 911 and the Cayenne can credibly claim to be “the Porsche of SUVs,” the brand remains strong.
By Ankit Ajmera, Anil D’Silva and Mark Potter
The CNN Wire contributed to this report.
