Engineers find more usable battery capacity in the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Ford has unlocked more usable energy from the battery packs fitted to its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV for the 2022 model year, resulting in small but useful improvements to real-world range for most models in the line-up.
Unlike some manufacturers which are enabling extra kilometres of range via over-the-air updates, the first Mach-E cars to benefit from the changes will be delivered at the end of the first quarter of 2022.
Initially uncovered on Ford’s US configurator, depending on specification the Mach-E will offer between one and 7.4 per cent more claimed range, resulting in as much as a 27km gain on the Standard Range RWD model, according to American EPA range estimates.
The Standard Range RWD car offers up to a claimed 439km on a full charge, meaning the MY22 car could deliver up to 466km.
An exception to this development is the high-performance Mustang Mach-E GT.
Standard Range battery models have seen an increase in usable energy from 68kWh to 70kWh, while Extended Range models’ usable capacity has increased from 88kWh to 91kWh.
These relatively small 2kWh and 3kWh gains have likely been teamed with overall efficiency improvements to realise the relatively strong range improvements.
It has been accompanied by a change to the car’s charging curve as well, particularly beyond 80 per cent charge, where rapid charging usually tails off on many EVs to preserve battery longevity.
Ford General Manager of Electric Vehicle, Darren Palmer, had previously promised upgrades to fast charging capability at high states of charge, with owners on forums already reporting improvements to charging speed at higher battery capacities – beyond 40kW at more than 80 per cent capacity in some cases.
Sean Carson