Ford is already planning updates for the 2022 Mustang Mach-E, chief engineer Donna Dickson confirmed in a recent interview with industry analyst Sandy Munro on the latter's YouTube channel.
First spotted by Design News, the full interview runs just over 38 minutes, with the discussion of range and efficiency improvements starting around the 26:00 mark.
The 2021 Mach-E was the first non-Tesla EV to earn 300 miles of EPA-rated range, achieving that in Extended-range form with rear-wheel drive. Dickson, who recently took the reins (no pun intended) from Ron Heiser, said Ford has plans to continue boosting range through the next three model years.
2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E Ice White Appearance Package
"Its year-over-year improvement," Dickson said. "So, we'll go and get additional range-improvement actions coming in for '22; we have more coming in '23, and more coming in '24."
The Mach-E is among the first Ford vehicles with over-the-air update capability for vehicle systems, but Dickson indicated that these "actions" will involve hardware changes.
She specifically mentioned some planned changes aimed at saving weight, including eliminating one of two motor coolant pumps and using lighter-weight material for certain hoses. Post-launch data indicates those changes can be made, Dickson said.
2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E Ice White Appearance Package
Similarly, Ford plans to eliminate the automatic-transmission parking pawl that currently holds the Mach-E in Park, allowing an electronic parking brake to take over that job. Ford initially used the pawl because of its familiarity, but the part can now be eliminated, saving cost and weight, she said.
The Mach-E will also switch from two coolant reservoirs to a single reservoir, Dickson said.
During a test drive earlier this year, we found the Mach-E's range impressive, even in colder temps. Charging in our pre-production example wasn't fully up to speed, although since then customers have widely claimed seeing a sustained peak power of 110 kw or so—not Tesla rates, but respectable versus other mainstream-brand EVs.
Ford has said that the Mach-E will keep getting smarter about driving-range predictions as well. And then over-the-air updates will likely allow improvements in range, performance, and other attributes in the future.
