2023 Ford electric SUV with Volkswagen DNA to debut on March 21 – UPDATE

UPDATE, 24 February 2023: US car giant Ford has announced its upcoming electric SUV for Europe – which is based on Volkswagen’s electric-car technology – will be unveiled on 21 March 2023.

In a video uploaded to social media platform Twitter, Martin Sander, Ford of Europe’s electric-car chief, confirmed covers will come off the electric SUV on March 21.

Ford of Europe’s Design Director, Amko Leenarts, briefly teased the electric SUV’s wheel design but kept the rest of the vehicle under cover.

As previously reported, the electric SUV is unlikely to come to Australia, with the current Mustang Mach-E more likely for local showrooms.

Our original story continues unchanged below.

24 January 2023: US car giant Ford's upcoming electric SUV for Europe – based on Volkswagen's MEB dedicated electric-car architecture – has been spied testing, ahead of its unveiling in March 2023.

The new model will be a medium-sized SUV similar in size to today's Ford Escape – and a more conventionally-styled sibling to the Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, on sale in Europe and the US since 2020.

It is underpinned by Volkswagen's MEB electric platform, shared with the VW ID.4 – as part of a technical partnership between the car giants, which has spawned the next VW Transporter and Ford Transit Custom vans, and the new Ford Ranger and VW Amarok ute twins.

However, a Ford Australia spokesperson told Drive there is "no news to share" on a local launch for the VW-based Ford electric SUV – which will built in the Cologne, Germany factory that produces the soon-to-be-discontinued Fiesta city car.

Drive understands the Mustang Mach-E is instead being prioritised for Australian showrooms. Ford is yet to confirm these plans.

Previously shown only in dark teaser images – and a sneak peek at its headlight late last year – spy photographers have now caught the new Ford on the road in Europe, with a boxy shape intended to draw cues from US-market Ford four-wheel-drives.

The distance at which the photos were taken – and the camouflage wrap on the car – mean it is hard to determine if any body panels on the new Ford are shared with an equivalent Volkswagen.

However, it does appear the new Ford SUV borrows door handles from a range of new-generation Volkswagen cars, including the Golf petrol and ID.3 electric hatchbacks.

The differences between models under Ford and Volkswagen's partnership range from bumpers, lights, wheels, badges and software in some shared European-market vans – to bespoke bodies with only a few shared parts in the Ford Ranger and VW Amarok ute twins.

The wheels look similar to those of mid-level, US-market Ford F-150 Lightning electric pick-ups, but it's unclear if this design is just for testing, or will make it to production.

This new Ford SUV is planned to be one of two Blue Oval-badged vehicles on Volkswagen's MEB platform, alongside a second electric SUV expected to have a sportier focus, and a lower roofline.

Ford has previously referred to this second vehicle – slated to be built in the same German factory – as a "Sport Crossover", compared to the "Medium-size Crossover" tagline given to the car spied in these images.

As reported previously, using Volkswagen's MEB electric platform allowed Ford to fast-track the launch of the new SUV by two years.

“The cooperation with Volkswagen is great and works. By using the MEB, we saved at least two years of development time,” Mr Sander told German publication Automobilwoche.

The US car giant has indicated plans to go electric-only across its passenger car and SUV range in Europe by the end of this decade.

The new Ford electric SUV is due to be unveiled in March 2023, ahead of first European showroom arrivals due by the end of the year.

Ford Australia is yet to confirm if it will be offered locally, however it is expected the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV may be offered here instead, sometime before the end of 2024.

The car maker has announced plans for at least five hybrid or electric cars locally before the end of 2024, but it has only confirmed the identities of three: the E-Transit and E-Transit Custom electric vans, and Escape PHEV plug-in hybrid family SUV.

Alongside the three confirmed vehicles, Drive understands the Mustang Mach-E is in line for local showrooms, alongside a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger ute, due in 2024.