, the new Ford Puma Gen-E has hit the market. It’s the latest step in Ford’s bold electrification strategy, following hot on the heels of the controversialUnlike Ford’s most recent electric cars, the Puma EV is completely homegrown. The Capri and the Explorer both use a reworked version of the Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture, but the electric Puma is built on an updated version of the petrol car’s platform. So, there’s a chance it’ll still drive like a Ford should.
There’s a chance we’ll get a spicy ST version of the EV, too. We chatted to Murat Güler, lead designer for the Puma EV – and he told us: ‘Again, that’s something I cannot talk about. You know how limited we are there. There are a couple of benefits to having a small battery, too. Firstly, charge times are fast. Connect the car up to a 100kW DC rapid charger and you’ll be able to thrash the battery from 10–80% capacity in just 23 minutes. A smaller battery means less weight, too. In fact, the Puma EV weighs just 1563kg – and that’s only 247kg more than the standard car.The styling for starters. Ford has swapped the petrol car’s open grille for a blanked-off front end to improve the Puma’s aerodynamics.