Ford has confirmed the as-yet unrevealed electric Puma small SUV will join the e-Transit, e-Transit Custom, and Mustang Mach-E in Australian showrooms.
Ford Australia boss Andrew Birkic says the Puma is the final step in a plan to launch five electrified vehicles Down Under before the end of 2024.
Although it will technically achieve that goal, the Escape ST-Line plug-in hybrid won’t be on sale come the end of 2023 as Ford kills the model locally.
“We will be bringing a BEV Puma. We’re making some decisions around our line-up, and we believe that is the right investment for us,” Mr Birkic told media.
“As you know, Puma has done well – it continues to win awards – so we know that’s certainly an important player for us in the future.”
There are currently no details about the Puma EV, but a Ford van built on the same platform offers us a few clues about what to expect.
Current Ford Puma 
The Transit Courier is powered by a 100kW electric motor on the front axle, fed by a battery pack with… actually, we don’t know how much capacity it has just yet. We do know it’ll support DC charging up to 100kW, and AC charging up to 11kW.
Production for the Transit Courier and Puma EVs will take place at a factory in Romania, which currently produces the petrol Puma and EcoSport.
When it hits Australia, the Puma EV will take on the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV based on its size, although it’s not clear how Ford will price the car just yet.
It’s a smaller vehicle than the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro EV ranges, and doesn’t have the same premium positioning as the small Lexus UX300e.
We’re expecting the Puma EV to feature an updated design and interior relative to the current petrol model when it’s revealed.
It’ll sit alongside the Mustang Mach-E that’s set to arrive Down Under late this year in local showrooms, along with the existing petrol Puma and much larger Everest in Ford’s range of SUVs.
Confirmation of the Puma means the F-150 Lightning electric pickup won’t be in Australia before the end of 2024, but Ford hasn’t ruled it out just yet in the longer term.
