A new Ford Mustang is reportedly coming soon, and it’ll gain the option of a hybrid powertrain.
Automotive News reports the new Mustang, codenamed S650, will arrive for the 2023 model year. That indicates it’ll debut in 2022.
The news came out of a meeting in Dallas, Texas between Ford executives and a large group of dealers, where the executives shared Ford’s product plans.
A hybrid model is reportedly slated for 2025, though it’s unclear if this will be a series or plug-in hybrid and what engine it’ll be mated to.
The S650 will reportedly have an eight-year lifecycle, roughly the same as the previous two generations.
The platform isn’t set to change much compared to the current S550, which entered production in 2014.
The US outlet reports the Mustang could, however, gain the option of all-wheel drive.
That would be a first for the Mustang. Of its two American arch-rivals, the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, only the latter offers all-wheel drive and only with the base V6.
Neither the Camaro nor the Challenger have a hybrid option, and the Camaro may end production in 2024. It could be indirectly replaced by an all-electric sports sedan.
Ford’s embrace of hybrids is in contrast to GM, which has moved away from the technology it considers a stopgap.
Dodge has a plug-in hybrid coming in 2022, but it’s rumoured to be a crossover. The headline act for that brand’s electrification efforts is the electric muscle car it’s teased, set for a 2024 launch.
Ford currently offers the Mustang with a choice of turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder and naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8 engines, with a naturally-aspirated 3.7-litre V6 sold elsewhere shelved back in 2017.
In Australia, the four-cylinder High Performance puts out 236kW of power and 448Nm of torque, while the V8 produces 339kW and 556Nm in the GT and 345kW and 556Nm in the Mach 1.
Automotive News reports the Mustang isn’t the only iconic Ford nameplate set to embrace electrification.
Bronco 
Bronco Sport 
Explorer
A hybrid Bronco is reportedly due in 2024 to rival the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, while Ford CEO Jim Farley has confirmed an all-electric Explorer is coming. The latter is expected to arrive in 2023.
The Bronco Sport crossover, related to the Escape, is also expected to gain a hybrid variant in 2024.
Like the all-electric Mustang Mach-E, the Bronco, Bronco Sport and Explorer are all vehicles that haven’t been confirmed for Australia.
It’s unclear if the Mustang Hybrid would be a different story.
Ford’s pony car has proved to be far and away Australia’s top-selling vehicle in VFACTS’ sports car categories.
Year-to-date, Ford has sold 1934 Mustangs, more than it has of the cheaper Focus (611) and Escape (1224).
Incidentally, it’s also ahead of the Kia Stinger (1025) plus a raft of other practical passenger cars.
No sports car comes close. The two-door Mercedes-Benz C-Class range is well back at 770 sales, the BMW 4 Series two-doors at 690 sales, and the Mazda MX-5 is sitting at 507.
MORE: Everything Ford Mustang
