This famous nameplate seems set to return – this time attached to an electric car. What chance for NZ?

COMPLEXITY and cost have inhibited the just-revealed Explorer from reconnoitring the New Zealand market but will another related Ford electric, also reviving a famous badge, stand better chance?

Multiple reports Ford is reviving the Capri nameplate for a second Europe-sourced battery-dedicated passenger car - off the same Volkswagen-provision platform underpinning Explorer – seem set to fuel speculation about whether it might be a future choice for New Zealand, the brand’s local office accepts. 

For its part, Ford New Zealand has nothing official to offer, though it also declines to say if the Mach-e sports utility (above) set to release here from May will always be the sole electric car it will sell here. That model supplies from Mexico.

The need for product that meets Clean Car expectation is pressing for Ford NZ; the majority of its business last year was delivered by the Ranger utility, which is a high CO2 culprit firmly on the dark side of the Government’s emissions’ reduction plan.

 The ute accounted for 75 percent of the Auckland-based operation’s sales in 2022 and no version comes close to being Green enough under the legislation – though a new Wildtrak X, through being the first Ranger to equip with a version of its biturbo 2.0-litre designed to meet the Euro 6 standard, comes closer than any other.

 However that model, which asks for owners to keep it topped with AdBlue, is a limited count model, seems set to be a sop - just 300 units are expected. Ford sold more than 10,000 Rangers last year.

Ford NZ has added hybrid versions of its Escape, Puma and Focus, has a hybrid version of the Transit van, with a fully-electric edition coming. But it knows it will need even more to avoid penalties under the Clean Car Standard, which is now enacted – though payments do not need to be made until June 1. Under the standard, every high CO2 vehicle a distributor brings in cops a fine, this additional to the penalty a customer has copped since April 1 last year. The extra impost on some high emissions culprits, the Ranger Raptor being a glaring example, runs to thousands of dollars.

The reason for the legislation is to push the industry toward low emissions vehicles or the ultimate: Zero emissions’ product. That’s electric.

For the past two years Ford NZ boss Simon Rutherford has been positive about the benefits from achieving access to a well-known project - an electric built on a platform developed by Volkswagen, which has become a technology partner for some electrics. (In return, VW has been able to produce a new Amarok ute, spun off the latest Ranger).

That car is the Explorer (above) unveiled last week. It is built on VW’s MEB platform, and uses an identical powertrain as all the VW Group electric cars coming to NZ – so, the Skoda Enyaq, VW ID.4 and ID.5, Cupra Born and Audi Q4.

However, within hours of Explorer’s unveiling in Europe, Ford NZ said it was not a customer.

Pressed to provide a reason, it spoke out this week, with spokesman Tom Clancy explaining: “Being in New Zealand we have to contend with the challenges of the three Cs - complexity, cost and capacity.  

“In this instance, while it’s a stunning vehicle and we love it, we’ve struck out on all three Cs for the NZ market.”

If Explorer isn’t the next Ford EV for here, what is? 

“After all these years at Ford New Zealand, believe or not Ford Motor Company STILL won’t let me give you an exclusive global vehicle announcement,” Clancy quipped.

“Sorry, I have no news at this time but we look forward to sharing when we have it.”

Specialist automotive media in Europe are now saying Ford’s MEB usage will span at least two passenger cars. The reborn Capri is expected to be the second product.  

The name has even more resonance in NZ than Explorer; particularly in attachment to a sports coupe (above) popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It also ran on a 1960s model and was revived, for a short period, by Ford Australia for a cabriolet on Mazda 323 underpinnings that had the misfortune to enter the market as thre same time as a far superior competitor, the Mazda MX-5. 

Today a major UK newspaper said the electric Capri would cost around $80,000, have a range of around 480 kilometres on a full charge and be capable of 0-100kmh in 6.4 seconds. It will also have rear wheel drive (as does Explorer and the VW Group product for NZ) and four headlights as a nod to some variants of original versions.

 The Sun newspaper said Ford of Europe’s design chief Amko Leenarts had previously said he would love to bring back the Capri for a modern market.

A Ford spokesman told the London tabloid: “We don’t speculate on future product but Ford is on a mission to make electric iconic.”