Back in 2024, Ford made the bold announcement that by 2030, all of its ICE-powered vehicles would have hybrid assistance of some kind. Though the company didn’t come out and say it, this plan was the strongest suggestion yet that the Mustang pony car would finally be getting battery assistance.
Despite the seemingly daily-shifting trends of the industry, Ford has stuck by this pledge, saying in a June shareholders’ meeting that it still plans to bring hybrid power to its entire lineup. Now, a report from Ford Authority suggests the first-ever Mustang hybrid is already in development.
An electrified Mustang has been a long time coming. Ford originally announced plans for such a car all the way back in 2017, when it invested $700 million into the car’s Flat Rock, Michigan assembly plant. The original timeline had the Mustang hybrid dropping in 2020. Ford never officially confirmed why the car never arrived, though a worldwide pandemic probably had something to do with it.
Eight years later, we’re still waiting for another official announcement from Ford. In an interview with Bloomberg in 2023, CEO Jim Farley dropped a strong hint that a hybrid Mustang was on the table, squashing the possibility of a full electric variant in the process:
We cannot keep saying [companies are] all-electric or all-hybrid, and there’s nothing in between. That’s baloney. There’s going to be lots of gray degrees of partial electrification that’s still good for the planet. You can still have that emotional experience. I think that’s where we’re going to be for a while.
So when you say: Could it be a fully electric Mustang coupe? Nah, probably not. But could there be a partially electrified Mustang coupe—and it be world-class? Yeah.
A year later, Farley doubled down on those statements in an interview with Autocar, suggesting hybrid tech would be helpful for people looking to go fast:
[F]uture Mustangs are likely to offer hybrid power, to reduce carbon emissions and to improve performance. Farley said: “We’ve been testing and we really do believe partial electric powertrains work well for performance drivers.”
That leads us to today. Ford Authority now says the company has come as far as having a hybrid test mule in its prototype fleet:
[S]ources familiar with the matter have told Ford Authority that The Blue Oval currently has an S650 Ford Mustang hybrid model in operation – known internally as S650E. It’s unclear what sort of hybrid powertrain is present in this pony car – it could be a traditional hybrid or plug-in hybrid, however.
Timing-wise, this makes some sense. The current S650-generation Mustang debuted in 2022, so it’s due for a mid-cycle refresh. With the GTD now out the door, it’s possible Ford is going to use this refresh to launch a hybrid model, coinciding with its hybrid-only strategy in time for the 2030 deadline.
Rather than speculate further, I reached out to Ford for a comment, mentioning the company’s plan to fully hybridize the lineup. Here’s what a spokesperson said:
As you note, we said in 2024 that by the end of the decade we expect to offer hybrid powertrains
across the entire Ford Blue lineup in North America. Beyond this, we don’t comment on speculation about future products.
(Ford Blue refers to the company’s lineup of internal-combustion-powered cars, including the Mustang, the Maverick, the Bronco, and the Explorer.)
After bringing all of these rumors, interviews, and reports together, this feels like a case of when, not if, the Mustang hybrid will arrive. Like I said earlier, Ford itself was going to launch a Mustang hybrid five years ago before it likely got sidelined by a pandemic-induced worldwide supply chain collapse. Even if the current administration is easing emissions rules, it’d make sense to introduce hybrid tech to the platform to keep the car competitive.
As for exactly when the hybrid Mustang might appear, I’m not so sure. But if Ford Authority’s report on the mules being tested is accurate, it’s possible we can see them as early as next year. If not, there’s always that 2030 deadline to stick to.
Top graphic image: Ford
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The thing I’m curious about is how the hybrid version will be positioned/priced against other powertrains/trims.
Also instead of a V8 hybrid, why not use a variant of the Powerboost hybrid already in use in the F150?
With the exception of the Corvette perhaps since being lightweight is so intrinsically important to it and GM fought so hard to keep weight under control until the C8 came out, it’s a great shame that the GMT900 hybrids 15 years ago didn’t lead to a complete flood of V8 hybrids from the Camaro to the Charger to the Suburban and everything in between.
This hybrid Mustang/Mule really kicks ass…
“Ford Authority now says the company has come as far as having a hybrid test mule in its prototype fleet”
Well, technically the hybrid is only a mule if it’s built from a female Mustang.
If the Mustang is male the hybrid will be a hinny.
This is a good joke
Regardless of where it ends up in the Mustang lineup, I would love to see them embrace that the hybrid will have different characteristics and lean into differentiating it from other Mustangs.
Different front and rear fascia are a given, but they should go bigger. For instance, this could even be the AWD Mustang, it could be the techy one with BlueCruise and standard MagneRide, etc.
I like the mileage I get from my Fusion hybrid, but sedans really aren’t my thing. A hybrid Mustang would solve my very specific problem.
A four-door hybrid mustang is something I never would have expected, but I’m strangely intrigued. The Mustang GT weighs almost 4,000 lbs, so it’s not exactly light. Except for the manual transmission issue, I’d say that the Mustang is an excellent hybrid candidate. Besides, you can’t get a manual EcoBoost anyway, might as well make it torquier and more efficient.
I’ll offer an ideaout of left field. I could aee Ford offer a parallel hybrid using the 1.5EB from the Bronco Sport with a 200hp electric drive. The 1.5EB makes 181hp and 190tq. They could add 200hp and 300ft-lb easy. A 380 hp, 490 ft-lb Mustang that can knock down 40-45 mpg would be enticing to many and it’d earn emissions credits to keep selling the 5.0 in unadulterated form. So 2.3EB base, hybrid (call it the LX!) and the GT.
it would come down to price and perceived reliability. the 1.5EB is not all that reliable in the short time it has been around though. They would have to drop the Wet Timing belt for me to be halfway comfortable, but I am still unsure if the steam passages found even on the big 7.3 gas motors are changed enough to avoid head gaskets springing leaks into the cylinders over time.
You’re thinking about the inline 4 1.5. the Bronco Sport has an I3 1.5. the Dragon engine. It’s been relatively trouble free. A few issues but mostly reliable.
I could be misremembering, but I thought the early version of the 1.5T Dragon I3 had a wet belt until it was replaced with a chain in an update ~2023? The wet belt I’m thinking of could’ve be for the oil pump only, not necessarily for timing.
Getting 200hp/150kW out of a non-PHEV size battery will probably be too extreme, I’d say ~100hp of output is probably the limit for a mainstream FHEV. The motor might be rated for higher to allow for more regen braking, but actual output will be lower so the battery lasts longer under full throttle. I’d say 40mpg is a little bit of stretch since the aero is compromised for looks despite the small frontal area, but throw on some skinnier aero-spoke wheels and it’ll do it.
My Bronco Sport is a box and I’m getting 29.6 mpg. I am not light on throttle and I hurl that thing down the road with a devil may care abandon. 75mph is the norm on the highway. If that little 1.5EB can return 29+ withy dricing atyle a hybrid using that engine had better to able to exceed 40 mpg
If it has an auto, you might as well be also getting better MPG. IDK how a manual would go down with modern, more integrated hybrid tech, but it would be a shame if hybridization is what ultimately kills the stick
I think what I would look for in predicting what kind of system will get used is to look for something that Ford can use on multiple platforms with various states of tune and programming. I could see them doing something with the turbo 4-cylinder and applying that across to the Ranger, F150 and the Bronco. Use a motor-generator in the transmission for doing things like filling torque gaps at low ICE RPM or for improved launch control. But like other commenters have said, it’ll be all about the margin, so it’s either going to be something broadly applied or something they can charge a buttload for on a high-margin model.
Ford already has a bunch of existing hybrids systems so I’ll list them here:
A. 2.5L eCVT +88kW (Escape, Maverick) ~200hp, 266hp w/eAWD (Lincoln Corsair PHEV)
B. 2.0T eCVT +100kW (Lincoln Nautilus) ~310hp
C. 3.3L 10AT +21kW? (fleet/police Explorer Hybrid) ~320hp
D1. 3.0T 10AT +100kW (EU Explorer PHEV) ~450hp
D2. 3.0T 10AT +75kW (’21 Lincoln Aviator PHEV) ~500hp
E. 3.5T 10AT +33kW (F-150 Powerboost) ~430hp
I could see them using option B or C if they want to appeal to the casual crowd, but if they’re going for performance I don’t think they’ll want to use an Ecoboost. I’d think they’d do something like option E but with the V8 and a higher strung motor/battery combo. I think the biggest challenge will be packaging in the motor with the transmission in a space much smaller than an F-150 or Explorer, and I also think going with front axle eAWD like the E-Ray doesn’t suit the Mustang. Assuming it’s not a PHEV, the battery will be relatively easy to package by takingnup some trunk space.
The most likely on that list is likely to be option E because of the packaging. I believe the rest of those are packaged as transverse FWD setups that would be hard to shoehorn into a car designed for a longitudinal RWD setup.
Good point, but the latest 6th gen Explorer actually moved to a longitudinal/RWD platform in 2020 so options C and D should work just as well as E. I often forget that the Explorer isn’t transverse anymore too 🙂
This is cool. If they have a hybrid sedan I will buy one.
Very curious about the approach here. They could hybridize the ecoboost, and end up with a car that’s got the power of a Darkhorse with a boost in mileage. Or they start with the Darkhorse, and create a performance tier above that and focus on performance and not mileage.
If I had to guess, they’ll go the route of greatest margins, and that’s the premium V8 hybrid performance setup. Everyone ready for a $100k Mustang?
Use the 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine, a 100 lb pack of LoneStar Sleeper cells, and a 1,000+ peak horsepower drive system, set it up as a parallel hybrid with a planetary gearset, and you could have a ridiculously fast vehicle that matches the V8 ICE’s curb weight. Without a focus on aerodynamic drag reduction, 40 mpg highway is possible.
Focus on aero and resemble the Ford Reflex concept of 2 decades ago, it could still look like a Mustang, and you might get 60 mpg highway. And be able to rip off 9 second 1/4 mile times out the dealership lot.
I’d like to see the electric motors power the front wheels in a hybrid AWD system (no pun intended). Offering it with a manual transmission would be an added bonus.
Hey, if Honda could do it…
Which Honda has manual hybrid AWD?
Sorry, my comment wasn’t clear. I was referring to the hybrid with a manual, not AWD. The CR-Z hasn’t been available for a while, but they did at one point.
Corvette E-Ray has the Fronts on Battery, though not with a manual.
Is you’re talking about just manual hybrid, Fiat Panda has that also and is a current year model.
Supercars have proven that hybrids can be fast, and that’s started to trickle down. They should be able to get a decent performance and fuel economy boost with little in the way of weight penalty if they care to try.
The question is whether it would be the end of the manual transmission Mustang.
I think I remember hearing that the hybrid Mustang was shelved partly because the Mach E and Lightning were selling well enough that boosting fuel efficiency on the coupe wasn’t as important anymore, the company was hitting CAFE targets regardless.
This will be out too late for my next vehicle purchase, and, after major corrosion and paint blistering issues that showed up just outside of warranty, and which Ford did nothing to help with, I had sworn I’d never buy another Mustang (have had a Challenger and a Camaro since), but, if they could deliver a RWD 2+2 coupe with ca 40+ mpg, that might be compelling enough for me to give it another shot
I tend to put a lot of miles on cars and do a lot of long distance highway cruising, so fuel economy and range per tank are always considered
Can I ask what Camaro and what Challenger? Were they apples-to-apples ish?
If so, what is your take on the two of them? I would love to hear what stood out, what you hated, what you hated but were okay with because of some other thing that was more awesome than hate-inducing…. That kind of thing.
They were all pretty much the same spec, the nicest version of the worst engine (V6 Premium Mustang, SXT Plus Challenger, RS Camaro). The Camaro had the sharpest handling and was the most fun to drive, but the outward visibility was horrible, it had the cheapest feeling interior, as well as the worst, spine-crushing ride. The Challenger was the most comfortable and most liveable, giant trunk, lots of room inside, good seats, very smooth ride on the highway. I took that on a couple of trips up and down to Florida, over 1,000 miles each way, and it was fantastic. Somehow got the best fuel economy, too, easily 30mpg per tank on the Interstate with the cruise control on.
The Mustang was just sort of in the middle, sharper handling than the Challenger but not as fun as the Camaro, more comfortable than the Camaro, but not as comfy as the Challenger, a middle of the road pick, sort of competent all around, but not much of a standout. Getting a lawnmower into the back seat was annoying, could have used a bigger trunk opening
The only issues I had were
1) Challenger – one wheel bearing went out at 60,000 miles
2) Mustang – paint blistered and peeled off hood and trunk lid at about 40,000 miles, Ford didnt offer any assistance. Ended up having the trunk lid repainted twice and the hood completely replaced, out of pocket, and the problem was showing up again on the trunk when I traded it
3) Camaro – TPMS sensors constantly failing or giving bad readings, replaced all of them at least once, some of them multiple times, and the faults would still randomly show up. Traded it in at 135,000 miles with possible timing chain rattle starting to show up. I also ripped the exhaust out of it fording a creek on a logging road in Virginia, but that was my fault and and it wasnt bad to replace it
See? That is a better review than just about any “professional” attempt at the same. Thank you very much for that.
The logging road in VA…. Was it an actual logging road or one of our fire road ‘trails’, like Enchanted Creek, Shoe Creek, Union to Flagpole, etc.?
It was a private logging road that was no longer actively in use as such, but was the access route to an off grid hunting cabin
Could be excellent or mediocre depending on the implementation. As much as I like the planetary eCVT’s advantages, it’s probably better for Ford to pair the V8 with the F-150 Powerboost’s traditional-automatic-with-a motor-taped-on approach to preserve real gearshifts. I hope it’s not another of those tiny battery farce performance PHEVs, I understand why they’re done but the optics are terrible.
I wonder if the hybrid will be the base model or will this be more a long the lines of something like the C8 hybrid where it is more performance oriented?