Before the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, storage space underneath the hood of a vehicle, known as the front trunk or “frunk,” was a fairly obscure feature. Because most cars have their engine up front, the average buyer has probably never had that space available to store things. The only way to have a frunk would be to have a car with the engine in the middle or the back of the car.
Now, though, the frunk has become far more mainstream. Because electric vehicles don’t need that space to keep their floor-mounted batteries or compact electric motors, many manufacturers have opted to use it to add storage space. Peek under the hood of most electric cars, and it’s likely you’ll at least find a cubby to store your charging cable.
As it turns out, people might not be using their frunks as much as automakers thought, at least going by Ford’s decision to eliminate the frunk from the Mustang Mach-E’s list of standard equipment.
Now You’ll Have To Pay For That Extra Storage
Ford Authority was the first to catch the news that the Mach-E will not have a frunk as standard. If you want a frunk in your four-door, all-electric Mustang, it’s now a standalone option that’ll cost you an extra $495. And it’s not like you get that level of a discount if you don’t option the frunk; the 2026 model is only $150 cheaper than the 2025 model, which got the frunk as standard. So if you match the two model years spec-for-spec, you’re paying $345 more.
The reason, according to Mustang Mach-E brand manager Teddy Ankeny, is that owners simply weren’t using the frunk as much as the company expected. Here he is in a video interview with the Electric Duo YouTube channel revealing why Ford made the swtich:
Here’s the relevant quote, in case you don’t want to (or can’t) watch the video embedded above:
“[W]e were learning that customers were using their frunk, but perhaps not as much as we had originally intended. And so, in order to kind of preserve that customer choice, we have made it optional for the 2026 model year.”
Personally, I’d think “Customer choice” would mean keeping the frunk standard and letting the customer choose whether to use it, but that might just be me.
It’s a shift in tone for Ford, which touted the Mach-E’s frunk as one of its most interesting features back when the car was new. Back then, there was 4.7 cubic feet of storage space available, and even a drainage hole at the bottom allowing ice to melt through so you could use it as a tailgate cooler. That press photo above of people eating shrimp from atop a frozen pile of ice in a Mach-E frunk is seared in my mind forever.
For the 2025 Mach-E, the frunk shrank by 40%, to 2.6 cubic feet, thanks to the installation of a standard heat pump for the batteries, and lost its signature drainage hole. And now, it’s not even standard equipment anymore.
Maybe The Germans Were Right?
In any case, Ford’s move feels like a case of cost-cutting and trying to squeeze more dollars out of customers by paywalling previously standard equipment. But it’s not worth dismissing the company’s analysis entirely.
There are a couple of reasons I could see someone fully ignoring the Mach-E’s frunk for the entire length of their ownership. The most obvious is that there’s a much bigger, easier-to-access storage space in the hatch that takes just one button-press to open (versus two clicks on the key or two pulls of the interior latch for the frunk). And if I’m carrying a bunch of groceries, I’d probably just go to the rear hatch area if I’m not sure everything will fit in the much smaller frunk.
Let me play devil’s advocate for a second: If I’m an automaker looking to optimize cost through design, every inch of the car is under a microscope. And if the folks from the data department are saying people aren’t using their frunks, that allows carmakers to reassess how to use that space more efficiently.
In the case of the Mach-E, designers simply decided a heat pump for quicker charging was more important for customers than 2.1 cubic feet of storage space. Then, for 2026, they figured so few people used the frunk that they wouldn’t mind if it weren’t there at all. And the people who do want one are willing to pay for it. That’s a few extra hundred bucks in my pocket that wasn’t there before, or a couple of hundred bucks saved in parts if the buyer doesn’t choose the frunk.
There’s a packaging angle here, too, at least according to Nissan vice president of global design Alfonso Albaisa, who told Green Car Reports back in 2020 that engine bay space can be used for stuff that was previously inside the cabin, rather than for extra storage:
“The HVAC [heating and air conditioning], all the guts that used to live in the cabin, we shoved them in the engine bay, which has no engine,” said Alfonso Albaisa, regarding its upcoming electric crossover, closely previewed by the Nissan Ariya Concept first shown in the U.S. last month at CES. “Actually if you open the hood on Ariya, it’s full of stuff; that’s what’s given us this completely open cabin.”
All the way back in 2022, my colleague Jason wrote a piece calling out German automakers for not installing frunks on EVs when they very clearly have the engineering know-how to do so. One paragraph stands out with this new context of Ford’s move:
I’ve asked representatives of BMW and Volkswagen about this, right to their faces, and I got essentially the same answer from both companies: what the hell do you need a frunk for when we have so much room in back?
Personally, I couldn’t imagine not using the frunk if I had the option. Sure, it’s usually a small space, but it’s perfect for stuff I don’t want flopping around in the normal trunk area, like charging cables, snow brushes, ice scrapers, first aid kits, and miscellaneous tools. And if my EV were a hatchback, having a storage space that’s truly hidden from view would make keeping valuables in my car, which I park on the street, far less nerve-wracking. In the case of pickup trucks, frunks are even more useful because they provide a lockable, sealed storage space on the vehicle’s exterior that wasn’t there before.
In the case of normal car- and crossover-shaped EVs, automakers think differently, and if Ford’s analysis of how often customers use their frunks is to be believed, the average buyer does, too.
This all leads me to ask: If you have a car with a frunk and a traditional trunk, do you use the frunk? If so, for what? And how often?
Top graphic image: Ford
For our most recent car we chose a trunk, because keeping electronics and purses secure was a concern of ours. A frunk would serve that need beautifully!
I think it would be used, as many have said, for the “uh oh i need this” stuff, like a raincoat, hoodie, towel, a pair of flip flops, air compressor, pair of gloves, cap, etc. Basically the things that live scattered in my car now.
Shrimp icebox feature included at no charge! It takes a certain type of person to eat shrimp out of an EV frunk. All I wanna know is who will be first to make the Frunk Wipes, with “active” shrimp smell killer.
Funny story about that lead shot.
It was a last-minute decision. Like day-of the event. Jokes amongst the team, someone decided “you know what? Let’s do it.”
$30 of Costco shrimp paid off handsomely.
One of the things that appeals to me about the Slate is that I could use the frunk to store the tools that currently occupy the extra cab of my mini truck (and are the only reason I have an extra cab in the first place since you obviously can’t store humans on those “seats”).
The Frunk in a tesla isn’t accessible when the car is in Valet mode. I use my frunk about 6 times a year. If it were easier to open, I would use it more.
I own a Mach-E, I use it for coat storage, brushes, etc and for grocery trips. 3-4 bags of groceries fit in there well and they don’t roll around. I like that it’s not gigantic and keeps things contained. Any valuable items I carry go in there as well and dog leashes, hiking boots, gym bags etc. frankly I only use the Hatch for Costco runs or when I large boxes I need to move. I’m contemplating installing an automatic opener for my frunk since I do use it so much.
2024 Mustang Mach E owner here. I use the frunk to store stuff I don’t need to get out very often. Things like a blanket, scraper, my flying gear (headsets, ADSB, etc.). I would certainly miss it because all of that gear would then have to live in the back hatch.
If you get a new MME without the frunk, what does that mean really? Is it just missing the plastic insert that you may be able to pick up at a junk yard or 3D print??
I thought I’d make more use of the frunk on my EV but in reality I don’t. I store some road trip supplies in there like tire plugs, little compressor, small tool kit, charge adapters, etc. but all that would be just fine to be in the rear hatch/trunk cubbies. There are some practical issues with how the frunk works in my car but that’s more to do with implementation than anything else.
Now, I could see it being more useful with a truck platform where weather-tight storage is at a premium. I had an EV truck briefly (service loaner) and the frunk made sense for hauling groceries or whatever that I wouldn’t want tossed around in the bed or bugging passengers.
I have a small frunk in my C40. I have never used it. It’s small and just not convenient. I need to open the car door and pull the manual lever like a normal hood release.
It needs to be larger and easier to access. otherwise ditch the frunk
I had a Mach E from the first model year and the frunk was super inconvenient to access (no remote as far as I knew) compared to the hatch, so I rarely used it. On my Rivian it’s incredibly easy to open from the app or the fob and it’s my primary storage space for groceries and smaller gear.
They added buttons in the app and interior touch screen. It’s much easier now. If I didn’t have those I’d never use mine
In addition, you can get a new key fob that has a frunk button on it and program it for your MME. I have a MME, but just use the app when I need to open the frunk (which isn’t very often).
I’ve heard rumors a carry on can fit in the pre heat pump frunks. I’ve yet to try it though. I use my frunk more than the hatch though, I hate it when small items I’m carrying move around in the hatch or back seats.
I’d say it’s probably close. I may try it out and see! But, I agree; having the small items in the hatch would suck and exactly why they live in my frunk. It just so happens they’re items I don’t need to get out often.
I use my hatch every day when I commute to hold my backpack, gym bag, and clothes (I workout and shower at my office gym).
I like to stuff my gym bag in my frunk, but I will be perfectly honest and say my backpack usually fits everything that I need for the gym and it’s in my backseat as we speak. I do wish the front had a button on the grill. It’s a little tedious when I have to fish my phone to put anything in it.
How is Ford measuring frunk use? Is it by frequency of hood openings or by capacity? I don’t open my frunk every day but it’s definitely filled to capacity with charging cables, tools, tire plug kit, and a pump. Stuff I’d rather not be rattling around in the rear hatch so I’m glad I have it.
Personally, I haven’t trusted Ford’s consultants since they changed all of their legacy car names to “F” variants.
I have a Mach-E. I use the frunk mostly seasonally for winter gear like tire socks, ice scraper, etc. I also keep my charger cable in there.
I also use it on occasion for hauling things like sleeping bags or heavy jackets, but really don’t use it regularly.
Never had one, never felt the need for one.
Except for the time I owned a pickup truck.
Has this been a case of a contrived need, that people are being made to believe it’s needed?
Even without a frunk, I use the engine bay to store oil, plastic bag with a rag, and funnel for checking and topping off oil. I have also used the space for windshield washer fluid. A frunk would make that even better. For a Eish vehicle, a dedicated accessible space for the charge cable would be a necessity. In our PHEV without a frunk, finding a place to put it when fully loaded is a challenge, and I have forgotten it at least once.
I’d love to have a frunk to store the charge cable for my 500e. That way I wouldn’t have to completely empty the trunk when I wanted to get at it, since it lives under the trunk floor. And I’m not willing to pay the $300ish to get one from Europe for a leased car.
At least they aren’t making the frunk a subscription based feature!
I have a 718 and use both trunks. Though in the case, the rear trunk is much smaller.
Just want to call out the Silverado EV’s frunk with no front lip, so you can just slide stuff in. Don’t own one (too heavy, bed too small) but it made it pretty tempting.
When I got a Silverado EV as loaner, I used the frunk for groceries and putting my backpack after work if I was running errands, you dont expect someone trying to open the frunk to steal your things, that was the nice thing.
I think if an EV is going to do things like having motorized deploying door handles and powered opening and closing charging port covers, then it having a motorized frunk follows.
There may be a psychological element to people not using them if they aren’t used to going under the hood for the most part. I can also see where it could feel strange to open the full hood of the vehicle to access a storage space that’s a small fraction of the area.
I wonder if it was a feature that had it’s own opening, sized to the actual storage area, if it’s something users would be more apt to use. That would add complication and cost, though.
I do not have a vehicle with under hood storage but I have a small emergency bag that’s always rattling around in the trunk and I’d love to have a way to put that all up front.
Lot’s of people have said it, and I agree it’s a perfect place for stuff that’s useful, rarely used, but always in the car.
It’s a sad state of the auto industry when they start charging extra for empty space that isn’t being used for anything else.
What, like lift kits and pickup beds? /s
In my Tesla MY – I use it to keep the mobile charging cable, roof sunshades, jacking pucks. In a longer trip I might fit a jack and tools needed to replace a wheel (spare strapped in the trunk area). I also use it for shopping (I back the car into the garage – frunk access is easier) and since it is out of sight I also use it to hide gifts I might have for anyone in the family.
I’m a photographer and would totally use a frunk to hide my camera bag in times I didn’t want to bring the whole kit. I do that now with our minivan and Stow n Go. I’ll throw my backpack in the space for the 2nd row seats. Especially since it’s under floor mats, I feel like no one is ever going to think to look there.