Ford's Mustang Mach-E uses the cloud to predict range more precisely
Future updates will factor in real-time traffic conditions, terrain, elevation and more.
Ford will try to reduce range anxiety for buyers of its electric Mustang Mach-E by predicting the range more precisely. It unveiled a feature called Intelligent Range that will calculate how far you can go based on factors like driving behavior, weather forecasts and crowdsourced data from other Mach-E vehicles. “Changes in driver behavior and the environment can impact range, which is the reason other electric vehicles often experience significant range adjustments,” said Ford EV charging manager Mark Poll in a statement.
Left unsaid is that drivers purchase Mustangs with the aim of exercising their right foot muscles. Doing so in an EV can drastically cut range, especially in one like the Mach-E that can do 0 to 60 mph in the mid-three-second range. The idea is that once Intelligent Range figures out how fast you like to go, it should be able to help you avoid dead battery syndrome.
Ford said that it will use the cloud to combine driver behavior, forecast weather (since temperatures affect battery life) and road/terrain conditions. It will then use fleet averages to improve range estimates, even on roads you’ve never driven. If range will be impacted on a given route, the Mach-E will tell you why and give a new estimate before you depart.
Down the road, Ford will deliver over-the-air updates that factor in “real-time traffic, road-slope, the terrain and elevation of a given route, and even the temperature at [the] final destination,” the automaker said. The 2021 Mustang Mach-E is expected to have a 300 mile extended range (235 miles for the GT model) and will arrive in the US by late 2020. It’ll start at $43,895 excluding the $7,500 federal tax credit.
