Ford Puma EV confirmed for Australia to rival Kona Electric, Atto 3, MG4

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Ford has confirmed a fully electric version of the Puma small SUV will be coming to Australia.

The Puma EV will be one of five electrified vehicles set to arrive before the end of 2024, with the E-Transit van the first to hit showrooms, followed by the E-Transit Custom and Mustang Mach-E midsize SUV.

The final vehicle has not yet been announced though it’s expected a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger ute will take this place.

It’s expected that Puma will retain a petrol option, as seen with the Transit, which would provide an affordable SUV option to Australian Ford buyers.

Puma confirmed as Escape killed off

Speaking at the launch of the E-Transit, Ford Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Andrew Birkic said the electric version would aim to build off the back of the Puma’s success.

“We will be bringing in a BEV (battery electric vehicle) Puma so we’re making some decisions around our lineup and we believe that is the right investment for us,” he said. 

The announcement comes as Ford confirmed the Escape would be discontinued in Australia by the end of 2023, including the plug-in hybrid variant.

When touching on the recent confirmation to bring the Mustang Mach-E Down Under, Brikic said bringing a new car to Australia depended on several factors including “making sure that we can get the right quantity and also the right spec”.

“So it’s really important for us that we bring the spec in that we believe will enhance the journey for our customer.” 

The Puma EV, likely to be named the E-Puma, will compete against rivals such as the BYD Atto 3 (from $48,011 before on-roads), MG4 (from $47,990), Kia Niro EV (from $65,300) and the yet-to-be priced new-generation Hyundai Kona Electric.

Ford’s current petrol-powered Puma is priced from $30,840 to $36,390 before on-roads, though an electrified version is expected to cost much more. 

With the demise of the Escape PHEV ($54,940), the fully-electric Puma could fill this price gap and offer a cheaper alternative to the Mustang Mach-E, which is expected to start from around $70,000 to $80,000.

Electric Puma expected to pack 55kWh battery

Recent reports from UK outlet Autocar suggest the electric Puma will sit on an adapted version of the B2E architecture, which underpins the current petrol version.

Much of the hardware is also expected to be shared with the E-Transit Courier, with a battery size of around 55kWh expected, enough to provide a range of around 370km. 

Ford is expected to confirm a 100kW DC charging speed, that would see the battery top up from 10 to 80 percent in less than 35 minutes.