According to recent media reports flooding the Internet, Ford India is working on an electric version of the Aspire compact sedan. No official announcement regarding this development has been made as of now. However, speculations suggest that the company is targetting an official launch of the Ford Aspire Electric by the end of 2019.
Interestingly, the Aspire electric vehicle (EV) is said to be developed under a partnership with Mahindra. It is worth noting that Mahindra and Ford had announced a 3-year-long strategic partnership in September last year. As a result, the Aspire electric appears to be the first-ever model to come out of the Ford-Mahindra alliance.
Specification-related details of the Aspire electric haven’t surfaced yet. But as per the latest trends in the Indian electric car industry, which is still in its nascent stages, expect the Aspire electric to be capable of delivering a travel range of around 150 km on a single charge.
If the speculations do turn out to be true, the Ford Aspire electric will be one of the first few all-electric sedans to hit the Indian market. It is also being reported that the electric version won’t be a sub-4-meter model like the regular petrol and diesel models. Instead, it will be a slightly longer iteration, with the increase in length actually being used to house a larger battery pack in the car’s floor. The increased length will also help in leveraging more space, in the cabin as well as boot.
The Ford Aspire Electric isn’t the only compact sedan that is undergoing electrification in the Indian car industry. Tata Motors has also developed an electric version of the Tigor, which is currently being supplied to the Government of India. As a result, Ford India might also be eyeing various corporate and government orders through the Aspire electric. And with the Indian market showing an apparent focus towards electric mobility, Ford will surely gain a first movers advantage if it manages to launch the Aspire electric by the end of 2019.