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Ford Employee Drives Mach-E Eight Miles Over Official Figure, 14% Battery Left

Late last month, a Volkswagen ID.3 - with a WLTP-rated range of 261 miles (420 km) - made the 330 miles (531 km) trip from the company's factory in Zwickau, Germany, to the beautiful town of Schaffhausen in Switzerland on a single charge.
Ford Mustang Mach-E 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Impressive, right? That's a 26% increase on the EV's official maximum range. Carry the same percentage for the top ID.3 with the 77 kWh battery pack and, with 428 miles (693 km), it would even beat the Tesla Model S Long Range and its puny 402 miles (647 km). Of course, things aren't that simple.

The record Volkswagen run was made by Felix Egolf, a Swiss hypermiling expert, which would explain both the outstanding result as well as the otherwise apparently random destination. Put a regular Joe behind the wheel, though, and the real-world range is more likely to decrease rather than go up.

On September 2, Ford Norway released a video showing a similar feat involving the company's first real electric vehicle, the Mustang Mach-E. The clip suggests that Ford Motor Norway Administrative Director Per Gunnar Berg was behind the wheel of the battery-powered SUV as it made its way north from the country's capital, Oslo, to Trondheim.

Of course, we know nothing about Mr. Berg's background or whether he's skilled in the arts of hypermiling. Considering he reportedly managed to finish the 308.8-mile-long (497 km) trip with 14% percent of the battery charge still intact, we'd say that definitely makes him at least knowledgeable in the matter. The Mach-E's official maximum range at this moment is 300 miles (483 km) so, when you factor in the remaining 14% battery charge, that means the SUV could theoretically travel for up to 355 miles (571 km).

The video doesn't provide any info on Berg's cruising speed or anything like that, but a keen eye can spot 86 kph (~53 mph) on his instrument cluster at a certain point. Obviously, since this is an official Ford production, they might have used a few tricks such as filming the clip independent of the actual run but bear in mind these are nothing more than speculations.

With the first Mach-E deliveries still pending, it makes perfect sense for Ford to promote the EV in Norway. The country is seeing the best electric vehicle adoption in the world with over half the new vehicles sold having at least one electric motor. It may not be a big market like the US, China, or Germany, but it's a highly competitive one for EVs.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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