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2024 Ford MEB EV SUV Rendered, VW ID.4 Sibling Will Be Made in Germany

In December 2022, the Ford Motor Company teased nine all-electric vehicles that Ford of Europe intends to roll out by 2024. Given the chip shortage and other supply chain-related concerns, it wouldn’t be surprising if at least one of those EVs will debut in 2024, not by 2024.
Volkswagen ID.4-based Ford MEB EV rendering by Bernhard Reichel 24 photos
Photo: Reichel Car Design
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The list kicks off with the Puma, a subcompact crossover that presently offers a selection of three-cylinder mills. The Transit Courier, Tourneo Courier, Transit Custom, and Tourneo Custom are going electric as well. Slotted right between the Puma and Mustang Mach-E, the so-called Medium-size Crossover and “Sport Crossover” are the most intriguing of the bunch.

Care to guess what Ford is referring to by Medium-size Crossover and Sport Crossover? The answer is Volkswagen ID.4- and Volkswagen ID.5-based electric vehicles. Both of them will be manufactured in Cologne.

The German-built crossovers won’t differ much from their Volkswagen siblings under the skin, but their styling will. Pixel artist Bernhard Reichel has imagined the lesser of the two EVs for us, using a shadowy teaser photo and a covered prototype as inspiration. Both of them can be admired in the photo gallery.

The lower part of the front bumper and LED-accented headlights are the most obvious similarities between the rendering and the real thing. The remaining areas of the exterior can be described as… well… speculative because Ford hasn’t shown too much of the ID.4-based EV yet. Reichel’s front grille intrigues me the most, for it manages to replicate the beefiness of the Explorer without any drawbacks in terms of aerodynamics.

Similar to the closed-off grilles Merc uses on the EQS full-size liftback and EQE mid-size sedan, this one’s a closed-off design as well. The grille’s integration with the headlights also looks neat, although that line where the front edge of the hood meets the upper edge of the front bumper is somewhat weird.

Whatever the real thing may look like, bear in mind that Ford’s designers were limited by the MEB platform’s hardpoints. More specifically, the locations that are designed to carry both internal and external loads. Take the Volkswagen Group as a prime example. Ever wondered why the Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 look so alike? The answer is hardpoints.

Given that it’s meant for Europe, the Medium-size Crossover that’s actually a compact is certain to feature a rear-mounted electric motor as standard. A dual-motor option is pretty certain as well, although it remains to be seen if an ID.4 GTX-like performance variant will make the cut.

The most affordable ID.4 currently available in Germany retails at 46,335 euros or 50,070 bucks at current exchange rates. It comes with 19-inch steelies beautified with plastic covers that imitate alloy wheels. Other standard goodies include automatic LED headlights, 10-color ambient lighting, play and pause accelerator and brake pedals, the Ready 2 Discover touchscreen infotainment system, approximately 200 horsepower on deck, and an 82-kWh battery pack with a net capacity of 77 kWh.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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