Axed! Ford abandons plan to sell Puma Gen-E compact electric SUV in Australia, opts for PHEV van instead
Ford has axed plans to bring the battery electric Puma Gen-E compact SUV to Australia.
Instead, it has announced an increased swing toward plug-in hybrids, confirming this morning in a media statement that the Transit Custom PHEV will be coming to Australia in 2025.
It will join the much-anticipated PHEV version of the Ranger ute in Ford Australia’s 2025 line-up.
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Media reports have been swirling for some time that Ford would reverse its green light for the Puma Gen-E. The local announcement coincides with its reveal in Europe.
Ford has already axed the petrol-powered Puma in Australia, originally announcing in 2023 that the Gen-E would replace it.
That leaves the ageing – and slow selling – Mustang Mach-E as the blue oval’s only battery electric passenger vehicle in Australia, alongside the E-Transit and forthcoming smaller E-Transit Custom electric vans.
The Mach-E will have a minor update in 2025.
The Puma Gen-E would have been Ford’s most affordable passenger BEV in Australia, although considering the Mach-E starts at $64,990 plus on-road costs that’s not the greatest challenge.
A tougher task would have been to get the European-built Gen-E anywhere near the lowering price-point for EVs in Australia, or generating meaningful sales in a slow-growth EV market.
The decision to not sell the Puma Gen-E was made after “an extensive review of the current dynamics of the new-car market”, Ford said in its statement.
“Since we announced that the Puma Gen-E would join the Ford Australia line-up in early 2023, the EV market, in particular for small SUVs, has changed significantly,” said Ambrose Henderson, Marketing Director, Ford Australia.
“There are many factors that influence whether a vehicle’s business case stacks up – such as economic trends, material costs, consumer incentives and global supply chain – and after weighing these up, we took the call that we were better to focus our electrified lineup on other models.”
The Puma Gen-E is adapted from the platform of the orthodox ICE Puma, which is expected to continue on-sale in Europe out till the end of the decade.
It is powered by a single 124kW/290Nm e-motor driving the front axle. A 43kWh litium-ion battery pack provides a range up 378km WLTP.
The Transit PHEV employs a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine paired with an 11.8kWh (useable) battery. It offers a targeted WLTP electric-only driving range of more than 40km. It will be available in both the Trend LWB and Sport SWB model grades
“Ford Australia remains fully committed to offering low- or zero-emissions vehicles to Australians, particularly in the commercial sector,” said Henderson.
“While much focus has been put on electrifying vehicles favoured by private buyers, it’s also vital that Australia’s businesses are not left behind in the electric transition. Ford Australia is dedicated to offering vehicles that not only allow them to get their jobs done but also lower their emissions in the process.”
The Transit Custom PHEV is not guaranteed to be the first PHEV van to go on-sale in Australia, with Volkswagen also planning to launch a PHEV version of the new T7 Transporter in 2025.
The new Transporter is built on the same platform as the Ford Transit Custom.
