The beloved Ford Capri is back – or is it? Why every new electric car is an SUV, and why it shouldn’t be that way

This isn’t the first time Ford has converted one of its beloved brands into an electric SUV. The Mustang Mach-E also arrived to great controversy. But Ford isn’t the only company turning to SUVs for its electrification strategy. This is a common theme with most car manufacturers.

There are several reasons why so many EVs are SUVs. Developing a car with a new powertrain, such as a fully electric vehicle, costs a lot, and SUVs tend to have a higher price, which can provide some return on that investment. It’s also much easier to hide the weight gain due to the huge battery pack required to provide decent range in the SUV format than in a compact hatchback. Then there’s the popularity factor. Car manufacturers obviously want to change cars, so they will opt for sizes that sell well. According to JATO Dynamics SUVs had 51.1% of the European market in April 2024. The US market is even better: SUVs will account for 53.5% of US car sales by 2022. From this perspective, car manufacturers simply give people what they want.

Graham Hughes – Bloomberg/Getty Images

Bigger is better?

However, it is worth underlining where the popularity of SUVs comes from. The first U.S. car pollution regulations were established in the 1970s. At that time, the only people driving heavy vehicles like trucks were for commercial purposes, so fuel efficiency rules were more relaxed for them. Automakers discovered this loophole, created a consumer vehicle that was also a truck, and the gas-guzzling SUV was born. Consumers ultimately loved these large, roomy vehicles, despite their lack of fuel economy. This despite the fact that vehicles with a hood height of more than 40 inches are 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashesand are more likely to roll over in an accident due to their high center of gravity, while their weight causes them to suffer more serious injuries.

This tendency has carried over to electrification, which brings us back to the Ford Capri. If you were born long enough ago to remember the original car from its heyday, the new electric SUV version doesn’t have much to do with that. It’s not a two-door 2+2 fastback. It’s not even meant to be sporty.

“It clearly doesn’t look like the last Capri that left the production line in the ’80s,” said Pete Zillig, Ford’s marketing director. “We are aware that this is mainly aimed at young urban families. We’re talking about the car you always promised yourself. Some of those people won’t even know the Capri nameplate because they’re too young to remember it.”

Geoffrey Bull – Fairfax Media/Getty Images

“The world keeps turning,” says Amko Leenarts, Design Director at Ford. “This car would never have been as good as it is today if we hadn’t had the Capri as our main source of inspiration.” However, Zillig argues: “We didn’t just electrify the last Capri that left the production line in the 1980s. We’ve taken the spirit of the Capri with us into 2024. Of course we’ll have the haters, you always get the haters. But the acceptance research we did for this vehicle was extremely positive.”

The negative online reaction doesn’t necessarily mean the Capri will fail. This will be more a factor of how good the car is, despite the Capri branding. No press drives are provided yet, but the Capri has the same Volkswagen Group-sourced electric powertrain as the Ford Explorer, which is reasonably fast, handles well and has a decent range. But the Capri isn’t just another body on top of the same underlying car.

Have you seen it? The legend is back. The new fully electric Ford Capri.https://t.co/Mm2EJ1TfSs #LegendIsBack #JeSuisCapri #FordCapri pic.twitter.com/SB9F6l9gaX

— Ford UK (@forduk) July 10, 2024

“The Capri is slightly longer and sits 10 millimeters lower on the wheels,” says Leenarts. “There’s a bit of tuning to the steering, braking and suspension. Considering how well it was perceived that the Explorer EV still feels like a Ford, I expect the same from this one.” Based on first impressions it seems like a well thought out car, with plenty of passenger and luggage space despite the ‘coupe’ fastback design. “It will have a slightly longer range than the Explorer – 630 km (393 miles) – because even though it is slightly heavier, the aerodynamics are better.”

“When people got behind the wheel and drove the Explorer, they were completely convinced it was a great vehicle and drove like a Ford,” says Zellig. “The Capri is more of a sports coupe, with different aerodynamics, a different look and feel. We want to make electric iconic and bring the love back to the brand.”

More than just a Capri in name?

However, the new car did not necessarily have to be called ‘Capri’ to have these design features, although Zellig believes it still retains the spirit of the original car, claiming: ‘Capri was ahead of its time, but even then we talked about it. being a sporty vehicle that had great utility. Back then we didn’t even know the term SUV.” Leenarts adds: “We still combine functionality with positivity, which is what the old Capri was known for. But we are not going to make a two-door, that makes no sense.”

With the arrival of the Capri, Ford now has three electric SUVs in its range, which could cannibalize each other’s sales. However, Leenarts does not think this will happen. “I don’t think we’re going to compete with ourselves,” he says. “Traditionally, 4 inches more physical length defines a segment.” This was a point Ford emphasized when it launched the Explorer: that it is shorter than vehicles using the same platform, such as the Volkswagen ID.4 or Skoda Enyaq iV. The Mustang Mach-E is 474 cm long, the Explorer EV 446 cm and the Capri 463 cm, so they are different lengths.

“It’s about size and possibilities,” says Leenarts. “If people want a car that they can park more easily in the city, then an Explorer may be the right choice. It’s the Capri if people are looking for something a little more premium. More performance means the Mach-E GT.”

However, Ford’s next EV will be another SUV: a fully electric version of the Puma, which will reportedly be cheaper than the current Explorer, Mustang Mach-E or Capri, but still more expensive than the outgoing combustion-based Puma. This underlines the fundamental problem with the focus on electric SUVs: how much they cost.

Is the electric vehicle market softening?

Much attention has been paid in the mainstream press to a softening of the EV market, although some of this seems to be inspired more by the wishes of some manufacturers than by facts. The European EV market was still up 2% in the first half of 2024, while the latest July figures for Britain from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders gave EVs a 16.8% share so far, up from 10.5% compared to last year. However, EVs represented only 8% of the US market in Q2 2024, down slightly from 8.1% in Q4 2023.

Be that as it may, it’s not true that “nobody wants electric cars,” as some haters say (usually because of vested interests in combustion-based cars). But in some regions there has been a softening of the market, and sales have not increased as quickly as some had predicted. Much of this is due to the focus on premium SUVs. Cheaper electric cars are needed to achieve greater appeal to the general public.

In Europe, the Dacia Spring is a step in the right direction. It’s poorly put together, but the range is serviceable, it can seat five people in a pinch with some bags in the back, and it’s easy to drive. Although the Spring comes from a Romanian car brand owned by the French Renault Group, it is made in China. And therein lies the rub. European manufacturers (and American manufacturers like Ford) cannot make cheap electric cars like the Chinese can.

America has protected itself from this with a 100% tariff on imported Chinese cars. The The EU added 17.4% to 37.6% on top of the existing 10% tax. But this is clearly more of a recognition of the local inability to compete, and part of that is the focus on premium SUVs. “The world is looking for more practical options,” says Leenarts. “People want to travel comfortably.” But once early adopters make their purchase, the world also wants electric vehicles that don’t cost a significant premium. Perhaps building electric cars that aren’t SUVs would make this easier to achieve.

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