All about Ford

On April 23, Ford announced the sales success of its recently launched Ford E-Transit in Brazil.

The E-Transit is available in Brazil in van and chassis-cab versions, both with a 269 hp engine and 43.8 kgfm of torque, RWD, and a 68-kWh lithium battery that offers a range of 317 km and can be recharged with type 2 connector in 34 minutes at 115-kW DC or in 8 hours at 11.5-kW AC.

The Ford E-Transit also offers features such as adaptive autopilot, autonomous braking assist, cross traffic alert, etc.

Ford has managed to sell 300 units and will begin deliveries this month.

(Ford Brazil press reread on April 23, 2024)

On April 29, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it has opened an investigation of two fatal crashes involving Ford's Blue Cruise partially automated driving system, used in Mustang Mach-E vehicles on freeways in nighttime lighting conditions.

The agency says the investigation will evaluate how Blue Cruise performs driving tasks as well as its camera based driver monitoring system.

The probe includes 130,050 2021-2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which already is investigating the February 24 San Antonio crash, determined in a preliminary report that it was operating on Blue Cruise.

The Texas crash occurred on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, where the NTSB says the Mach E struck the rear of a 1999 Honda CR-V that was stopped in the middle of three lanes around 9:50 p.m., killing its driver.

The second crash involving a Mach E killed two people around 3:20 a.m. March 3 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, where the Mach E was in the left lane as it struck a stationary Hyundai Elantra that earlier had collided with a Toyota Prius.

The Mach E hit the Hyundai, pushing it into the rear of the Prius, killing each of those two drivers who were outside of their vehicles at the time. 

A police news release on the crash says a criminal investigation is underway and a charge of homicide by motor vehicle while driving under the influence is possible against the 23-year-old woman driving the Mach E.

(Detroit News and other sources on April 29, 2024) (NHTSA report on April 25, 2024)

Ford has launched the Chinese-built Bronco in its home market and is now available to order.

The Ford Bronco, as well as the Ford Ranger, are being built locally by Jiangling Ford, a joint venture between the U.S. OEM and Jiangling Motors, and will be sold in special stores called Ford Beyond. 

In China, the Ford Bronco is available in seven different trim levels/configurations – Big Bend, Black Diamond, Black Diamond Sasquatch, Outer Banks, Outer Banks Sasquatch, and Badlands, as well as the Everglades version which is limited to 500 total units for that market. 

The Chinese Ford Bronco is much different from its U.S.-produced counterpart, other than scrip and badging, and even comes equipped with the 12-inch infotainment screen as standard in the American version.

The Bronco will reportedly be offered in China exclusively with the turbocharged 2.3-liter I-4 EcoBoost engine.

(multiple sources on April 26, 2024)