Women line up to build eco Mustang GIRL POWER
Ford’s first all-electric car has been named in homage to its legendary American muscle car.
The pioneering Ford Mustang Mach-E will not, however, be built alongside its namesake at the firm’s
Flat Rock plant in Michigan.
Instead, the new SUV is being built at the company’s factory at Cuautitlan in Greater Mexico City.
Equally groundbreaking is the labour pool. Ford has opted for a predominantly female workforce to assemble their new model and in the last year women staff have risen by 15 per cent to make up 23 per cent of employees right across the board.
Marcos Madrid, director of the Mach-E plant, said the company was going into schools and colleges to urge young woman to join the motoring industry. He said: “We want to encourage more women to enter specialities like engineering and we work to ensure equal pay.”
Madrid was speaking at an online conference organised by Ford and female motoring journalists from Women’s World Car of the Year.
The Mexican plant has won a raft of awards for its innovative approach to females in the motoring workplace and has backed its initiative with women’s health projects such as regular mammograms, breastfeeding rooms and ultrasound facilities.
The Mach-E will have three driving modes – Whisper, Engage and Unbridled – and a new all-wheel drive system.
There will be an entry level rear-wheel drive and a long range rear-wheel drive version with a battery that will allow 370 miles between charges.
The all-wheel drive long range model will have the same battery and range but will have another electric motor on the front axle to add more power – a total of 332bhp.
It will share design cues with its sports car sibling – a low nose, long bonnet and muscular haunches.