COLOGNE, Germany, March 11, 2021 – To step inside the Ford Mustang Mach-E is to experience an interior unlike any Ford vehicle that came before it. ¹ The all-new design is the culmination of refining the things that customers want – spaciousness, technology and a perception of “warmth”.

While the trend in recent decades was towards “more” in the car interior – more buttons, more features, more elements – Ford is taking a reductive approach, using human-centric design to declutter the interior and create a holistic space.

The result with the all-electric Mustang Mach-E is a view from the driver’s seat that is a benchmark on the road towards electrification.

“When we think about how cars have changed, we think of what they look like from the outside, but it is from the inside that drivers and passengers see them most of the time,” said Amko Leenarts, director, Design, Ford of Europe. “It’s been an incredible journey to the dynamic, holistic interior of the Mustang Mach-E, which does more with less while putting all the important controls within easy reach. And we will continue to take this approach with future vehicles, by listening to our customers and designing interiors that best suit their needs.”

Reductive design is intended to provide drivers with a more comfortable and simpler environment. In the case of the Mustang Mach-E, this includes a large, centralised touchscreen that consolidates many of the in-car controls in one place.

The smooth dashboard with integrated speaker is the latest iteration in an ongoing search to make driving and travelling as enjoyable an experience as possible. For example, wireless charging pads and a digital owner’s manual does away with cables and paper.

“New electrified vehicles with flat floors from front to back provide more spaciousness and offer designers a blank canvas on which to create interiors that place people at the centre of the design,” Leenarts said.

To better understand the younger generation of digital natives and anticipate future trends, Ford embarked last year on a unique project: co-creating a virtual gaming race car in collaboration with gamers. Almost a quarter-of-a-million esports fans took part in online polls to help determine the appearance of our extreme Team Fordzilla P1 race car – inside and out.

“The P1 race car was all about streamlining the features down to the gaming essentials, such as speed, race position and lap time. Together with the toned down colour palette, this reduces distraction so the driver can focus on the race. We can also apply a minimalist approach to designing the interiors of the future, where what goes in is what customers want the most,” said Robert Engelmann, interior designer, Ford of Europe.

The evolution of the driver’s view

Car interiors have changed a lot from when drivers really did store gloves in the glove compartment, as the metal and wooden steering wheels of early vehicles got ice cold in winter. To show the changes, Ford has created a video with the driver’s view from a dozen vehicles, from the Model T to the Mustang Mach-E, and beyond.

It is on the back of multiple innovations through years of development and refinement that we have arrived at today’s state-of-the-art interiors, as shown in the video:

• House windows were used in cars initially – and only offered as an extra
• Curved windscreens led to the development of air-conditioning – as windscreens could no longer be opened
• When first made available, radios initially amounted to 20 per cent of the vehicle’s value
• Post-war dashboards were influenced by the space race, with more dials, switches and gauges, as technology became increasingly a key part of people’s lives
• The advent of video games and the use of hand-held gaming controls influenced steering wheel design, with buttons placed within easy reach of the driver’s thumbs
• Today’s interiors are increasingly made of more durable materials, able to better withstand contact with products such as hand sanitiser, sun lotion and insect repellent

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/nADFgzrE2WU

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¹ Mustang Mach-E delivers up to 610 km WLTP pure-electric driving range in rear-wheel drive, extended-range battery configuration.

The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO₂-Emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers.