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

This isn’t the first time Ford has taken one of its beloved brands and turned it into an electric SUV. The Mustang Mach-E arrived with great controversy as well. But Ford isn’t the only company focusing on SUVs for its electrification strategy. This is a common theme across most automakers.

There are several reasons why so many EVs are SUVs. Developing a car with a new drivetrain such as an all-electric vehicle costs a lot, and SUVs tend to command a price premium, enabling some recoup of that investment. It’s also much easier to hide the weight gain from the huge battery pack required to provide a decent range inside the SUV format than in a compact hatchback. Then there’s the popularity factor. Automakers want to shift cars, obviously, so they will go for formats that sell well. According to JATO Dynamics, SUVs had 51.1% of the European market in April 2024. The U.S. market is even better, with SUVs gaining 53.5% of U.S. car sales in 2022. From this perspective, automakers are simply giving people what they want.

Graham Hughes—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Bigger is better?

It’s worth underlining where the popularity of SUVs came from, however. In the 1970s, the first U.S. auto pollution regulations were drawn up. At that time the only people driving heavy vehicles like trucks had commercial purposes, so the fuel efficiency rules for them were more lenient. Automakers spotted this loophole, created a consumer vehicle that was also a truck, and the gas-guzzling SUV was born. Consumers ended up loving these large, spacious vehicles despite their lack of fuel economy. This is also despite the fact that vehicles with a hood height more than 40 inches are 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes, and are more likely to roll over in an accident due to high center of gravity while inflicting more severe injuries because of their weight.

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

“Clearly, it doesn’t look like the last Capri that left the production line in the 80s,” says Pete Zillig, Marketing Director, Ford. “We’re really cognizant of the fact that this is primarily aimed at young urban families. We talk about the car you always promised yourself. Some of those people won’t even know the Capri nameplate, because they are too young to remember.”

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“The world is moving on,” adds Amko Leenarts, Design Director, Ford. “This car would never have been as good as it is now if we hadn’t have the Capri as our main inspiration.” However, Zillig argues: “We didn’t just electrify the last Capri that left the production line in the 80s. We brought 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 that we did for this vehicle was incredibly positive.”

The negative online reaction doesn’t necessarily mean the Capri is going to fail. This will be more a factor of how good the car is, despite the Capri branding. Press drives haven’t been provided yet, but the Capri has the same Volkswagen Group-derived electric drivetrain as the Ford Explorer, which is reasonably quick, good to drive, and has decent range. But the Capri is not just a different body on top of the same underlying car.

Did you see it? The Legend Is Back. The New All-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 is 10 millimeters lower on the wheels,” says Leenarts. “There’s a bit of tuning on the steering, braking, and suspension. Considering how well the Explorer EV was perceived as still feeling like a Ford, I’m expecting the same on this one.” From first impressions, it seems like a well-thought-out car, with plenty of interior passenger and luggage space despite the “coupe” fastback design. “It will have a bit more range than the Explorer – 630km (393 miles) – because even though it’s slightly heavier, the aero is better.”

“With the Explorer, once people got behind the wheel and drove it, they were totally convinced it’s an amazing vehicle and drives 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 didn’t necessarily need to be called “Capri” to have these design characteristics, although Zellig reckons it still has the original car’s spirit, claiming: “Capri was ahead of its time but even back then we talked about it being a sporty vehicle that had great utility. We didn’t even have the term SUV then.” Leenarts adds: “We still combine practicality with positivity which was what the old Capri was famous for. But we’re not going to do a two door – that doesn’t make sense.”

With the advent of the Capri, Ford now has three electric SUVs in its range, which could arguably cannibalize each other’s sales. Leenarts doesn’t think this will happen, however. “I don’t think we’re going to compete with ourselves,” he says. “Traditionally, 10 centimeters more physical length defines a segment.” This was an area Ford stressed when it launched the Explorer – that it’s shorter than vehicles that use the same platform such as the Volkswagen ID.4 or Skoda Enyaq iV. The Mustang Mach-E is 474cm long, the Explorer EV 446cm, and the Capri 463cm, so they are different lengths.

“It’s about size and capability,” says Leenarts. “If people want a car that they can more easily park in the city, an Explorer is probably the one to go for. It’s the Capri if people are looking for something that is more premium. More performance means the Mach-E GT.”

However, Ford’s next EV will be yet another SUV—an all-electric version of the Puma, which will allegedly 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 market for EVs softening?

There has been a lot of mainstream press attention given to a softening of the EV market, although some of this appears to be inspired more by the wishes of some manufacturers than facts. The European EV market was still up 2% in the first half of 2024, while the latest July figures for the U.K. from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders gave EVs a 16.8% share year-to-date, up 10.5% from last year. However, EVs were only 8% of the US market in Q2 2024, a little down from 8.1% in Q4 2023.

Either way, it’s not true that “nobody wants EVs” as some haters say (usually due to a vested interest in combustion-based cars). But there is a softening of the market in some regions, and sales haven’t accelerated as fast as some predicted. A big part of this is because of the focus on premium SUVs. For greater mass appeal, cheaper electric cars are needed. 

In Europe, the Dacia Spring is a step in the right direction. It’s flimsily put together, but the range is usable, it can seat five at a pinch with some bags in the back, and it’s just about okay to drive. However, despite coming from a Romanian car brand owned by France’s Renault Group, the Spring is made in China. And therein lies the rub. European manufacturers (and American ones like Ford) can’t make cheap EVs like the Chinese can.

America has protected itself from this with a 100% tariff on imported Chinese cars. The EU has added 17.4% to 37.6% on top of the existing 10% tax. But these are clearly more an admission of local inability to compete, and part of that is the focus on premium SUVs. “The world has been looking for more practicality,” says Leenarts. “People want to travel comfortably.” However, once early adopters have made their purchase, the world also wants EVs that don’t cost a considerable premium. Maybe building some electric cars that aren’t SUVs would make this easier to achieve.

This article appeared in the October/November 2024: Europe issue of Fortune with the headline “The beloved Ford Capri is back—or is it? Why every new electric car is an SUV, and why it shouldn’t be.”