The Munro Live team has just gotten into the battery pack of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which has been undergoing a full teardown for a couple of weeks now.
In this episode, Sandy Munro is joined by Mark Ellis, Munro & Associates' battery expert. The duo briefly examined the battery pack, right after removing the lid.
The Mach-E version shown is equipped with a Standard Range battery (68 kWh usable / 75.7 kWh total).
The first element shown is the battery lid itself, which at 14.5 kg appears to be too heavy for the purpose. For comparison, the smaller Volkswagen ID.4's battery lid was 7.3 kg.
The next thing noted is that there are a lot of screws, and more wires than expected, which suggests cost and weight reduction opportunities.
According to Mark Ellis, the Mach-E battery pack reminds him of the one in Chevrolet Bolt EV, but there are multiple differences.
The Bolt EV was equipped with pouch cells, supplied by LG Chem's LG Energy Solution. The Mach-E also is equipped with LG Energy Solution battery cells, although Munro Live mistakenly said it's SK Innovation. Nonetheless, the Mach-E has plastic modules. There are a total of 10 modules, but not all are the same size. Two in the front are smaller than the remaining eight.
Mark Ellis notes that the BMS harnesses run from a central point in the rear to all individual modules in the Mach-E (similarly to older Ford PHEVs), while in the Bolt EV, there are circuit boards in each module (with internal connections), connected to the central bus.
An interesting thing is that in terms of cooling, each pair of modules has its own cooling plate. Mark Ellis said that he would like to see a single unit, to reduce the number of hose connectors and the risk of leaks.
Overall, it was a very interesting and informative first review. The team will check the modules and how it works, so stay tuned for more.
See also
Previous episodes related to the Ford Mustang Mach-E:
