The hybrid Ford Mustang will reportedly not arrive until the 2023 model year at the earliest.

The hybrid Mustang that Ford originally announced for 2020 will now arrive in 2022 when an updated Mustang goes on sale, Autocar reported Monday.

According to the British publication, Ford had planned to release an updated Mustang with a hybrid powertrain sometime around 2020, but after 2017's Jim Hackett replaced Mark Fields as CEO, the situation changed. It is claimed that Hackett wanted to prioritize the launch of the Mustang Mach-E over other electrified Mustangs. The battery-electric crossover made its debut last November, and deliveries will begin later this year as a 2021 model.

As for the updated Mustang, it was confirmed in a job posting in February that it would arrive in 2022 as a 2023 model. Codenamed "S650" (the current Mustang is the S550), the platform is D2C or a version of the modular CD6 platform that debuted on the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs in 2020. It may be based on.

In 2018, Ford announced that it will transition its lineup to five high-modularity platforms in the future, meaning there is no room for custom platforms such as D2C, but a final abandonment of the D2C platform is expected later this decade. There is also speculation that the final stage of development of the D2C platform will wait until the arrival of the 8th generation Mustang, successor to the S650, which is scheduled for the second half of the decade.

Whatever platform is used for the next Mustang, a hybrid powertrain will be positioned in the performance halo. There is talk of a traditional front-mounted V8 sending power to the rear wheels and pairing an electric motor to each of the front wheels. Battery capacity is also expected to be sufficient for a modest electric range.

Prior to the arrival of the updated Mustang, Ford will make a final update to the current generation later this year. This update is expected to include the new Mustang Mach 1, which will replace the Mustang Brit.