It feels like the S650-generation Mustang just got here but its life cycle could already have an end date. According to a report from Muscle Cars and Trucks originally published on Nov. 30, the labor agreement between the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) and Ford details production plans for various vehicles and manufacturing plants. Such plans reportedly indicate that the brand-spanking-new S650 Mustang will end production in 2028 when the new UAW agreement ends.
Update Dec. 4, 2023, 3:45 p.m. ET: A Ford spokesperson told The Drive via email that the Muscle Cars and Trucks report is “not accurate,” and added that Ford “won’t comment on speculation regarding future product.”
Update Dec. 4, 2023, 3:10 p.m. ET: Ford declined to comment when asked by The Drive about the validity of this report. Instead, a Ford representative directed us to Muscle Cars and Trucks’ updated story and to the UAW’s hourly employee highlighter following the new contract’s ratification, which states that “Mustang will continue” production at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly plant into 2028, when the contract is set to expire.
The outlet’s original report has now been updated, though if the rumor was true, it would give the S650 Mustang a short life cycle but one that’s considerably longer than its main rival, the Chevy Camaro. The Bowtie’s pony car is dead after this year but the V8-powered Mustang will live on until at least 2028, which should make Mustang fans happy.
What could come after 2028? Ford hasn’t released any plans for the Mustang’s future after the S650 generation. But there have been rumors suggesting that the next-gen Mustang—potentially named “S750″—will be built on Ford’s upcoming GE2.2 platform, which it will share with the second-gen Mustang Mach-E. Does that mean the Mustang could go fully electric after 2028? Maybe Ford switches to a hybrid powertrain for the Mustang coupe? The latter might make some sense, considering its new number-one competitor is doing the same.
The Drive recently learned that Dodge is readying both an internal combustion Charger and an electric one. However, the gas-powered Charger will use Stellantis’ Hurricane inline-six-cylinder engine, rather than a V8. So it’s possible that Ford could go a similar route with the Mustang following the S650 and drop a twin-turbo V6 under its hood. However, with Ford already having two electric vehicles—the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning—with more on the way, it’s also possible that Ford could keep the V8 Mustang and still meet overall corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) regulations after 2028.
Either way, a 2028 end date is further away than the end of many V8-powered sports cars, so fans and customers should consider themselves lucky if it’s true.
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