Manoli Katakis 
Laws in the European market are coming to a point where emissions and safety regulations are squeezing the automobile as we know it out of existence. For example, the UK government has announced that sales of any-and-all new gasoline and diesel vehicles are to be banned by 2040, while other European countries such as Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands have set an even more aggressive deadline of 2030 – a scant 10 years away. So, then, is it much of a surprise that at this point that the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is not to be sold in European markets? We suppose not. Like the Chevrolet Camaro SS and C7 Corvette with their 6.2L LT1 V8 engines, the Mustang GT500 and its 5.2L supercharged V8 engine are not welcome by EU regulators.
Ford Performance Marketing Manager Jim Ownes confirmed to MC&T that the GT500 will be sold in North America, Mexico, and the Middle East. But not Europe.
During the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, Ford paraded the 2020 GT500 for attendees during the famous hillclimb event. Some considered this to be a sign that the range-topping Mustang was headed for sale there. This was never the case.
Ironically, sales demonstrate demand for the Mustang, even from European consumers. Ford sold 2,300 Mustangs in Europe in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of more than 27 per cent compared with the same period last year, and 113,066 units globally. These numbers put the Ford Mustang as the world’s best-selling sports coupe for the fourth consecutive year. Mustang sales in Europe are up more than 27 per cent as of Q1 2019. Since the debut of the sixth-generation S550 Mustang in 2105, more than 500,000 units have been sold worldwide, including more than 45,000 in Europe. The Ford Mustang also up an additional half point of global share last year to capture 15.4 percent of the segment.
The Bullitt is currently the most powerful Mustang officially sold by Ford in Europe. Like the 2020 Ford Mustang GT500, the high-revving Mustang Shelby GT350 is also barred from sale in the market. It’s still possible to get a GT350, albeit from specialty importers.
There are bunker-fuel burning ocean liners spewing clouds of black smoke as they cross oceans with containers full of cheaply made goods ordered on the internet. There’s a significant carbon footprint coming from air travel. The environmental impact of industrial farming is well documented. Yet bureaucrats in Europe are going after the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 while on their way to regulating everybody’s personal choice of transportation. A misallocation of effort? Discuss in the comments below.
