Ford Motor Co‘s F electric SUV Mustang Mach-E was the number two bestselling SUV in the U.S. last year after Tesla Inc‘s Model Y. But this year is not looking so bright for the vehicle model so far.
Dwindling Mach-E Demand:
In the first two months of 2024, Ford sold a total of 4,225 Mach-E vehicles, down 4.2% year-on-year. Sales were more disappointing in January when the company witnessed sales drop by about 51% as compared to the corresponding month of 2023. February saw sales rise back up, possibly due to the company cutting prices on 2023 model-year vehicles by as much as $8,100 mid-month.
The price cuts from February ranged between $3,100 and $8,100 for different versions of the SUV and brought the starting price of the vehicle down to $39,895, cheaper than its chief rival Model Y which now starts at $43,990.
Rising Rush For Adapters To Charge On NACS Superchargers:
In 2023, Ford saw Mach-E sales rise 3.3% year-on-year to touch 40,771 units. The SUV was the best-selling EV from Ford, possibly why the company announced the kickstart of its supercharger access agreement with Tesla with pictures of the SUV.
Late last month, Tesla opened its supercharger network in North America to Ford, allowing Ford’s EVs access to about 15,000 more NACS fast chargers across the geography. Ford CEO Jim Farley then took to X to share pictures of him charging a red Mach-E at a Tesla supercharger. The access, Farley said in another post, was a “huge milestone” for Ford.
New and existing customers of Ford EVs need to simply get a fast-charging adapter for the purpose. However, gaining the adapter for the Mustang Mach-E is seemingly more difficult than getting the Mach-E; Ford made 94,465 units of the SUV last year.
The link to reserve the adapter on Ford’s website is presently down, possibly owing to high demand. The order page for the adapter currently reads, “Sometimes things just don’t go as planned.” The link reportedly crashed a few days ago when Ford rolled it out.
New and existing customers of Ford EVs can get a fast-charging adapter at no cost through June 30, 2024, if they get through to ordering one. Once the offer expires, they will be charged $230.
Ford did not immediately reply to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Ford’s EV Outlook:
During Ford’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February, company CEO Jim Farley noted a "seismic change" in the EV market over the last six months of last year spurred by an intense price war among EV makers and a tremendous capital flow.
Going forward, the company said, the company’s EV teams will focus on cost and efficiency to withstand "ultimate competition" from Tesla and other Chinese EV makers who have more affordable offerings. The company now also intends to scale pure electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles simultaneously.
Ford expects losses to widen to a range of $5 billion to $5.5 billion for its electric vehicle segment Model-e this year, owing to pricing pressure and investment into its next generation of vehicles.
The Model-e EV business segment posted a full-year EBIT loss of $4.7 billion for 2023.
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