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https://preview.redd.it/t95bzqxqkv3c1.png?width=300&format=png&auto=webp&s=57d777a1f3588783682674418f41cb8bfae18b85
***Photo above*** *- the Ford Mach-E – 2022 Electric Car of the Year. Telsa outsold it 15 to one last year.*
This blew my mind when I read it. How can a dealership REFUSE to sell something coming off the automaker’s assembly line? Don’t they have a contract with Ford headquarters which obligates them have it for sale? Worse yet, the car in question is the electric Mach-E (faux) Mustang. Geese Louise, this car won a bunch of awards, including “Electric Car of the Year” and “Editor’s Choice”. Yet one third of Fords 3,000 US dealers flatly refused to sell them at all, and another 400 (of the 2,000 who initially signed on) have now backed out. See link below.
How could this happen in America? There are HUGE government rebates on (union made) electric cars. Is the Mach-E actually THAT bad? It seems unlikely. I’ve actually seen two Mach-E mustangs since 2022. Maybe three. They look and drive perfectly normal. No smoke trailing behind from the battery pack, like you used to worry about a Tesla. I’ve seen about 2,000 Tesla model 3’s where I live. This is just a rough guesstimate, but if you told me that Tesla outsold the Mach-E by a hundred to one, I’d consider it plausible. So what gives?
**I blame Ford. And the federal government. And various state governments. But NOT the people trying to buy new cars.** A lot of people who’ve never seen a Mache-E, let alone taken a test drive, would probably be interested, and sign up for that $699 monthly lease payment. The problem is – Ford dealers don’t have them. Ford is doing its share to make this a complete disaster. For an initial $500,000 fee, your local Ford dealer can “qualify” to sell Mach-E mustangs. For that entry price, however, they aren’t even allowed to have a Mach-E demonstrator on their lot. If a customer wanders into the dealership and insists on buying one, the salesperson can order it for him, and the customer can wait 4-6 weeks. Or maybe not. If that customer just had an accident, and needs a new car TODAY – they will probably just walk across the street to the Hyundai or Kia dealer and buy an electric car AT LEAST as good. And drive it away on the spot.
**Ford recognized that dealers paying $500,000 for “nothing” – not even having a demonstrator – is a tough sell.** So they introduced their “elite” dealers’ program. If a dealer pays $1.2 million, his showroom will be entitled to a demonstrator vehicle or two. As long as they install at least TWO public chargers. If you drive by a Ford dealership and see a Mach-E actually on the lot, feel sorry for the owner. He paid over a million bucks – PLUS hundreds of thousands more for public chargers – to have that model on display. And still, nobody is buying them! Day-um!
**Wait . . . it gets worse.** It costs Ford around $100,000 to manufacture each Mach-E. And the out the door price (before tax rebates) averages $60,000. Sheesh – no wonder Ford headquarters doesn’t want to make more Mach-E’s than they have to and ship them to dealers. They lose at least $40,000 on each sale. They’re probably PRAYING people don’t buy them.
**At this point, the Mach-E starts to look like a “compliance car”.** That’s a term that came into vogue about 5 years ago, when states like California began passing electric vehicle mandates. “*X percent of your new vehicles MUST be fully electric by 20XX*”. Well, here we are, and nobody is happy. At least not car buyers, or Ford dealers. Ford headquarters probably isn’t too thrilled either. They just cancelled two unfinished lithium-ion battery assembly lines. Something about supply exceeding demand.
So, state mandates are partially to blame for forcing vehicles onto the marketplace that consumers don’t yet want. And the $hitty public charging network. And high sticker prices. And you can’t buy just the base model – you have to buy one with a sunroof, heated and ventilated seats, blue cruise, and that 10 speaker/$1,600 Bang and Olufsen premium sound system. Does the Mach-E at least come with a full-size spare tire? You know how tough those chonky electric vehicles are on tire wear. The Mach-E doesn’t have a normal spare? Wait . . . it doesn’t even have a COMPACT SPARE – WTH ??? No . . . that’s not a misprint. No spare, anywhere. If driving with no spare is too scary, you can buy an aftermarket spare tire kit online apparently. Hey Ford, even the Model T 100 years ago had a spare. No, I don’t want to hear some BS that 1,000 pounds of lithium ore in trunk took up all the space. This is the sort of thing you’re paid to figure out, Ford. Especially on a car that costs $100,000 to make, and $60,000 to buy.
My nephew is stoked because his home state just passed a law mandating 100% electric vehicle sales in a few years. Residents who actually have to BUY their own vehicles – and don’t get a free “loaner” to drive because they work for the gummint – are up in arms. Residents are already aware that the charging network sucks. And that electric rates are skyrocketing. None of this matters anyway though. My nephew lives in his mother’s basement, because he can’t afford his own crib. He has as much chance of slipping behind the wheel of a Tesla, Mach-E or Hyundai Ionic 6 as he does of buying a condo or house. State governments seem less attentive to affordable housing than electric cars.
As I’ve said in several previous columns – I’m a HUGE fan of electric cars. I’ve actually ridden in one (a Tesla model 3), and the idea of lower maintenance and cost per mile is alluring. I can definitely see the day coming when ICE engines will be a niche product only for old-skool afficionados who insist on a manual transmission too. But we aren’t there yet. Why are bureaucrats making us the guinea pigs – instead of leading the way themselves with electric police cars, ambulances, school buses, fire engines, garbage trucks, postal vehicles? WE are the ones getting dumped in the water, to sink or swim.
I’m just sayin’ . . .
[**Nearly 400 Dealers Drop Out Of Ford’s EV Program (jalopnik.com)**](https://jalopnik.com/nearly-400-dealers-drop-out-of-ford-s-ev-program-1851058186)
by baltimore-aureole
11 comments
Say what you will about Tesla, but the traditional direct-to-consumer retail model is sorely needed for automakers to better sell electric cars. Dealerships are the most politically corrupt, horribly nepotistic, inefficient places to do business. I buy all my vehicles used via a 3rd party.
I would never own an EV. For city folk they might make more sense but even then battery life expectancy and range should be researched and taken into account when purchasing. When you look at range estimates remember that is under certain temps and in high heat or extreme cold you will not get anywhere near that. I wouldn’t own a EV or hybrid but I would buy a hybrid any day over battery only.
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ETA also take fire risk and insurance premiums into account.
To hell with dealerships, it’s a ridiculous middle man model we don’t need.
the whole dealer network thing is a scam. they should be out of business and we should be buying cars direct on-line. this would save us at least 10%
It’s not the dealerships holding the Mach E back. It’s that you can get a model 3 that does everything better, has a nationwide charging network, and is way way way cheaper. Anyone who says otherwise is overthinking it. If you’re shopping for an EV there’s no reasonable way to conclude that the Mach E is the way to go. That’s it.
Part of it is because EVs are used for political purposes both pro and con. It’s the “if you have an EV you’re a Libtard” mentality.
People don’t want electric cars. There are too many issues and range is far too limited.
I doubt that is the main reason. You can get it at every Ford dealer over here in Switzerland, and they sold a whopping 752 of them in October. Or 0.18% of total sales.
Lol I just Google mach-e price and telsa was the 1st page
It’s not that dealers just refuse to sell them, it’s that they don’t sell.
Stop the nonsense, the American car manufacturers can do the same thing Tesla did. Sell them online if the dealers don’t want them.