Ford Mustang Mach-E Deliveries Begin In Norway
The first Ford Mustang Mach-E buyer in Norway just received his vehicle today. This news helps answer a question I asked earlier today. I also got confirmation regarding another matter that keeps popping up concerning the Mustang Mach-E.
Ford Mustang Mach-E sales have been sliding downward in the US from month to month since its big February peak/launch. The question I had was a simple one with several potential answers: Why?
The answer to that question is that the Ford Mustang Mach-E has been getting shipped to more countries, including EV-hot Norway, which saw full-electric vehicles gobble up 55% of the country’s auto sales in April. Plugin vehicles as a whole accounted for 80% of passenger auto sales.
Regarding this first delivery in Norway, Ford published a bit about the owner and delivery. Translated from Norwegian, Ford writes, “The Mustang Mach-E is in many ways a dream car for me. The first thing I liked was the tough and sporty look. Long range, four-wheel drive is also important. When Ford also puts the legendary Mustang logo on a car, it also means quality and good driving characteristics, says the very satisfied car owner from Oslo, Einar Flåte.” No one had anything to say about the second person to receive delivery, as usual. (Poor guy/gal.)
Over the next few months, thousands of Norwegians are going to be receiving their Mustang Mach-Es (Mach-E Mustangs?). Several thousand are supposed to be delivered before summer. That explains why US sales are trailing off a bit. Ford still has only so much production capacity, and it is starting to spread it more widely. Norway is surely a priority. The deal there now is basically go electric or go home.
For further personal touch, let’s talk a bit more about Mr. Flåte before getting to some bigger-picture matters. Flåte ordered the Mustang Mach-E on the first day ordering was opened (hence receiving the first unit in Norway). “I must admit that it was an impulse purchase, but now I feel that even though I am approaching 60, I feel a kind of childish joy over a new car, says Flåte.” Sounds like a smart move, and he certainly looks happy at the delivery.
Flåte’s Mustang Mach-E was on a boat with many others that arrived last Wednesday in Drammen. “We now have very many cars that have arrived or are on their way to Norway, and know that there are many customers who have waited patiently. Therefore, it is great now to finally be up and running and hand over the very first customer-delivered car in Norway to Einar Flåte, says CEO of RøhneSelmer, Kjetil Hagestande.”
Ford also shared European specs and Norwegian pricing to highlight how compelling the vehicle is:
- For a well-equipped Mustang Mach-E with a range of up to 440 km (Standard Range), the price is from 412,000 kroner.
- A Mustang Mach-E with the longest range of up to 610 km and rear-wheel drive will cost from 463,400 kroner.
- If you want four-wheel drive and up to 400 km range, the Mustang Mach-E will cost from 482,000 kroner. For the variant with four-wheel drive and a range of up to 540 km, the price will be from 544,000 kroner.
We had the Ford Mustang Mach-E for a week earlier this year and absolutely loved it. It’s got many lovable features, plenty of range, conveniently fast charging for road trips, and fun tech. Of course, it’s got a few barrels full of style and decades of culture behind it. The big question I had remains the same: How many can Ford eventually sell? And if it’s a big consumer hit, will Ford scale up production enthusiastically and quickly?
A Ford executive just confirmed with me that Ford’s first-year production target is 50,000, which was announce back in November 2019 and holds steady today. Though, beyond 2021, Ford’s dreams may be growing. It recently almost doubled its planned electrification investments, to $22 billion. Ford now plans for 100% of its passenger vehicle sales to be 100% electric in Europe by 2030.
When I asked about sliding sales of the Ford Mustang Mach-E in the United States, Mike Levine, head of Ford North America’s product communications, responded: “We are selling every Mustang Mach-E we can build right now with days-to-turn on dealer lots of just 4 days. We are still building dealer stock on lots and we have many still in transit. We are also trying to satisfy global demand from the same plant at the same time. We are filling all orders globally as fast as we can.”
So, no worries about demand at this point. Ford is pumping out Mustang Mach-Es as quickly as it can as it ramps up production capacity, and the company is delivery the new vehicles to customers at a rapid clip. There is no doubt Ford is going to ship many to Europe. Aside from Norway’s mass-market adoption of EVs, the EU has new regulations in place that force automakers to actually sell zero-emissions vehicles or face big fines. It’s expected that about 60% of the Mustang Mach-Es sold in 2021 will go to Europeans, and just 40% (about 20,000) to Americans.
The news we’ve seen so far about the Mustang Mach-E appear to indicate that the new model’s rollout is going well and Ford is happy with the response. I expect that as these initial 50,000 get out on the road and people’s neighbors, friends, family members, and coworkers experience the early owners’ vehicles, demand will grow and Ford will decide that it needs to produce significantly more than 50,000 a year. If that is the case, hopefully Ford will have the battery supply and vehicle production capacity lined up to ramp up production further, and also bring down costs.
In my opinion, if Ford plays its cards right, the Mustang Mach-E could become the best selling Mustang in history. However, a lot has to go right and the planning and effort have to be put in to make that happen.
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