Time and time again, studies have shown that pricing remains one of the biggest barriers standing in the way between traditional consumers and all-electric vehicles, as EVs tend to be priced quite a bit higher than ICE models given the high costs of their battery packs, specifically. Ford is well aware of this, recently noting that it has been somewhat secretly working on developing a low-cost EV for a while now, one riding on a new platform, which will serve as part of its mission to focus on smaller and cheaper models. While speaking at the 2024 Wolfe Conference recently, Ford CEO Jim Farley also noted that future Ford EVs will be priced more like premium hybrids than anything else.
“And so I think we’re just running into the reality. And as far as our future business plan, we have now, since the middle of last year, have assumed that we have to basically sell an EV at a hybrid premium. There is no more money for customers than that. $3,000 to $5,000, that’s it. And I think that is the right way to approach it.”
“So that turns out that in this next cycle of EVs, some of our competitors don’t have the advantage of changing their next generation. We do, thankfully, got a little bit lucky on the timing. When we made that decision last year, it forced a lot of pivots. For our bigger vehicles
that are in generic segments like a Mach-E or a three-row crossover, we’re like, whoa, hybrid premium only. We got to think about this. I’m not going to launch any vehicle if I can’t make money on it, in the first 12 months. That required a lot of change.”
These comments somewhat echo what Farley said during the automaker’s Q4 2023 earnings call with investors as well, which is precisely when he noted that second-generation Ford EVs are expected to be profitable in 12 months – far quicker than what we’re seeing today. In the meantime, the automaker has implemented some steep price cuts on remaining 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E models as it aims to make room for the 2024 model year, too.
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Comments
They could make them the same price as ICE and I still won’t buy one.
Don’t forget compelling and with much fewer recalls as part of the model…. left the brand a few years back over it.