Ford slashes Mach-E prices by up to $5,900... offers refunds to customers that paid higher price

Ford hits back at Tesla's price cuts by lopping nearly $6,000 off the Mustang Mach-E

Ford has already set its sights on Tesla. Now it's the first to hit back in a pricing war started by Elon Musk earlier this month.

www.businessinsider.com

Mach-E customers already waiting on their order will be given the adjusted price when their vehicle arrives, and current owners will hear from Ford for "personal offers" designed to refund the difference in price they paid before the cuts, Gjaja said on a phone call with reporters.

 

[dragoon9988]

At least ford has the balls to refund customers who paid more. As someone who bought in November and paid $10000 + and tax higher for my model y I am never giving Tesla another cent. And I will be a pain in the ass to their service centers when the time comes.

 

[ScoobyDoo82]

Uh... did anyone notice what actually changed?

The MME Select has been cut to the mid-$40s. That vehicle does not have an extended range battery, it gets about 220 miles of range on a full charge.

The MME Premium has been cut to the low-$50s. That vehicle does not come with an extended range battery and gets about the same range. The difference between the Premium and the Select mostly has to do with onboard sensors.

The Extended Range Battery, which is only an option for the Premium, now costs $7,000. That's the only way to get to 270+ miles of range with an MME.

So, if you want a car that can handle a 100+ mile road trip, you will not be getting a tax rebate.

This price drop doesn't make the MME competitive with any of Tesla's vehicles. It just means there's less of a rip off at the time of purchase.

Also, regarding timing. It takes 6 - 12 months to custom order an MME. Dealers only sell the ones where customers failed to take delivery.

This has several implications. First, even if you order an MME today, you are not getting it before March. Better hope the Treasury rules don't exclude you from buying one.

Second, unless dealers are willing to forego additional markup, people buying Premiums will not be getting the tax credit.

The Mach E as far as “being competitive” with Tesla is a moot point now. There has to be at least 200 Tesla’s for every 1 ford EV. Even if the Lightning takes off and replaces the F-150 as the “highest sold vehicle” of all time they will still be behind. Everyone will always be behind. Ford needs to make a 300+ range vehicle to even be considered in most households.

 

[scratch]

What if Select+tax credit gets it down to the high $30s? Also does the select have F AP?

Ford’s BlueCruise Remains CR’s Top-Rated Active Driving Assistance System - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports reviews and ranks active driving assistance systems, including Ford BlueCruise, General Motors Super Cruise, and Tesla Autopilot.

www.consumerreports.org

BlueCruise - Ford's version of Autopilot - was promised for every MME. Unfortunately, the 2022 Selects were incapable of it because they lacked a front facing camera.

BlueCruise is not Autopilot, it's a very different beast. Ford maintains their own maps for the system, it's not nationwide, there are huge areas where it doesn't work. It's not, and from what I understand never will, be capable of driving someplace where they have not already mapped it out.

This isn't a similar approach to self-driving. BC is a bad implementation of self-driving that takes a great deal of maintenance from the manufacturer to stay functional. In the FordPass app, it was displayed as a subscription service that runs out a year or two after I bought the car. Appears to me to be designed that way, to ensure post-purchase revenues for the manufacturer and vendor lock in.

Maybe the cost of an MME Select does drop to the high $30s. That's not the real price if people are paying for connected services once the trial runs out.

 

[joeinNFLA]

FYI Volkswagen Won’t Cut Its EV Prices to Match Tesla

Everything seems to be getting really, really expensive these days, except for Teslas as the company has been slashing prices for its EVs all over the world in recent weeks. But, while Ford clamored to follow Tesla down the price-cuttingrabbit hole, German automaker Volkswagen assures that it won’t be making any such moves.

Well that’s almost true. VW now has dealer incentives (big) on the ID4 to bring the price down. Leave it to the Germans to bend the truth.

 

[joeinNFLA]

BlueCruise - Ford's version of Autopilot - was promised for every MME. Unfortunately, the 2022 Selects were incapable of it because they lacked a front facing camera.

BlueCruise is not Autopilot, it's a very different beast. Ford maintains their own maps for the system, it's not nationwide, there are huge areas where it doesn't work. It's not, and from what I understand never will, be capable of driving someplace where they have not already mapped it out.

This isn't a similar approach to self-driving. BC is a bad implementation of self-driving that takes a great deal of maintenance from the manufacturer to stay functional. In the FordPass app, it was displayed as a subscription service that runs out a year or two after I bought the car. Appears to me to be designed that way, to ensure post-purchase revenues for the manufacturer and vendor lock in.

Maybe the cost of an MME Select does drop to the high $30s. That's not the real price if people are paying for connected services once the trial runs out.

Correct BC is $600 every 3 years

 

[joeinNFLA]

At least ford has the balls to refund customers who paid more. As someone who bought in November and paid $10000 + and tax higher for my model y I am never giving Tesla another cent. And I will be a pain in the ass to their service centers when the time comes.

Ford didn’t say refund. Press did. Ford said they would be sending offers to offset difference. I’m guessing they will get a cash offer to buy another. And the offer will be approximately the difference. Watch.

 

[scratch]

Ford didn’t say refund. Press did. Ford said they would be sending offers to offset difference. I’m guessing they will get a cash offer to buy another. And the offer will be approximately the difference. Watch.

My guess is any refund would be in the form of FordPass Rewards points, which are good towards the cost of service.

While I don't have any firsthand experience with this, my understanding is service is expensive.

 

[nativewolf]

Still more than what Tesla did. Ford is not GM, worth watching ford. FYI we are really enjoying the lightning. Great truck.

 

[CapeOne]

Always going to be following Tesla.

It's simply about attempting to be/remain competitive. Musk dropped the price of the MS in 2020 right after Lucid announced pricing for the Air models but I wouldn't have called that "following Lucid."

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Well that’s almost true. VW now has dealer incentives (big) on the ID4 to bring the price down. Leave it to the Germans to bend the truth.

And that's worse than cutting MSRP for customers in states like mine where we pay a property tax based on MSRP.

 

[zoomer0056]

I wouldn't have called that "following Lucid."

I wouldn't either.

 

[CapeOne]

Don’t think they’re gonna refund that market adjustment though…

True, but Tesla (at this point) isn't offering any sort of refunds either,

Besides, one could argue that part of the price increases last year were essentially "dealer markups" since Tesla is not only the manufacturer of the cars but also owns the dealerships/stores. Whether Tesla's price increases were MSRP increases or dealer markups, the net result was still the same.

 

[zoomer0056]

MSRP increases or dealer markups

Tesla price increases/decreases are not dealer markups or dealer incentives. Dealerships are not any part of the Tesla model. With Tesla, there are no middleman parasitic stealerships. Tesla sets prices and sells directly to the customer. It's definitely not the same as every other other auto manufacturer. Each stealership is independent from each other. The end price at each steslership is different. And more, even the price between customers at the same stealership is different. Tesla sells directly to all at the same price. Tesla stands alone here. There have been rumblings that those others will follow Tesla in this regard.

 

[CapeOne]

Tesla price increases/decreases are not dealer markups or dealer incentives. Dealerships are not any part of the Tesla model. With Tesla, there are no middleman parasitic stealerships. Tesla sets prices and sells directly to the customer. It's definitely not the same as every other other auto manufacturer. Each stealership is independent from each other. The end price at each steslership is different. And more, even the price between customers at the same stealership is different. Tesla sells directly to all at the same price. Tesla stands alone here. There have been rumblings that those others will follow Tesla in this regard.

Dealerships are part of the Tesla model as Tesla is a licensed dealer in many states which legally allows then to sell new and used vehicles. Tesla also employs state licensed car salespersons (some are good, some are not) just like other dealerships. The difference is Tesla owns the dealerships rather than independent third parties.

When Tesla raises prices, especially as they did last year, the net result is similar to when a dealer adds a markup to the MSRP and/or a manufacturer increases the MSRP. When Tesla lowers prices, as they did last month, the net result is similar to when a dealer removes a markup and/or a manufacturer reduces the MSRP or adds rebates/incentives. It is true that Tesla doesn't have traditional "dealer incentives" but doing so would simply be moving money around within the organization since, again, Tesla is not only the manufacturer but also the retailer or dealer-owner.

 

[zoomer0056]

Tesla is not only the manufacturer but also the retailer or dealer-owner.

Yup. Direct to customer with predetermined and fixed price. We prefer this over the stealership model.

 

[CapeOne]

Yup. Direct to customer with predetermined and fixed price. We prefer this over the stealership model.

Ok but, again, Tesla still has dealerships. They just happened to own the dealerships.

Polestar is also similar to Tesla except that Polestar dealerships are owned by independent third parties and not Geely/Volvo Cars/Polestar. Polestar Boston, for example, is owned by an independent Boston area dealership group. It's a licensed dealership and employes licensed salespeople just like Tesla, it just happens to be independently owned.

I personally don't see an advantage of a manufacturer-owned dealership model over an independent-owned dealership model. Both can raise and lower prices, both can have good and bad sales personnel and buying experiences, both can lowball trades, and so on, Anyone can walk into a dealership and pay the posted price if they want to but in the long run, a "fixed" (or non-negotiated) price can be fairly meaningless if, for example, a day, week or month later that price is many thousands lower.

 

[vickh]

Ok but, again, Tesla still has dealerships. They just happened to own the dealerships.

Polestar is also similar to Tesla except that Polestar dealerships are owned by independent third parties and not Geely/Volvo Cars/Polestar. Polestar Boston, for example, is owned by an independent Boston area dealership group. It's a licensed dealership and employes licensed salespeople just like Tesla, it just happens to be independently owned.

I personally don't see an advantage of a manufacturer-owned dealership model over an independent-owned dealership model. Both can raise and lower prices, both can have good and bad sales personnel and buying experiences, both can lowball trades, and so on, Anyone can walk into a dealership and pay the posted price if they want to but in the long run, a "fixed" (or non-negotiated) price can be fairly meaningless if, for example, a day, week or month later that price is many thousands lower.

Try telling all that to the dealers associations that're fighting TSLA tooth and nail in many states

Some F dealerships are really bad in my area. Main reason why i didn't buy MME (and reliability)

 

[zoomer0056]

Ok but, again, Tesla still has dealerships. They just happened to own the dealerships.

They're service centers. It's a different model than independant dealerships that have contracts with their automaker.
Google says.

 

[swaltner]

Maverick already standard as a mild hybrid. Wildly unlikely to go all-electric due to it's super low price which works as a bargain-basement-everything-optional gas car, but is broken the moment you try to put a 300-mile battery in it.

Rumors are that the Maverick will get a PHEV variant for the 2024 model year. Apparent prototypes have been spotted in the wild. I’ll likely put a deposit on a PHEV Maverick (assuming it has 40 miles all-electric) as soon as that’s announced, if it’s ever announced.

 

[CapeOne]

Try telling all that to the dealers associations that're fighting TSLA tooth and nail in many states

The fight is/was over having independent companies owning dealerships rather than manufacturers owning dealerships but they’re still dealerships. My point in this discussion was that Tesla does have dealerships, they just happen to own them.