Ford Mustang Mach-E not targeting Tesla customers

Ford says Tesla is not the top target for its first dedicated EV, the 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, which arrives in Australian dealerships within weeks.

Instead, the company these days best known for its workhorse utes and burbling muscle cars wants the Mach-E to usher in a fresh era electrified Blue Oval models including the 2025 Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid and entice new buyers into the brand – as it is doing overseas.

First revealed in November 2019, when its chief engineer told carsales it would be sold here, the Ford Mustang Mach-E was officially confirmed for Australia in March this year, before local pricing and specs were announced in May.

But Ford says it is still working to add other features to Australian-delivered Mach-E vehicles that are available for the model overseas, chief among them being the illuminated pony badge in the centre of its grille.

Currently the badge doesn’t have any lighting – as it does in the US – but Ford Australia is working through local regulatory issues in an effort to make it available here.

“There’s always content that we’re looking to add,” said Myles Hartley, Ford Australia product marketing manager for the Mustang Mach-E.

Currently the glowing pony emblem doesn’t meet federal government design rules in Australia, which have also foiled its introduction in other markets outside of North America.

“It’s available in the US… I don’t think it’s available in Europe,” he added.

But Ford Australia has begun discussions with its US counterparts about how it could get the illuminated pony badge on locally-delivered versions of the Mustang Mach-E.

“It’s working with the program team to say ‘hey, this is a high want for our customers, what are the different ways we could to introduce it?’ We continue to have discussions,” said Hartley.

“There’s a number of different ways that we could do it. It could be to do with the brightness of the pony. There’s certain regulations on when it would be illuminated, so maybe it could be something along the lines of illuminate during the welcome and departure [sequences of locking and unlocking the car].”

But Hartley pointed out that the seemingly simple update “would also require unique calibrations”, stressed that nothing had yet been confirmed and indicated that any changes along those lines would likely arrive with a model year update – likely 2025 or 2026.

Ford is also working on making the Mach-E’s BlueCruise autonomous driving function available in Australia. The hands-free highway driving system is currently only operational in North America, on selected roads that have been mapped.

Hartley said there are issues around “regulations and legislation” in Australia, which the company is working through and hopes to potentially introduce the tech as an over-the-air software update in future, albeit not the near future.

He added that some roads in Australia – including the Geelong freeway and some Sydney freeways – have already been mapped for BlueCruise.

While the Mach-E has little to do with the actual Mustang muscle car – other than its name and some styling cues – it is an important car for Ford, and one that Hartley says “finally shows that we’re serious about EVs”.

It is the first Ford EV built on a dedicated electric car architecture, allowing for the ideal placement of batteries and electric motors to maximise interior space.

That clean-sheet design is also used by key electric SUV rivals such as the Kia EV6, Hyundai IONIQ 5 and top-selling Tesla Model Y.

Not that Ford sees the Model Y as the prime target for the Mach-E. Despite being the dominant player Down Under (the Tesla is not only Australia’s best-selling EV but also the nation’s favourite SUV so far this year), Ford says the Model Y is not in the Mach-E’s crosshairs.

“That’s not necessarily our target,” said Ben Nightingale, Ford Australia product communications manager. “Sales numbers aren’t our only metric.”

Instead, Ford is hoping to tempt a new breed of buyers into the Blue Oval brand.

“Of initial overseas orders upwards of 65 per cent of Mach-E customers were new to Ford and we hope to see similar things here,” said Hartley.

While Ford Australia wouldn’t say exactly how many orders it had received for the Mach-E, it confirmed there were “hundreds” and that “expressions of interest are in the thousands”.

That sounds less impressive against a backdrop of around 3000 Tesla Model Y sales each month, although Ford says it has strong supplies coming so long waiting lists are unlikely.

But clearly the Mach-E’s relatively expensive starting price of $79,990 plus on-road costs (and no plans for a cheaper variant, says Ford) will limit its appeal, especially alongside the EV6 (from $72,590), IONIQ 5 ($64,500) and Model Y ($65,400).

Watch this space for our first Australian drive of the new Ford Mustang Mach-E, on October 24.

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